Randle is a small town in eastern

Lewis County, Washington Lewis County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 82,149. The county seat is Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia. Lewis County comprises the Centralia, WA Micropolitan Stat ...

, United States. Randle is located on

U.S. Route 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90 ...

and is notable as the northeastern access point to the Mount St. Helens Windy Ridge viewpoint, by way of forest service roads that cut through the

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Gifford Pinchot National Forest is a National Forest located in southern Washington, managed by the United States Forest Service. With an area of , it extends along the western slopes of Cascade Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the C ...

. Randle is located next to the

Cowlitz River The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens. The Cowlitz has a ...

and is about north of the

Cispus River The Cispus River is about long and flows into the Cowlitz River at Lake Scanewa in the Cascade Range of Washington. Its tributaries drain most of south-central and southeastern Lewis County, extreme northeast Skamania County, and some of w ...

, a tributary of the Cowlitz. The Cowlitz River winds westward through a rural valley in Randle known locally as "Big Bottom Valley," which is reflective of the fact that the valley floor, in certain areas, is "big". The flat, fertile land is, in places, more than wide.

Etymology

An 1889 petition to open a post office for the community was created by an early settler of the area, James Randles, but it lacked a town name in the paperwork. Due to a clerical decision by the then existing rules of the

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

, the surname of Randles (excluding the "s") was determined as the moniker for the town.

History

William Joerk explored in the area around 1882 and the townsite was officially founded in 1902. One of the first to settle the town was James L. Randles in 1886 who helped deliver mail in the site's infancy and would spearhead the creation of a post office. Randles would pass away in 1920 and be buried in Centralia due to winter conditions at the time of his death. In 2023, his body was ceremoniously reburied next to family members in a Randle cemetery. The White Pass High School was built in 1951. In 2011, it was demolished and built into a new school. In 2021, a charge of sexual assault was filed against the rapper and songwriter,

Lil Mosey Lathan Moses Stanley Echols (born January 25, 2002), known professionally as Lil Mosey, is an American rapper and singer. His 2017 single, " Pull Up", received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and led hi ...

; the incident, occurring in Randle, was reported to have happened in 2020. A trial and acquittal of the musician took place at the Lewis County courthouse in Chehalis in early 2023.

Geography

Randle is the center of the White Pass School District, which, in addition to Randle, covers the small towns of Glenoma, Washington, and Packwood, Washington (its school district jurisdiction includes a vast rural expanse in extreme eastern Lewis County, terminating at the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

and the county border with Yakima County). The community of Randle is located within Census Tract 9719 of Lewis County.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Randle has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Arts and culture

Historic buildings and sites

Randle is home to the Randle Ranger Station-Work Center, a complex of rustic buildings built by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP). The North Fork Guard Station No. 1142, another NRHP site, is located near the town.

Economy

In 2019, Crystal Geyser Water Company purchased property in Randle and proposed the construction of a water bottling plant. The proposal drew extensive opposition from local residents who were concerned about damage to the Cowlitz River watershed and industrialization of the area. In 2022, Lewis County PUD authorized a deal to acquire the property from Crystal Geyser to expand the adjacent campground and wilderness areas along the Cowlitz River.

Parks and recreation

The community is located northeast of several recreation areas, including Riffe Lake, Taidnapam Park, and Cowlitz Falls Park which is located on the

near its junction to the reservoir, Lake Scanewa. The Cowlitz Falls Campground, also known as Leonard “Bud” Allen Park, is a park under the control of the Lewis County PUD and is situated near the Cowltiz River, southwest of the town center.

Education

The White Pass High School was built in 1951. In 2011, it was demolished and built into a new school.

Politics

Note that the voting information is based on the Randle East and Randle West precincts only. As this is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

, there are no defined bounds, and the precinct may be incongruous with the census boundaries. The 2020 election included votes for candidates of the Libertarian Party and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

Infrastructure

The community is among 8 locations that are part of an EV installation project on the White Pass Scenic Byway. The program will stretch from the White Pass Ski Area to Chehalis and is run in partnership with Lewis County PUD, Twin Transit, state government agencies, and local community efforts. The venture began in 2023 from two grants totaling over $1.8 million. The Timberland Regional Library system built a new 3,400-square-foot public library in Randle that formally opened to the public in January 2025. It replaced a previous library location in a rented space.

References

{{authority control Populated places in Lewis County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Lewis County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state)