Brush Prairie is a small town north of Vancouver, Washington. In 1850 Merrit Bowman was the first settler. Other settlers included: Sarah and Gersham VanAtta, Louis Lieser, J.J. and Alvin Clark. The VanAttas later donated land for the Brush Prairie cemetary.
There are two different stories concerning how Brush Prairie was named. One story says that two men J. Bowman and J. Rambo, were hunting their cattle. The other story says that they were looking for a homestead. One of the men said "I'll take the lead and get you out of this brush prairie" The name hung on.
The first store was a cabin built by Robert Watson in 1892. Wilbur Hall bought the store in 1906. He built a new store across the street in 1908. The same store is in operation today. Louis Lieser built a water-powered sawmill near salmon creek in 1854. They floated the logs down salmon creek. Henry Edner was the first village blacksmith. He built his shop on the south banks of salmon creek. Alvin and J.J. Clark founded the Brush Prairie Baptist church in 1863. The Brush Prairie church first started in a little log cabin, which was also a school. The Brush Prairie Baptist church is the oldest Baptist church in the state of Washington.
