Kazano House

The three-story Kazano House was constructed on this location in 1870 by Sam Blackwell alongside his business partners, coinciding with Kalama’s designation as the Pacific terminus of the Northern Pacific Railway on the Columbia River. This establishment functioned as a hotel catering to rail workers, surveyors, and travelers arriving by steamboat, offering them a place to rest and refresh. In 1872, Kalama was appointed as the seat of Cowlitz County, replacing Freeport. By 1874, the county acquired the building for $5,000 and transformed it into the inaugural courthouse, where it facilitated legal proceedings—including the private execution of serial killer Martin Stickles in 1901—for half a century. Following Kelso’s assumption of the county seat in 1922, the building remained until its demolition in the 1930s, with the Kalama Community Building now occupying the site.