Fords Prairie is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,234 at the 2020 census.
History
Native American settlement
The area was originally called "Tasunshun", meaning "resting place", by the Upper Chehalis tribe, the Quiyaisk. The tribe kept a permanent village on the lands, often used during the winter. Dwellings were usually huts in a tipi-style construction of cedar planks.
Beginnings of Fords Prairie
Fords Prairie was named after Judge Sidney S. Ford Sr. and his wife Nancy, who were among the earliest white pioneers who settled north of the Columbia River in 1846 in what was then a part of Oregon Territory. The Fords followed the wagon trail created by Michael T. Simmons, founder of what would become Tumwater and George Waunch, of Waunch Prairie. Receiving permission from the Quiyasik, their