Show All Answers

1. What are cargo loading/unloading hours?

The hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

2. Do truck drivers need to make an appointment for dropping off cargo?

Whether or not you need to make an appointment depends upon the type of cargo. Contact operations by calling 360-425-3305.

Show All Answers

1. When are the Commission Meetings?

Commission meetings are generally held on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at the Port offices:

10 International Way
Longview, WA 98632

However, meeting details are subject to change. For official notification, you may request to be added to the notification list by contacting the Executive Assistant. 

Board of Commission page.

2. What Commission District do I live in?

Board of Commission page.

3. When do Commissioners' terms expire?

District #1 position expires December 31, 2027

District #2 position expires December 31, 2023

District # 3 position expires December 31, 2025

4. How do I attend a commission meeting?

Attend in Person
The public is welcome at Port Commission meetings. Meetings are held in the Port's Administrative Office at 10 International Way, Longview. 

Zoom In
The public can now participate in Commission meetings virtually. 

Live Streaming
Commission meetings are live streamed on local cable access station KLTV's website Castus VOD Widget , be sure to select LIVE from the tab menu and click the play button. 

Watch from Home
Commission meetings are recorded and broadcast on local government channel 29.

Show All Answers

1. Can I get a job at the Port of Longview?

Openings will be posted on the Careers page.

Show All Answers

1. Can I get a copy of the Annual Report?

Annual Reports are available as downloadable Adobe Acrobat Reader files. Find them in the archive center.

2. Why does the Port collect taxes?

In 1911 the Legislature authorized citizens to form port districts and implement an annual property tax levy of $2 per $1,000 of assessed value of taxable property within the district.

Since 1911 the Legislature has reduced the annual property tax authorization for port districts to 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed value of taxable property within the district.

3. How much does the Port collect?

The Port tax levy for 2020 is 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed value of taxable property - a nearly 12% decrease from the 2019 rate of 24 cents per thousand. The average Port District taxpayer pays $52.50 in taxes to the Port for a home valued at $250,000. 

4. What are taxes used for?

Tax levy funds are used for capital facilities improvements such as docks, warehouses, cranes and transportation infrastructure and repayment of general obligation bond debt. These improvements are designed to produce more tonnage, more ship calls and more economic activity in the Port District community, directly and indirectly benefiting taxpayers in the form of jobs and commerce.

Show All Answers

1. How do I arrange a Port tour?

To schedule a tour, contact the Communications/Public Affairs employee, Communications Coordinator Dan Polacek.

Show All Answers

1. 1920s

1920

• Lumberman Robert A. Long chose present day Longview as the site for the Long-Bell Lumber Company.

1921

• Business leaders saw the need for a port district and rallied local voters to approve one. State statute required port districts to be named after the largest city in the district. Since Longview had yet to be established the new port was named Port of Kelso. Its location was on the Cowlitz River. Port district geographic boundaries encompassed Longview and Kelso. A special election was held on March 19, 1921 to approve the Port of Kelso and elect commissioners. The Commissioners received their certificates of election from the County Auditor on April 21, 1921, and the soon-to-be-renamed Port of Longview was born.

1923

• The Long Bell Lumber Company officially dedicated the city of Longview on July 12, 1923.
• The Long-Bell Lumber Company began construction of its first plant on 2,000 acres of waterfront property (on and surrounding present day Port of Longview property).

1925

• Business leaders favored relocating the Port of Kelso from the Cowlitz River to the foot of Oregon Way on the Columbia River. Commissioners issue bonds for the original land purchase of 40 acres and began constructing the first dock. The geographic boundaries of the district were expanded to include the northern two-thirds of Cowlitz County, an area of 836 square miles.

1926

• The first cargo crossed the Port's new dock; officially dedicated on April 15, 1926. The name "Port of Kelso" could be seen in large letters on a warehouse.
• During the nine months the Port operated in 1926, a total of 72,000 tons of freight moved across its docks.
• The Weyerhaeuser Timber Company purchased 700 acres from the Long-Bell Lumber Company for construction of a lumber manufacturing plant.
• The Longview Fibre Company selected Longview as the location for a pulp-paper mill. The first phase started up in 1927.

1927

• Port tonnage increased to 136-000-tons carried on 190 ocean vessels and 1,500 river steamers.
• The Port built a grain elevator and leased it to the Longview Elevator Company.
• Congress gave approval for construction of the Longview-Rainier Bridge (later renamed the Lewis and Clark Bridge).
• The Georgiana, a passenger steamer, docked at the Port to pick up passengers traveling to and from Portland, Oregon.

1928

• Port tonnage increased to 246-000-tons carried on 312 ocean vessels and 1,200 river steamers.

1929

• Longview citizens wanted the name of their port to accurately reflect where it was located. A vote was put forth and local voters authorized the Port of Kelso to be renamed the Port of Longview.
• The first log rolled through Weyerhaeuser Timber Company's lumber manufacturing plant.