Felida, the once-tiny community with the odd name, is suffering growing pains. Located about seven miles northwest of downtown Vancouver, Felida has fallen victim to urban sprawl. Where once large farms and orchards grace the countryside, now streets are being paved across the fields, followed by rows of houses.

Although there are still several beautiful farms in the Felida area, they are fast being swallowed up by subdivisions.

Probably the major development is Columbia Gardens, a residential area north of Northwest 119th Street and east of Northwest 36th Avenue. This is an area of beautiful, expensive homes and yards which were developed about 11 years ago.

How Felida got its name presents a strange tale, although the authenticity of it is buried in the mists of time.

According to the book "Washington Place Names," when the post office was established in 1890, the name Powley was submitted in honor of a pioneer settler. The postal department countered with the name Polly.

Offended at having their community named for a parrot, the townspeople resisted. C.C. Lewis suggested the post office be named Thomas, after his cat. This irritated the citizens even more.

Lewis then suggested the Latin word felidae, for the genus cat, and this name had enough class to be accepted.

The Felida post office was opened in 1890 with Marion Edward McIrvin as postmaster. Felida lost its post office 16 years later with rural free delivery.

Once an independant community with a seperate school district, Felida is now a "bedroom" community for commuters who work in Vancouver or Portland.

Last month, to meet the burgeoning population, the Vancouver School District opened Felida Elemenatry School at 2700 N.W. 119th St. This 20 classroom structure houses 500 pupils who used to attend Eisenhower, Lake Shore and Salmon Creek schools.
Felida still has its general store -1978 style. This is a modern Mini-Mart that stands next to the old IOOF hall.

"When I first visited this area in 1943, it was all farms," said Mary Sturrock, a clerk at the store. "Now there is a house being built on every vacant spot."

Despite the intense growth, she said, people still identify with community and like to say ,"I'm from Felida."

Lake River forms the boundary of Felida on the west. It was once a main thoroughfare for water logging trains from Yacolt dumped logs into the river at Felida, to be towed into Vancouver Lake and rafted.

Lake River gets little use today. The Felida Moorage still exists but shows little signs of activity.