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Riparia and Texas City, Washington

A pre-1882 image of Riparia. Texas City, a steamboat and railroad hub that flourished from the 1860s through the 1880s, was located across the river from and eventually became part of Riparia. Riparia’s moniker derives from “riparius,” the Latin word for “riparian,” while “Texas City” originated from the name of a Pu-nim-moo wintering village called “Ah-tok-sos,” or “where the people came out of the stream.” This Nimiipuu village was located at the mouth of Alkali Flat Creek, which ran through Texas City. A post office operated in Riparia from 1882 until 1963, several years before it was inundated by Lower Monumental Dam.