Independence, Washington

Chehalis Village is a former census-designated place (CDP) in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 346 at the 2000 census. The area was no longer listed as a CDP for the 2010 census.

Helsing Junction is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The community is located south of U.S. Route 12, near the Chehalis River, and east of the populated area of Chehalis Village, Washington.

The Gate School is the historic former school in Gate, Washington. The one room schoolhouse was built in 1910. The frame building features a gable roof, eaves with decorative brackets, exposed rafter tails, a brick chimney, and a square bell tower. After the school consolidated with Rochester's school district in 1941, the school building became a community center. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 19, 1990.

The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation is a federally recognized tribe located in Southwest Washington. The Confederation consists of the Upper and Lower Chehalis, Klallam, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, and Quinault peoples. They are a part of the Northern Straits branch Central Coast Salish peoples of indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. The Confederated Tribes' traditional territories were along the Black, Chehalis, Cowlitz, Elk, Johns, Newaukum, Satsop, Shookumchuck, and Wynoochee Rivers, and included lands from the Southwest coast to the lower Puget Sound of Washington.

Gate is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, Washington, United States. Gate is located on the Black River, 2.9 miles (4.7 km) west-northwest of Rochester.

The Black River is a river in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is approximately 25 miles (40 km) long with a drainage basin of about 144 square miles (370 km2).

Rochester () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Thurston County, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1852, and the 2020 census recorded its population at 6,064. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 square kilometers), all of it land. Rochester Schools had 2,105 students registered in 2021-22 School Year.

Oakville is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It was incorporated in 1905, with booming lumber, railway, and farming industries creating the early foundation of the community. The population was 715 at the 2020 census.

Mima Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to the Black River. The upper course of Mima Creek contains the Mima Falls, a waterfall."Mima" is a name derived from a Native American language meaning "a little further along" or "downstream".

Garrard Creek is a 12-mile (19.3 km) creek primarily in Grays Harbor County, Washington. The creek originates in the Doty Hills and is a tributary to the Chehalis River. The South Fork of Garrard Creek, 7.2-mile (11.6 km); Bloomquist Creek, 2.7-mile (4.3 km); and Kellogg Creek, 2.1-mile (3.4 km), add to its length. The creek was originally called Barker Creek after Henry Barker, a native from Tennessee, who built a settlement in 1870 at the mouth of the creek. His stay in the settlement was short, and was transferred in 1874 to Oliver Brewer, a minister, and his family. In 1872, James Garrard and his family, settlers from Illinois, took a claim and became one of the first permanent residents in the valley.Garrard Creek road is named after the creek with one end near the mouth of the creek and primarily running along the south fork. Brooklyn Road has one end near the intersection of Garrard Creek and the other end outside of the watershed. The two roads are the only major roads serving the Garrard Creek Valley.

Mima is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The area is located between Littlerock and Gate.

Prairie Creek is a stream in Thurston County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary to the Chehalis River.Prairie Creek was so named for the prairie near its course.