La Center is a small city in Clark County, Washington, situated on the East Fork of the Lewis River in the southwestern corner of the state, just off Interstate 5 and a short drive north of Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The first non-Native settlers arrived in the area in 1852, when John H. Timmen and Aurelius Wilkins laid land claims along the river, and by the 1870s La Center had become a busy business center and the head of navigation on the East Fork, with river steamers running between the town and Portland. The city's modern economy took a distinctive turn in the mid-1980s, when municipal leaders allowed cardrooms to operate within the city as an economic measure. The cardrooms thrived, and the gambling revenue that followed through the 1990s helped stabilize and later fund the community's growth. That legacy remains a defining feature of La Center, which is widely known across the region for its casinos. The revenue also supported infrastructure and the residential expansion that reshaped the town. The 2020 census recorded a population of 3,424, living across about 1.28 square miles. Much of the city's housing is newer, built during the 2000s and 2010s, and sits on larger lots that preserve the community's open, semi-rural character. Students attend the La Center School District, and C-TRAN bus service connects the city to Vancouver and Portland. With the East Fork Lewis River and the Cascade foothills as its backdrop, La Center functions as a quiet, commuter-friendly alternative to the more densely developed communities to its south.