The 20-square-mile expanse of picturesque lakes and Douglas fir groves in which Lakewood is nestled was first known as “The Prairie,” a vital crossroads between the Columbia River Gorge and Vancouver,
Lakewood was a vibrant community long before it incorporated in 1996, though cityhood helped give the area one name and identity. In the mid-19th century, Lakewood was the site of British farms and th
McNeil Island might look like just another wooded island along Washington State's Puget Sound. That first impression would be wrong. McNeil was home to territorial, federal, and state prison systems,
