Woodson is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community in Columbia County

Columbia County, Oregon

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for the Columbia River, which forms its eastern and northern borders. As of 2010, its population was 49,351. The county seat is St. Helens.-Economy:...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States. It is located on U.S. Route 30 seven miles west of Clatskanie

Clatskanie, Oregon

Clatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Clatskanie River, which empties into the Columbia River within the city limits. The population was 1,528 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 1,710 residents.-History:...

 and three miles east of Westport

Westport, Oregon

Westport is an unincorporated community on the Columbia River in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Westport is connected to Cathlamet, Washington across the river via the Wahkiakum County Ferry to Puget Island. U.S...

, on Westport Slough, a tributary of the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

. In December 2007, the debris overflow from the flooding of Eilersten Creek caused evacuations and mud cover on Woodson Road north of the highway.

Woodson was named for Woods Landing on Westport Slough, which in turn was named a man whose surname was Wood. He would haul logs to the area and dump them into the slough, where they were made into rafts

Timber rafting

Timber rafting is a log transportation method in which logs are tied together into rafts and drifted or pulled across a water body or down a flatter river. It is arguably the second cheapest method of transportation of timber, next after log driving...

 for transportation to sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

s downriver.