We kind of moved out of longhouses and into tight-knit community groups. . . . people managed to find themselves altogether in one place on one little hill in the corner in South Bend.  That’s pretty typical.  So, a group of people in Bay Center; a group of people in South Bend, whatever it is: we managed to get together and still live in sort of extended family groups or family groups.

— Tony Johnson, Chinook Culture Committee Chair, May 2010,
describing contemporary living patterns within the western Washington Chinook community  

Chinook builders of Cathlapotle were careful community planners. They situated the town – fourteen plankhouses that faced the Columbia River – on a slight ridge above sea level near the confluence of four waterways – the Lake, Lewis, Gee Creek, and Columbia. At this watery crossroads Chinookan people monitored river traffic in all directions and engaged trade from the mouth of the Columbia into the Northwest interior. The location also provided access to wetland tubers and roots and to game and fowl attracted to the swamplands. Chinook both altered and sustained their environment, maintaining the area by periodically setting fires, which cleared the underbrush and created a park-like environment that in turn encouraged the growth of food for the animals they hunted.

Chinook builders of Cathlapotle were careful community planners. They situated the town – fourteen plankhouses that faced the Columbia River – on a slight ridge above sea level near the confluence of four waterways – the Lake, Lewis, Gee Creek, and Columbia. At this watery crossroads Chinookan people monitored river traffic in all directions and engaged trade from the mouth of the Columbia into the Northwest interior. The location also provided access to wetland tubers and roots and to game and fowl attracted to the swamplands. Chinook both altered and sustained their environment, maintaining the area by periodically setting fires, which cleared the underbrush and created a park-like environment that in turn encouraged the growth of food for the animals they hunted.

The village location was well selected and used for a long period of time. Archaeologists uncovered evidence that indicates people lived continuously in one of the Cathlapotle houses for nearly 400 years and in another for about 200 years. Archaeology shows that residents built and rebuilt the plankhouses over the years, with remodeling and repair a constant concern. Archaeologists use soil stains to locate the walls and corner posts of a plankhouse and collections of ash and charcoal to reveal the location of ancient fire pits.

The household was the basic residential unit in Chinookan society, with several extended families occupying each cedar plankhouse in a village system. Chinook people carefully organized the space within plankhouses. Status, an important characteristic of Chinookan communities, determined where families lived. Powerful and wealthy residents occupied the front of the structure, where the building’s carvings were most elaborate. Poorer residents slept near the door, where they were at risk should enemies enter the home.