Media

Mount St. Helens

The story of Mount St. Helens is that of an active volcano and human interaction with it. The mountain is culturally important to the regional native people. Its Cowlitz name, Lawetlatla, means Person From Whom Smoke Comes. Early European settlers saw...

Oregon Surfing: Central Coast

Surfing came to the central Oregon coast in the early 1960s. Mostly young boys from Newport and the Agate Beach area took to the waves, without wetsuits or leashes, and taught themselves how to surf in the forbidding cold waters. Eventually forming the...

Point Arena Lighthouse

The low rumbles of the fog signal and flashing beam of light from the powerful lens have guided mariners away from the perilous waters surrounding Point Arena Lighthouse since 1870. After the great earthquake in 1906 and the rebuilding of the tower in...

The 1964 Flood of Humboldt and Del Norte

The 1964 flood in the Eel and Klamath Rivers drainages represents an extreme weather event. Both the Northern California and Southern OR coasts are host to many floods, but the 1964 flood stands out as a representation of the "perfect storm." Three...

Portland's Maritime History

San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf is San Francisco's top tourist destination, but its history is much richer and more important than today's quaint attractions suggest. Indeed, many of these well-known sights were developed only in the last few decades. The early wharf,...

VANISHING VANCOUVER

Stretching along the north shore of the Columbia River, Vancouver, Washington, is the gateway to the state of Washington. Beginning as a wilderness outpost for the Hudson’s Bay Company, Vancouver has seen many, often rapid changes. In its early years...

NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC RAILROAD: EUREKA TO WILLITS

The year 2014 marks the centennial of the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP), celebrated by driving a “golden spike” at Cain Rock in October 1914. This achievement was the culmination of a massive, six-year engineering...

COOS COUNTY

Long before the wreck of the Captain Lincoln in 1852 brought settlers to the North Spit, Native Americans and foreign explorers, including Sir Francis Drake, navigated the inland waterways and Pacific shoreline of what would become Coos County. The deep...

NORTH BEND

Early settlers, driven by greed and a sense of entitlement, and sanctioned by their government, took Coos Indian lands without compensation. Asa Simpson purchased land at the north bend of Coos Bay from settlers. He wanted his company town, including a...

OREGON'S COVERED BRIDGES

Rugged individuals armed with hand tools, sweat, and ambition began building covered bridges in Oregon during the mid-1850s. These bridge builders often camped out at remote sites, living off the land or contracting with local farmers for food. Early...

THE DORY FLEET OF PACIFIC CITY

With its smooth, sandy beach, the quiet coastal town of Pacific City, on the coast of Oregon's Tillamook County, is the perfect home for a unique group of boats. The Pacific City dory fleet has a proud history spanning more than 100 years. Nestled in the...