History

The Visitor’s Center on the Long Beach Peninsula gets a lot of questions about the many depressing names of local landmarks, and even some businesses. Don’t let the names fool you. Places like Dismal Nitch, Cape Disappointment, and Graveyard of the Pacific all have some good stories behind them. Here...

Three things you didn't know about Lewis and Clark. Plus, find Lewis and Clark historical sites on the peninsula and beyond.

Before there were lighthouses on the Peninsula, ships bound for Portland and Astoria navigated their way through the high waves and shifting sandbars, focusing on fluttering white flags and notched trees along the shoreline by day and flickering signal fires by night. These methods were crude at best and, despite...

In 1855, a band of Native Americans descended upon a group of pioneers making their way along the legendary Oregon Trail. The pioneers feared for their scalps. Then, the leader of the war party pointed at the large black box at the front of the wagon train. Dr. William Keil,...

On July 14-15, the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in downtown Ilwaco invites you to step back in time for Clamshell Railroad Days! This event celebrates the narrow gauge railroad that was once the lifeblood and a hub of activity for the Long Beach Peninsula. The museum will be opening up the beautiful NAHCOTTA wooden passenger coach for...

There’s something enchanting about ruins and abandoned buildings. Whether you enjoy the history behind it or the intrigue of decay, these echoes from the past are downright fun to explore. Here in Pacific County, there are numerous opportunities to step back in time. All you need is a Discover Pass...

You could hardly consider a visit to the Long Beach Peninsula complete without mention of Lewis and Clark. For ten days in mid-November of 1805, the Lewis and Clark party, formally known as the Corps of Discovery, explored the Peninsula. Today, you can experience some of the same landmarks the...

Take a short walk to the gorgeous North Head Lighthouse that sits high above the Graveyard of the Pacific.

For generations before the pioneer settlers arrived, Chinook Indians gathered oysters in the Peninsula part of Willapa Bay and camped in the area that is now called Oysterville. They called it “tsako-te-hahsh-eetl” which, like many Indian words, had two meanings – “place of the red-topped grass” and “home of the...