Astoria, Oregon

 

Finished reading the book "Astoria: Astor and Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire; A Tale of Ambition and Survival on the Early American Frontier."  By Peter, Stark.  Eco, 2015, 400 pages.  

From 1804-1814, John Jacob Astor sent an overland party to the Columbia River form St. Louis.  They developed a new route from the upper Snake (Mad) river overland through the Blue Mountains of Oregon.  It later became part of the Oregon Trail from 1840-1870.  He also sent three ships from New York down and around the tip of South American and up to Hawaii and then to a new settlement for trading furs at a port in Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River.    

Fascinating account of this business venture to take furs from the Northwest Pacific Coast to sell for a high markup in profit in Canton, China.  Nearly half of the men that signed on for this "Astoria" adventure died in the dangerous quest.  

Astoria

Astoria   Northwest Oregon Coastal town and Port on the Columbia River.

Population 9,500   A small town with many tourist attractions.  There are many motels, restaurants, cafes, grocery, museums, theaters, historical sights, marina, docks, hospital, gas, stores, services, supplies. 

Clatsop County   Population 38,000   The Clatsop County Courthouse is in Astoria.  Astoria is the largest city in Clatsop County. 

Astoria Images  

"Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state of Oregon and was the first American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains.[7] The county is the northwest corner of Oregon, and Astoria is located on the south shore of the Columbia River, where the river flows into the Pacific Ocean. The city is named for John Jacob Astor, an investor and entrepreneur from New York City, whose American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site and established a monopoly in the fur trade in the early nineteenth century. Astoria was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on October 20, 1876.  he city is served by the deepwater Port of Astoria. Transportation includes the Astoria Regional Airport. U.S. Route 30 and U.S. Route 101 are the main highways, and the 4.1-mile (6.6 km) Astoria–Megler Bridge connects to neighboring Washington across the river."

Columbia River Maritime Museum

Museums in Astoria

Astoria Lodging

Fort Astoria (1811-1825) History

Astoria Food 

Astoria   History1    History2

Astoria Column Historical Tower

Charter Boat Services in Astoria 

Lower Columbia River: Astoria to Portland, Ilwaco to Vancouver

Long Beach Peninsula  

Lewis and Clark Historic Sites

Clatsop County, Oregon  Population 38,000 

Fort Clatsop  Camp of Lewis and Clark in the Winter of 1805.  Video: Winter Story

Fort Steven's State Park  A World War II military base defending the Columbia River. 

Northwest Coastal Oregon Travel Guide: Astoria to Cape Lookout.  By Mike Garofalo. 

Clatsop People

 

Lower Columbia River, Washington

Today, I'm going to Nehalem Bay State Park in coastal northwest Oregon.  I will be camping in a Yurt.

I will drive to Longview on Interstate 5, then drive west on WA4 to Naselle and then Chinook.  I will detour off WA4 and drive around roads leading to Altoona, Pillar Rock, and Miller Point.  Three rivers meet the Columbia River in this small Bay area: Grays River, Deep River, and Crooked Creek.  

I plan to walk around Middle Village Station Camp on the Columbia River near Chinook.  All  of the islands in the Columbia River from Chinook to Skamokawa are part of the Lewis and Clark National Park and Wildlife Refuge.  There are many historical sites in this area, like Middle Village.  

Then, over the Megler-Astoria Bridge (4 miles long, built in 1966), then south on US Highway 101 to Nehalem Bay and the town of Manzanita.  Yurt check in time of 3:30 pm.  

A stop in Seaside at the Carousel Mall for Asian lunch and shell shopping.  

Weather reports indicate this week's weather to be 45-50F, little wind, fog, low clouds, misting, drizzling rain, and intermittent light rain showers day and night.  I am prepared for wet weather with suitable clothing, shoes, and gear.  Weather was decent for a January Winter day!  

Picture of me in rain gear for walking the shore pine forest trails, sand dunes, and intertidal seashore or just sitting at a picnic table or chair outdoors at Nehalem Bay State Park in the misty, drizzling, sprinkling wet world of coastal Manzanita.  

The Tsunami warning has been lifted after last weeks volcanic eruption in the Pacific.  More people probably came to the beach last week, to see some big waves, which never, thankfully, arrived.  

The surf at Neahakanie Beach near Manzanita was mild at low tide this afternoon.  Shorebreak waves 1-3' on the sandy seaside.  

You can park along the road below Manzanita, elevated maybe 30' above the sea, and stare out your open car window as the mist, fog, and drizzling rain keeps everything wet wet wet.  

North of Manzanita all the way to Seaside are forested higher mountains, hills, tight river valleys, and dramatic cliffside views from Highway 101.  The dramatic rocky cliffs facing the pounding surf are memorable.  

All photographs below were obtained from images on the Internet:

Pillar Rock

Altoona-Pillar Rock-Miller Point Bay Area

Altoona-Pillar Rock-Miller Point Bay Area

Middle Village Station Camp

Middle Village Station Camp

Megler-Astoria Bridge

Chinook - Wikipedia   Population 450.    Images

Chinook County Park

Chinook:  Travel    Port   Port-Estuary

Chinook: Baker's Bay    Gray's Bay

Middle Village Station Camp

Chinook Tribal Nation

Chinook   Dock   Boat Launch 

Naselle:  Naselle River  Images   Store  Gas  Inland from the Columbia River.  The Naselle River flows into the south end of Willapa Bay

Naselle River  Images 

Naselle Library TRLS

Naselle is about six miles east of the junction of US101 and WA4.    Junction of US101 and WA4.  Johnston's Landing.  Along the wide Naselle River valley, and near the bridge over the Naselle River.  The Naselle River flows into the south end of Willapa Bay.  Parking near the bridge.  62 miles east of Exit 39/I5. 

Fort Columbia Historical State Park    South of Naselle

Megler-Astoria Bridge   South of Naselle 

Chinook Village

Junction of US101 and WA4.  Johnston's Landing.  Along the wide Naselle River valley, and near the bridge over the Naselle River. 
The Naselle River flows into the south end of Willapa Bay.  Parking near the bridge.  62 miles east of Exit 39/I5. 

Junction of WA4 and WA401.  Head south on WA401 if you want to get to the Ilwaco/Astoria Bridge. 

Cathlapotle House, Ridgefield, Washington

 About 15 miles north of my home in Vancouver, Washington, is the small town of Ridgefield.  It sits on a bluff above lowlands, bottomlands, lakes, sloughs, ponds, and swamps adjacent to the Columbia River.  The wetlands area is now part of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.  It is part of the "Wapato Valley" named by Lewis and Clark.  

In the 1990's Professor James Ames, Archeologist, Portland State University, led an excavation of the Indian ruins near Ridgefield in the bottomlands.  In 2005, as part of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Celebration, a replica of a Native Indian cedar plank longhouse was constructed near Ridgefield on the Refuge.  

  

The Chinook and Cowlitz River and Lewis River Peoples all lived in this area for 1,500 years.  They all build wood houses, in which to smoke and store food, keep dry and warm, work, and socialize.  They all fished, hunted, and foraged in an environment rich in resources.  

The Chinook were traders and people speaking dialects of the Chinook language, or using a Chinook trading language and sign language, were active in trading goods from Ilwaco to The Dalles.  Canoes were in everyday use by all people living along the Columbia River.     

Ridgefield City   Images     Population 4,700   The small town is on a bluff above the lowlands by the Columbia River. 

Ridgefield - Chinook House  Cathlapotle Plankhouse   

Cathlapotle and its Inhabitants 1792-1860.  By Robert Boyd.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, 2011.  Index, 209 pages, many maps and charts, place name index, detailed bibliography, art work.  FVRL.  Fascinating study of native people living the area from For Vancouver to Ilwaco, on both sides of the lower Columbia River.  I believe there is also one plankhouse reconstructed at Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon.  I visited Native American plankhouses and shelters in Northern California at Patrick's Point State Park. 

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Ridgefield, Clark County   This large refuge includes an auto tour through the wetlands, sloughs, bogs, and lowlands along the Columbia River.  A few trails from this road are open only in the summer.  Many birds winter here.  A second area of the refuge consists of a walking path over the railroad, a reconstructed Chinoon style plankhouse, and many walking trails through these lowlands (soaked in winter). 

Ridgefield History

Ridgefield Visitors Guide

Ridgefield Library FVRL

Ridgefield Shopping 

Ridgefield Recreation

Ridgefield Information and Travel

Ridgefield Marina    On a slough of the Columbia.  Kayak rentals, small boat launch, mooring, picnic tables, fishing, restrooms, parking lot. 

Blog Posts to the Cloud Hands Blog by Mike Garofalo regarding travel adventures in Washington State.

The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River.  Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown.  University of Oklahoma Press, 1988, 372 pages, index.  VSCL, FVRL. 

Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia.  Edited by Robert T. Boyd, Kenneth M. Ames, and Tony A. Johnson.  University of Washington, 2015, 464 pages.  VSCL.  Outstanding collection of articles.  First Choice!! 

Peoples of the Northwest Coast: Their Archaeology and Prehistory.  By Kenneth M. Ames.  Thames and Hudson, 1999, 288 pages.  FVRL.

Cathlapotle and its Inhabitants 1792-1860.  By Robert Boyd.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, 2011.  Index, 209 pages, many maps and charts, place name index, detailed bibliography, art work.  FVRL.  Fascinating study of native people living the area from For Vancouver to Ilwaco, on both sides of the lower Columbia River.  

Willapa Bay Area Information 

Lower Columbia River: Ilwaco to Washougal 

Northwest Oregon: Astoria to Cape Disappointment

Chinook Indian Nation  "The Chinook Indian Nation is made up of the five western-most Chinookan speaking tribes at the mouth of the Columbia River.  Our nearly 70-year-old constitution codifies who we are and identifies our five constituent tribes – the Clatsop and Cathlamet (Kathlamet) of present-day Oregon and the Lower Chinook, Wahkiakum (Waukikum) and Willapa (Weelappa) of what is now Washington State."  Not federally recognized. 

Chinookan Peoples

 

The Northwest Coast: Or, Three Years' Residence in Washington Territory.  He lived in Willapa Harbor from 1849-1851.  By James Gilchrist Swan.  Adesite Press, 2017, 448 pages.  FVRL. 

"James Gilchrist Swan wrote an amazingly interesting and detailed account of his years in Willipa Harbor. The origin of some modern place names, I.e., Tokeland became very clear, for example. His treatise on the nature of Native Americans is especially significant, as is his description of their languages.  I especially liked his analysis of how the Hudson Bay Company's strategy to get along with the native people was compared with Governor Stevens' botched treaty proposition along the banks of the Chehalis.  Swan was an interesting man in his own right: pioneer, scientist, Indian agent, teacher, revenue agent, probate judge, cultural and natural historian and adventurer. He is buried in an unpretentious grave in Port Townsend, Washington." 

"In November 1852 James Swan moved to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington Territory. Fascinated by the Indian communities he encountered, Swan spent the remainder of his life studying their art, material culture, and history. The author of several books, he became the Smithsonian Institution's principal agent in the Northwest, collecting natural history and ethnographic objects from Gray's Harbor through the Alaskan panhandle. He lived among the Makah Indians of Neah Bay where he taught school and was among the first Americans to visit the Haida villages of the Queen Charlotte Islands."

Swan Among the Indians: Life of James G. Swan (1818-1900).  By Lucille McDonald.  Binfords and Mort, Portland, 1972.  Index, 233 pages.  FVRL. 

Coast Country: A History of Southwest Washington.  By Lucile McDonald.  Long Beach, Midway Printery, 1989.  Index, 183 pages.  TRLS. 

The Historical and Regional Geography of the Willapa Bay Area, Washington.  By Jean Hazeltine.  South Bend, 1956, 308 pages.  FVRL

Shoalwater Willapa.  By Douglas Allen.  Snoose Peak Publishing, South Bend, WA, 2004.  Index, notes, sources, 286 pages.  TRLS.  

Chinook Resilience: Heritage and Cultural Revitalization on the Lower Columbia River.  By Jon D. Daehnke.  Foreword by Tony A. Johnson.  University of Washington, 2017, 233 pages, index, bibliography, notes.  FVRL.  Interesting discussion of evidence for the distribution of Chinook speaking people, and the history of the people in the area.  A long and detailed discussion of the creation of the Cathlapotle House in Ridgefield. 

Chinook Texts.  Collected by Franz Boas.  1984.  Includes myths, beliefs, customs, tales, and historical tales as told by the Chinookan people. 

Columbia River: The Astoria Odyssey.  By Penttila Bryan.  Frank Amato, 2004, 96 pages. 

Chinook Art, Contemporary     Chinook Design Art Products: Hats   Bags

Chinook Merchandise

Chinookan Art Style

Chinook Indian Territory

 I will be yurt camping at Cape Disappointment State Park this month.  I have been doing a lot of reading and research about the Chinook Indian villages in Southwestern Washington and Northwestern Oregon.  

Native Americans in Southwestern Washington and Northwestern Oregon.  

Chinook Indian Tribe

The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River.  Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown.  University of Oklahoma Press, 1988, 372 pages. 

Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia.  Edited by Robert T. Boyd, Kenneth M. Amers, and Tony A. Johnson.  University of Washington, 2015, 464 pages.  VSCL. 

Willapa Bay Area Information 

Chinook Indian Nation  "The Chinook Indian Nation is made up of the five western-most Chinookan speaking tribes at the mouth of the Columbia River.  Our nearly 70-year-old constitution codifies who we are and identifies our five constituent tribes – the Clatsop and Cathlamet (Kathlamet) of present-day Oregon and the Lower Chinook, Wahkiakum (Waukikum) and Willapa (Weelappa) of what is now Washington State."  Not federally recognized. 

Chinookan Peoples

The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River.  Robert H. Ruby and John A. Brown.  University of Oklahoma Press, 1988, 372 pages.  VSCL = MPG Home Library 

Chinook Texts.  Collected by Franz Boas.  1984.  Includes myths, beliefs, customs, tales, and historical tales as told by the Chinookan people. 

Native Legends of Oregon and Washington.  Collected by Franz Boas.  1893. 

Also called the Lower Chinook Indian Tribe to indicate their range to Fort Vancouver (Portland), Upper Chinook from Portland to Cascade Locks area to The Dalles. 

(Current Naselle River to Ilwaco and Long Beach Peninsula)

Chinook Language and the hybrid trade language called Chinuk WaWa 

Long Beach Peninsula Information

Willapa Bay Area Information 

"Comcomly (or Concomly) (1765 – 1830) was a leader of the Lower Chinook people located near the present day city of Ilwaco, Washington. Referred to as "Chief" or "'King", a derogatory term, Comcomly in contemporaneous journals. Washington Irving described him in his book Astoria as "a shrewd old savage, with but one eye," and referred to his trade and diplomacy skills. Modern historian James Ronda characterizes Comcomly as a talented diplomat and shrewd businessman. He was friendly to the British and Euro-American explorers whom he encountered, including Robert Gray and George Vancouver, and he received peace medals from Lewis and Clark. He also assisted the Pacific Fur Company, also known as the Astor Expedition, and offered to help the Americans fight the British during the War of 1812, but Astoria was sold to the British instead. Comcomly was friendly with the British as well. He was entertained at Fort Vancouver by John McLoughlin and he piloted Hudson's Bay Company ships up the Columbia" - Wikipedia

Meeting on the Columbia River

 

A painting by Charles Marion Russell 

Lewis and Clark on the Lower Columbia, Painted in 1905.  

Lewis and Clark were on the Lower Columbia, near Chinook and Cowlitz Settlements, in 1805. 

Willapa Bay Information

Native American Indian Tribes of Southwestern Washington and along the Columbia River