1928: The Stage is Set for a Pioneering Port in the Evergreen State

March 4, 1928

On the southwest coast of Washington State, voters in the southern third of Pacific County approved 324 to 87 a measure to form the Port of Ilwaco. The approval of this measure made the port, which is located on Baker Bay near the mouth of the Columbia River, the first of four port districts created in the county. 

The location for what is now the Port of Ilwaco had long been a harbor for fishing boats that harvested salmon from the river. The town of Ilwaco was founded in 1876 and became an important transportation hub for this region of Washington. Tourists from both the inland part of the Evergreen State and neighboring Oregon, for example, routinely arrived at Ilwaco via steamships and from there traveled — initially by stagecoach and later via the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company trains — to ocean beach resorts on the Long Beach Peninsula. 

The establishment of the Port of Ilwaco was widely seen as a way to further enhance the area’s value by improving access to the harbor from deep water in the river and also providing a public dock on the bay. On May 30, 1930, the first dock and warehouse installed at the new port were officially opened for service. Albin Norblad (1881-1960), who was governor of Oregon from 1929 to 1931, handled these inaugural duties. The day’s festivities also featured both motorboat races and a banquet for 250 people. Other facilities built at the port included a boatyard. 

In the decades since that authorizing vote was taken, the port has also played a large role in the local community’s activities and development. Among other things, this port has been instrumental in making Ilwaco a major tourist destination in its own right. (The accompanying photo of the Port of Ilwaco was taken in 2008.)

Photo Credit: Sam Beebel/Ecotrust (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

For more information on the Port of Ilwaco, please check out https://historylink.org/File/9496