Oysterville, Washington

Oysterville
Unincorporated community
View of Willapa Bay from Oysterville
Oysterville Location within the state of Washington
Coordinates: 46°32′56″N 124°1′36″W / 46.54889°N 124.02667°WCoordinates: 46°32′56″N 124°1′36″W / 46.54889°N 124.02667°W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Pacific
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
GNIS feature ID	1512544[1]

Oysterville is an unincorporated community in Pacific County, Washington, United States.

History

Oysterville was first settled in 1841 by John Douglas, who married a local Chinook woman. Oysterville was established and named in 1854 by J.A. Clark.^[2] It was a hub of oyster farming as the name suggests. It was the seat of Pacific County until the seat was relocated to South Bend in 1893.

In a county seat war, on February 3, 1893, all of the county records and books were stolen in order to move the county seat from Oysterville to South Bend, Washington. However, it had been agreed upon that the seat would be moved to South Bend. There is a sign telling the story of this incident across from the historic Oysterville school.

The town has several historic buildings, including a school house and historic homes, many built prior to 1880. Most of the buildings in this once prosperous town have been lost to the sea and the elements. Oysterville was placed on the National Register of Historic Districts in 1976.

Geography

Oysterville is located at 46°32'56" North, 124°1'36" West (46.549021, -124.026735) on the Long Beach Peninsula. Oysterville is located on the east side of the (north-south running) peninsula, on the shallow and sheltered Willapa Bay.

People

Notable people from Oysterville include:

• Willard R. Espy, writer

References

1. "Oysterville". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
2. Majors, Harry M. (1975). Exploring Washington. Van Winkle Publishing Co. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-918664-00-6.

External links

• History from Pacific County government