Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum

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Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum Explore the crossroads of history where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. and tourism.

Located in the center of Ilwaco, WA the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum is the place to explore the crossroads of history where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. Displays illustrate local history from the earliest times when the Chinook Indians thrived in this region to the settlement years when European immigrants made this peninsula a year-round home and profited from fishing, logging. The Museum is home to the NAHCOTTA, a Pullman built narrow gauge car that rolled along the Ilwaco Rail and Navigation Company's 27 miles of track from Ilwaco to Nahcotta. Since a tide table not a time table governed the railroad schedule this quirky narrow gauge railroad was called "The Irregular Rambling and Never-Get-There-Railroad."

History TidbitWe come across many unsolved mysteries in our research; it’s always nice to answer long-asked questions, b...
10/13/2026

History Tidbit
We come across many unsolved mysteries in our research; it’s always nice to answer long-asked questions, but sometimes they lead to more. Such is the case of the disappearance of Sheriff Charles Green. He was headed to Oysterville in 1870 with the tax money, and never arrived.
“While in Sealand (the north side of the railroad tracks, of which Nahcotta is on the south) in Pacific County a few days ago, a grim skeleton was found in some burning brush…by the superintendent of construction of the Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Company. He found the skull and part of the remaining bones of the body near where the railroad wharf running out into Shoalwater Bay adjoins the shore, and close to the old trail which led from Oysterville to Fisher’s house, at the head of the bay.
Eighteen years ago, Charles Green, Sheriff of Pacific County, mysteriously disappeared, and it was supposed by many that he had absconded with funds of the county…The Sheriff in those days was compelled by law to collect the taxes. He had been away from Oysterville in the southeastern section of the county for some weeks engaged in that duty and started from Fisher’s homeward with about $600. in his possession. It is said that he told Fisher, who is yet living at the head of the bay, that he felt as if he was being followed. He has never been seen alive in the county since he left Fisher’s for his home, and in the search that was made for him after his disappearance, he was tracked on the lonely trail as far as the vicinity of where Sealand is now situated, and there all trace of him was lost…
…on examining the skull, found it contained a gold pivot tooth which Green had in his jaw, while having a bullet hole through the skull told the story of his death. ‘There were many hard characters in Pacific County in the days of the War and a few years after it,’ said an old friend of the missing sheriff, ‘and I never believed he ran away. I always supposed he was murdered.’”
Charles Green, a farmer originally from Sweden, was married to Julia Pickernell. They had four children and were living in Unity when he disappeared.

Sources: CPHM Research Files, W. D. Whealdon, “The Disappearance of Sheriff Charles Green,” relayed by Bonn Whealdon in a letter to Frank Turner; Larry Weathers Research Collection; Pacific County Cemeteries; Famous People of Pacific County: Living and Dead by Thelma Bond Dennis; The Oregonian: Sept. 30, 1889.
CPHM Photo Collection: IRR&N Co. Dock, Nahcotta, 1893 (1984.153 Aslin)

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Long Beach Merchant and Visitor Center Washington's Evergreen Coast

History TidbitMr. Henry Manfort Williams, a real estate dealer and speculator from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, arrived on t...
10/08/2026

History Tidbit
Mr. Henry Manfort Williams, a real estate dealer and speculator from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, arrived on the North Beach Peninsula after the Pacific Cranberry Marsh Company sold off all its leased holdings and went out of business in 1910.

“...Over at Cranmoor Mr. Williams is doing an improvement and development work that few residents of the county outside of those residing in and around Long Beach and Seaview realize its magnitude or what it means for the future of Pacific county. He has been quietly acquiring rich cranberry marshes until he and his associates now own and control more than 600 acres. He will begin planting some of his land this fall and within the next two years will have most of his cranberry holdings cleared, scalped, and planted. He has given road right-of-way to the county, has seven miles of ditches surrounding his land, and holds the water rights to Black lake. Mr. Williams has learned the cranberry culture from his father back at Cape Cod, Mass., and knows the scientific side of the business. He has built trackage warehouses and will be able to easily ship his berries to market without loss of time and has the equipment or will have it to get berries to market first, as well as having a high grade of berries, and will be able to ship his berries at a lesser cost to the consumer of commission man because he will have facilities, natural and those he will construct, that will give him the edge upon other cranberry raisers...” (sic) - Willapa Harbor Pilot, August 11, 1911

CPHM Photo Collection: Cranmoore Display at Fair (1995.0058 F o/t L)

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Cranberry Museum Long Beach Merchants Assn Long Beach Merchant and Visitor Center Washington's Evergreen Coast

History TidbitAlthough local indigenous people had used wild cranberries in the Long Beach area for thousands of years, ...
10/06/2026

History Tidbit
Although local indigenous people had used wild cranberries in the Long Beach area for thousands of years, the man usually credited with planting the first commercially viable cranberry bog on the peninsula is Anthony Chabot, a French-Canadian civil engineer, born in 1813.
In the 1870s, Chabot and his partners purchased 1200 acres of mostly marshland in the middle of the peninsula from the government. In 1880, Anthony bought out his partners, and the following year, planted the first cranberry bog on the peninsula. He first planted 35 acres of the McFarlin variety from Cape Cod, located on the north side of what was then called Chabot Road.
In June of 1883, the Pacific Cranberry Company was incorporated. The first harvest of berries from the bog was made in the fall. The Chabot bog thrived through the 1880s and into the early 1890s. Anthony Chabot died in 1888. During the good years, the bog produced 7,500 barrels annually, a barrel equaling 100 pounds.
In early 1904, the Pacific Cranberry Marsh Company was incorporated and leased the Chabot bog and other holdings of the old Pacific Cranberry Company. Around 1910, they bought the leased holdings and gradually sold them off before finally going out of business.
So began the cranberry industry on the Peninsula. The old Chabot Road was officially named Cranberry Road and is still the home of several active cranberry bogs.

Sources: The Seattle Times, Dec. 12, 1949; Oregon Journal, Apr. 5, 1904; The CPHM Larry Weathers Research Files.
CPHM Photo Collection: Planting cranberry vines (1984.022 Potter)
CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.
Cranberry Museum Long Beach Merchants Assn Long Beach Merchant and Visitor Center Washington's Evergreen Coast

History TidbitDaniel James “Jim” Crowley was a student at what is now known as Washington State University when he first...
10/02/2026

History Tidbit
Daniel James “Jim” Crowley was a student at what is now known as Washington State University when he first came to the peninsula in the summer of 1922. He was sent by the college to help the growers who had been losing upwards of 40% of their annual crop to a variety of causes and were seeking help from specialists in plant disease. Jim visited all of the farmers, studied their problems, did his research, and thought there might be a way to help them out. He returned to the college with his report.
When he returned to the peninsula the following spring with his family, his work in the bogs started the day he got off the train at Cranmoor. He made his inspection tour from Ilwaco to Oysterville on foot most of the time, as he had no car. There was no laboratory building, so he used an old shed on his property with equipment he often built himself on patches of bog loaned to him by farmers. He had to start from scratch as there was no previous data.
By 1925, Pacific County contributed 11 acres of marshland to the college for an actual station at Long Beach, with a long-term renewable lease. Jim chose the site, located on the north side of Pioneer Road.
Control of cranberry pests and disease, and improvement of annual crop yields, were Jim's main concerns throughout his tenure as Director of the station. His tests and observations eventually led him to the conclusion that the degree of success attained with a spray depended on applying it at the correct time and doing a thorough and careful job. Farmers who followed his program soon found themselves with fewer problems.
Perhaps Jim’s greatest contribution to horticulture was in the area of frost injury prevention, after successfully experimenting with a sprinkling system he had installed at the station in the mid-thirties. The water turning into ice releases heat and thus protects vines and berries from freezing. Sprinkler systems are now standard equipment for commercial growers and other fruit growers throughout the world.
"D.J. Crowley died on June 9, 1978, at Ocean Beach Hospital, Ilwaco. Throughout his adult life, he had worked diligently to eradicate the problems facing cranberry farmers of coastal Washington and Oregon: a span of over 50 years. At the time of his death, he was a noted pioneer in the industry and an acknowledged expert in the development and growth of cranberries. He had been the Director of the Cranberry Research Station at Long Beach for 30 years."

Source: The CPHM Larry Weathers Research Files: Interviews with Ruth and Lee Crowley, Azmi Shawa and Edie Shire; Seattle Times; Chinook Observer - “D.J. Crowley and the Cranberry Research Station.”

CPHM Photo Collection: Daniel James Crowley with cranberries, 1944, and Oiling up for cranberry spraying, 1955 (1988.039).

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Become a Member and help support your local Museum.
Interested in Volunteering? Please call 360.642.3446
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Cranberry Museum Long Beach Merchants Assn Long Beach Merchant and Visitor Center Washington's Evergreen Coast

Autumn may have arrived, but there's still time to enjoy the "Dog Days of Summer: Pets of the Peninsula."This exhibit ex...
09/30/2026

Autumn may have arrived, but there's still time to enjoy the "Dog Days of Summer: Pets of the Peninsula."
This exhibit explores the strong bonds between animals and the human residents of the North Beach Peninsula over time. Not only our beloved pets, but it's also about the lives of all our special animal neighbors, how they help and influence people, and how we help and influence them in return.
The art and videos contributed by the SPCHS: South Pacific County Humane Society in Long Beach, WA, and Peninsula Wild Care, sharing a bit of their stories, are quite impressive as well.
We also encourage your contribution; donate a photo of your best friend, and we will not only include them in our pet portraits, but also add them to the Museum's Collection. Who knows, they might be featured in an exhibit enjoyed by your great-grandchildren someday.

CPHM Photo Collection: Clam digger's aide (1984.259 Aslin), White Foot, male cat (44.016 Hardin), Dressed dog by the Ilwaco Fire Hall (1984.121), Psyche and rabbit c. 1912 (1998.096 Davis).

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Become a Member and help support your local Museum.
Interested in Volunteering? Please call 360.642.3446
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

History TidbitSouth Bend is Pacific County's first incorporated city and, per the 2022 census, the second most populous ...
09/29/2026

History Tidbit
South Bend is Pacific County's first incorporated city and, per the 2022 census, the second most populous after Raymond, with 1,779 residents.
“South Bend was founded in 1890…It was incorporated in 1891 (The Pacific County Courthouse has the incorporation as Sept. 1890, Vol. 4 p.316-18 – CPHM Larry Weathers Files)…The South Bend of today is the commercial metropolis of Willapa Harbor—the county seat—the center of the timber industry, the chief trading center of all the adjacent county; the western extreme of that great transcontinental line of railway, the Northern Pacific; the port nearest the sea on all the Northern Pacific Coast; the point where rail and ships may meet at the smallest cost—the gateway to a commercial empire.
50 ocean-going vessels sailed from her wharves last year. 215 million feet of the best lumber that ever met the fellman’s axe were sent out in these ships. And from her busy mills to markets in the east, by rail, went 20 million shingles and 3 million feet of lumber. And by that same route followed 70 thousand pounds of sturgeon from her rich waters, 250 thousand pounds of fresh salmon, 3000 boxes of clams, 1001 cases of crabs, and from her fields and farms, 2500 barrels of cranberries, 20 thousand pounds of hops, 50 thousand pounds of hay, 50 thousand barrels of potatoes, 66 thousand pounds of cheese, as much butter, together with 75 thousand cases of salmon and thousands upon thousands of bags of native oysters. According to the 1900 census, the city’s population is 1200…
…In the South Bend Banking Co., the city has a solid financial institution…Excellent water is furnished by a gravity system, and there is an electric light plant as well.”
-Pacific County Edition of the South Bend Journal
South Bend, Pacific County, Washington 1900 – Souvenir Reprint

CPHM Photo Collection: South Bend, Water St., F.R.Janalik Photo (1984.056)

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Become a Member and help support your local Museum.
Interested in Volunteering? Please call 360.642.3446
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

History TidbitAlthough a bill authorizing new buildings to house the Cape Disappointment Life-Saving Crew was passed by ...
09/24/2026

History Tidbit
Although a bill authorizing new buildings to house the Cape Disappointment Life-Saving Crew was passed by Congress in 1895, “delays incident to government work prevented the contractors, Nichols & Crouthers of Tacoma, from commencing work on the project until May 1896."
The new station, built on Baker Bay, consisted of a main one-and-a-half-story structure, built to accommodate not only the keeper (head of the station) and crew, “but such belated travelers as may chance their way.” The dwelling was built to be tight and warm, relying upon an increased thickness of non-conducting material to avoid any enclosed air spaces. The double floors contained felt between the “upper and underfloor.”
In the rear of the main building was a small one-story structure with an attic. This was used as a workshop and a storm-clothing storage space. At the front of the keeper and crew quarters was a cart house, used for the various life-saving apparatus. To the right of the cart house was a launching station, which was capable of launching a boat in any kind of weather. All of these structures were built on a wharf that extended some distance over the bay.
The new station cost $12,000 to complete. The apparatus and furnishings added $4,500 to the total. According to an article about the project in the May 21, 1896 edition of The Morning Astorian, the new Life-Saving Station would be ready to turn over to the keeper and crew in August 1896.
Sources: CPHM files; The Morning Astorian, May 21, 1896.
CPHM Photo Collection: Cape Disappointment, U.S. Life Saving Station; crew with dog, cart house, c. 1897. (1895.190) Aslin

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Become a Member and help support your local Museum.
Interested in Volunteering? Please call 360.642.3446
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Thank you to all the participants of this year's Columbia Pacific Dahlia Show. Thank you to all who entered; our judges,...
09/23/2026

Thank you to all the participants of this year's Columbia Pacific Dahlia Show. Thank you to all who entered; our judges, Michelle Claud-Clemente, Davion Hasecuster, Candy Mead, and Todd Wiegardt; our fabulous volunteers; those who donated raffle prizes; flowers for the bouquets; all of you who came out to enjoy the lovely flowers; and those who voted for People's Choice.
One last announcement to make.

Congratulations to the People's Choice Winner of 2026!
Candy Mead's Table - "Tea for Two."

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Become a Member and help support your local Museum.

Interested in Volunteering? Please call 360.642.3446
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Only a few hours left to see all the beautiful flowers and photos, and buy raffle tickets at this year's Columbia Pacifi...
09/19/2026

Only a few hours left to see all the beautiful flowers and photos, and buy raffle tickets at this year's Columbia Pacific Dahlia Show. Today, Saturday, September 19, from 10 am - 4 pm. Thank you to all who entered, and a big thanks to our judges, Michelle Claud-Clemente, Davion Hasecuster, Candy Mead, and Todd Wiegardt.

Congratulations to the Photo winners!
1st Place - Marva Hall
2nd Place - Bruce Dumdei
3rd Place - Patrick Duffy
Honorable Mention - Bruce Dumdei

Check out the Raffle Table; you might get lucky!

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Become a Member and help support your local Museum.
https://columbiapacificheritagemuseum.org/.../individual.../
Interested in Volunteering? Please call 360.642.3446
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Last chance to see all these and more beautiful flowers at this year's Columbia Pacific Dahlia Show. Today, Saturday, Se...
09/19/2026

Last chance to see all these and more beautiful flowers at this year's Columbia Pacific Dahlia Show. Today, Saturday, September 19, from 10 am - 4 pm. Thank you to all who entered, and a big thanks to our judges, Michelle Claud-Clemente, Davion Hasecuster, Candy Mead, and Todd Wiegardt.

Congratulations to the Best Bloom winners!
1st Place - Liane Wadnizak (Bloomquist Jean)
2nd Place - Finnhill Flower Co. .dahlias (Night Silence)
3rd Place - Michelle Allen (Café au Lait)

Check out the Raffle Table; you might get lucky!

CPHM is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Admission is FREE, thanks to the Port of Ilwaco and our Rising Tide Members.

Become a Member and help support your local Museum.
https://columbiapacificheritagemuseum.org/.../individual.../
Interested in Volunteering? Please call 360.642.3446
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Address

P. O. Box 153, 115 SE Lake Street
Ilwaco, WA
98624

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

(360) 642-3446

Website

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