Guess we’d better look back some 10,000 years ago when early inhabitants arrived from Mongolia. Later, countless explorers arrived from the other side of the globe. Much has changed since our predecessors first set up camp – or has it?
Natives of the peaceful Tillamook tribe feasted on fresh salmon and shellfish, wandered the forests, and come wintertime, they hunkered down in cedar plank houses positioned close to this place.
Among our first documented visitors were explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who explored and camped here in 1806 chasing rumors of a beached grey whale. Clark described the view of Cannon Beach from what is now Ecola State Park as “...the grandest and most pleasing prospect which my eyes ever surveyed, in front of a boundless Ocean.”
The team made friendly with the native Tillamook and Clark named the area “Ekoli” – native Chinook for “whale.” The name “Ecola” stuck until 1922, when town was renamed in honor of a washed-up cannon from the shipwrecked USS Shark.
Getting here in the years to follow was no easy feat; travelers came by way of riverboat, train and the treacherous Ecola Toll Road, which boasted 111 curves.
As Oregon’s highway system improved, so, too, grew the crowds of curious visitors. Those early holidaymakers camped out in semi-permanent tent settlements, which eventually evolved into rustic cabins, some of which are still around today.
Check out the Cannon Beach History Center while you’re here in town.