Area History / Local Lore

 The sites listed below are accessible by following the Warrenton Waterfront Trail and the      regional trails as proposed in the Warrenton Master Trails Plan completed in 2008.  The Warrenton Trails Association invites volunteers and supporters to lend a hand in turning these exciting plans into a hiking and historical adventure.

About Warrenton Trails Association

The Warrenton Trails Association was started in 2003 by local people interested in promoting hiking, bicycling, fitness, and public Access.  We reviewed past efforts that included the City of Warrenton Waterfront Revitalization Plan from 1994, and were inspired to realize some of those early dreams and ideas.  We met for many years at the Serendipity Cafe and enjoy the support of many local, state and federal partners.

The Warren Estate and Munson Home

Daniel K. Warren was the founder and namesake of this City.  His descendants and several historic homes (one from 1885) remain on the private family estate between Skipanon Dr. and !st St.

Clara Cynthia Munson, elected Mayor of Warrenton in 1913 was the first woman mayor in Oregon.  The Munson home is located on E. Harbor Dr.

Tansy Point

Tansy or Tansey Point is located at the north end of 13th St. in Warrenton. This site has beautiful vistas, spectacular scenery and significant cultural and natural history.  The Warrenton Trails Association is actively working to create an interpretive display at the site of what was once a Native village, thousands of years of native culture, a prominent hotel, shipping and railroad terminal, and the signing site for the Anson-Dart Treaties of 1851.  Members of the Clatsop Tribe and local historians are currently advising the Warrenton Trails Association regarding historical events and photographs of this area.

The Anson Dart Treaties signed at this location were never ratified and some of the history includes the Oregon Land Donation Act.  The problems created by the Oregon Land Donation Act were soon overshadowed by the treaty negotiations that followed. This early round of treaties took place prior to those conducted by Isaac Stevens, on treaty grounds at Tansy Point. Tansy Point is located on the south shore of the Columbia River and near Youngs Bay, Warrenton and Astoria.  Anson Dart, Esquire and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon Territory conducted 19 of these negotiations with the Clatsop, Wau-ki-kum, Konnaacc, Kathlamet, Klatskania, Wheelappa, and Lower Chinook bands of the Chinook peoples, as well as the Tillamook and other bands.  Chief Toastum of the Clatsop nation was a signatory to the treaties that ceded the land on which the City of Warrenton was built.  Although participating tribes believed that the agreements they signed were valid, nation-to-nation agreements, the U.S. Senate never ratified or approved them.

"The first of the treaties were called the Anson Dart Treaties in 1851, and there was a whole series of them written with the different tribes. Each of the five groups that now make up the lower Chinook Indian nation, signed a treaty, and the United States Senate never acted on, or signed or ratified those treaties." (Gary Johnson, Chinook, interview: 2002)

The Clatsop and Nehalem people describe that this as where they began to "slip through the cracks" of the treaty process. Some Clatsops and Nehalems joined relatives at the Siletz, Grand Ronde, or Quinault Reservations, but with no treaty and no reservation, many Clatsop and Nehalem families remained in their traditional homeland and never became part of a federally recognized tribe.

Why were the treaties left unratified? When the Oregon Treaty Commission, led by Anson Dart, began negotiating with the northwest tribes to cede their land, Congress had already revoked the commission's negotiation power.

The Hill Terminal

Started June 3rd 1914 the Great Northern Pacific Steamship Company had regular service from the JJ Hill railroad Terminal at Tansy Pt. to San Francisco CA.  The trip by steamship took about 27 hours between Flavel and San Francisco with the ships making three trips a week.  Passengers often stayed at the Flavel Hotel.

The Flavel Hotel near Hammon Oregon(not to be confused with the Flavel House in Astoria), sits on the site of an old Indian village.

This wanna-be port was intended to rival Astoria. In 1896, a hotel and a number of docks were built. The huge, three-story hotel had an adjoining building with a swimming pool, bowling alley and saloon inside. A tennis court and a riding academy were also on the site that included it’s own electrical generating plant and post office.  The hotel featured 90 rooms for guests and required a staff of 25 to operate.  The village or town of Flavel had a population of thirty people in 1915.   The town failed, and in 1918, Flavel was annexed to and absorbed by Warrenton. Now considered a “ghost town,” Flavel is featured in several books and websites.  The Flavel Hotel struggled on through prohibition and was reportedly in ruins when it was torn down in 1937. Many historical photos of this site, including the hotel and terminal, can be viewed at the Lighthouse Museum and Interpretive Center in downtown Warrenton at the 4 way stop.  

The telephone number for the "Mini Museum" is 503 861-7225

Smith Mission Site

The Smith Mission site is just one of the many historical treasures on the proposed Warrenton Trails Loop.   The Warrenton Trails Association is actively working with volunteers to keep this site visible and advocating for further interpretation and renewal with Clatsop County.   About one half mile north of Columbia Beach Rd and located by a stone monument on the east side of Ridge Rd, the site is surrounded by trees on a ridge overlooking Smith Lake.   We envision a future interpretive display that could reflect the variety of activities and historical events that happened here. Soloman Smith was the first teacher in Oregon, a State Senator, County Commissioner and more.

Pt Adams  

Point Adams, is the Columbia River area that roughly contains Seafarers Park and the Hammond Marina, and was the site of an Historic Coast Guard Life Saving facility.  The historic buildings are now owned and occupied by the Federal Fisheries people of NOAA.  Seafarers Park contains a monument to the tragic loss of Coast Guard sailors in the line of duty on the treacherous Columbia River Bar.  Seafarers Park is a very popular spot for folks to watch the passing parade of river traffic on the mighty Columbia River and immediately adjacent to the Ft Stevens Historical Area.  The Warrenton Trails Association anticipates and advocates for a future connection of the Warrenton Waterfront Trail to the Ft. Stevens Park Trails at this location.   The Hammond Marina is home port for the very seaworthy Bar Pilot vessels that now safely guide commercial ships and is also a hot spot for salmon fishing during the popular Buoy 10 season.  Find out more by visiting the Ft. Stevens State Park Museum nearby or the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria.

The Columbia River South Jetty

The jetty construction began in 1884 and was originally planned as 5 miles in length.  During the Great Depression it was extended another 2 miles west into the Pacific Ocean.  Recent reconstruction and a viewing tower offer exceptional views of the Columbia River Bar and Pacific Ocean waves.

Ft. Stevens State Park

Fort Stevens was the primary military defense installation in the three fort Harbor Defense System at the mouth of the Columbia River (Forts Canby and Columbia in Washington were the other two). The fort served for 84 years, beginning with the Civil War and closing at the end of World War II. Today, Fort Stevens has grown into a 4,200 acre park offering exploration of history, nature, and recreational opportunities.

Camping, beach combing, freshwater lake swimming, trails, wildlife viewing, an historic shipwreck and an historic military area make Fort Stevens a uniquely diversified park. A network of nine miles of bicycle trails and ten miles of hiking trails allow you to explore the park through spruce and hemlock forests, wetlands, dunes, and shore pine.

The Wreck of the Peter Iredale

Photo on banner

On October 25, 1906, the British sailing ship Peter Iredale was en route to the Columbia River to pick up a shipment of wheat.  Around 2 a.m. the crew spotted the Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, just south of the Columbia River entrance.  The ship's captain, H. Lawrence, wanted to wait until daylight to cross the dangerous bar.  Dense fog made navigation difficult and he mistakenly thought that the ship was 50 miles offshore.  By the time Lawrence realized that he was dangerously close to shore, it was too late.  The Iredale landed on a sandbar off Clatsop Beach, where it stuck.  No on died and the wreck instantly became a local attraction and landmark. 

Battery Russell

On the night of June 21, 1942 a Japanese submarine, the I-25, surfaced at dusk and fired approximately 17 shells from its 5.5" deck gun in the vicinity of Ft Stevens.  Soldiers at Battery Russell soon manned their guns and searchlights and could see the submarine firing in the distance.  The enemy ship was inaccurately determined to be out of the range, and the artillerymen never received permission to return fire.  The fort's commander later claimed that he did not want to give away the location to the enemy who appeared to be firing blindly. 

The shells left craters in the sand and wetlands around the area and the only damaged was to a baseball backstop about 80 yards from Battery Russell.  Other shells landed in Coffenbury Lake, the swampy area SE of Battery Russell (today's KOA parking lot) and along DeLaura Beach Lane.  Today there is a historical marker along DeLaura Beach Lane where the shell landed.  Despite having caused no significant damage, the attack raised fears of the threat of future strikes and became the only hostile shelling of a military base on the U.S. mainland during World War II and the first since the War of 1812.

Today Battery Russell is a popular attraction where people can walk through the historic gun battery.