Oregon Coast Town Turns 60: How Lincoln City Began

Published 03/04/25 at 5:45 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Lincoln City, Oregon) – Without a huge amount of fanfare, one little Oregon coast just turned 60 years old. It was in late 1964 the town voted itself into existence, but it was on March 3, 1965 when it officially got its name. (Photo courtesy North LIncoln County Historical Museum)

Lincoln City is unique in the complex history of the coastline in that - in many ways - it's a bit of a newcomer: most towns along this shoreline were incorporated or established under their respective names by the '20s or '30s. It's also different because it formed from seven little other villages: Cutler City, Taft, Oceanlake, Nelscott, Kernville, Delake and Roads End. Other little villages had existed before such as Wecoma, but had been absorbed by the larger ones at different points. There's also Neotsu at the northern edge of town left over from that period.

Now, you can still find signage marking these neighborhoods, but there were other little names that have disappeared with time.

The idea of joining together all these little coastal villages was born in 1948, and even then the name first discussed was Lincoln City. However, though it was finalized in early '65, there have been occasional movements to change it – as late as this century.

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In '49 the first vote happened to combine the towns and it was defeated hard.

Photo courtesy North LIncoln County Historical Museum

The second vote on this didn't come until mid 1964, and then it was shut down by a mere 7 votes. In late '64 it finally passed, and the name “Lincoln City” was the top contender. Well, sort of.

For the first months of '65 committees and voters (and even school kids) wrestled with the name. The big finalists were Miracle Beach, Miracle City, Surfland, Holiday Beach and Lincoln City. Surfland was the other big fave and by some accounts it nearly won. There were contests held with the public, but in the end it was a committee that had the final say and they landed on good ol' L City.

Photo courtesy North LIncoln County Historical Museum

Yet that wasn't the end of the name issue. Some tried to change it in '67, again in the '90s and even in 2015.

The full story on this is in parts one and two: Lincoln City Formed from Six Small Towns: Intricate History -- and Naming Lincoln City was a Wobbly, Wacky Process

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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