Oregon's Tillamook Coast Offers Fascinating Ride Down State's History, Cool Movies

Published 02/03/25 at 7:49 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Manzanita, Oregon) – February on Oregon's Tillamook Coast takes a fun and unique turn as it pays homage to Black History Month, featuring some great flicks shown at the Tillamook Library and a surprise-filled look at the state's past.

Manzanita will get a small rush of fascinating revelations about Oregon coast history – as well as the rest of the state. There are some parts of it that go back farther than people know.

To celebrate Black History Month, Astoria resident Zachary Stocks will return to the Nehalem Valley Historical Society for a presentation titled "Oregon's Black History: 450 Years in 45 Minutes" on February 8 at 3:30 PM at the North County Recreation District.

African descendants have lived and worked in Oregon since before the earliest English-speaking settlements in the Americas. Nonetheless, the common narrative of our state's history overlooks the contributions and experiences of African Americans before the mid-20th century. This oversight is due to historic legal and social marginalization, which perpetuates ignorance of Oregon's Black heritage and influences current disparities in housing access, community investment, and policing.

Zachary Stocks of the Oregon Black Pioneers aims to address this gap by highlighting key individuals and events that define Oregon's rich and longstanding Black history.

“The presentation will be a sort of 'Oregon Black History 101,' “ Stocks said. “I will be providing an overview of some of the key people, places, and moments which have defined the Black Oregonian experience.”

Stocks said he won't be focusing much on individuals but rather the more general picture.

“But some specific folks we will discuss include York of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, fur trader James Douglas, and the social activist Beatrice Cannady,” he said.

Fort Clatsop replica near Astoria / courtesy photo

Then there's the revelations about how much farther black history goes in what would eventually become Oregon. This makes the presentation a fascinating ride.

“There is evidence that people of African descent first arrived in what is today Oregon before they did in places like Jamestown, Virginia, or other early English-speaking American colonies,” Stocks said. “Because of this, Oregon can lay claim to some of the nation's oldest Black history.”

Lewis & Clark re-enactment in Seaside / Oregon Coast Beach Connection

Some of this has leaked through from legends of the Oregon coast, like the shipwreck treasure tales of Neahkahnie or at Cascade Head near Lincoln City. Both involved ancient Spanish galleons that had African men aboard. While only legends, these often contain grains of truth, and it is known at least one of the galleons was real.

“Some of those first Black arrivals in Oregon were free sailors while others were enslaved people being transported by Spanish ships,” Stocks said.

$10 at the door proceeds benefit NVHS education programs. North County Recreation District 36155 9th St. Nehalem, Oregon.

If you're in the Tillamook Coast area of Oregon this month, why not catch a free flick? The Tillamook Library has its February film series turned towards African-American movies. They happen Wednesdays at the library, 1716 3rd Street. Tillamook. Movies start at 6 p.m.

2/19 Black Panther (2018): T'Challa, the newly crowned king of the hidden and technologically advanced nation of Wakanda, must guide his people into a promising future while facing a formidable adversary from his past.

2/26 Akeelah and the Bee (2006): Akeelah, a gifted young girl from a troubled background, is on the brink of leaving school. She discovers her exceptional spelling talent and takes on the challenge of participating in a spelling bee competition.

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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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