Oregon Coast's First 'Reviews' Came 220 Years Ago: Lewis and Clark in January

Published 02/03/26 at 4:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Astoria, Oregon) – 220 years ago, the Oregon coast and southern Washington coast saw their first written “reviews” and “social media posts” of a sort. December of 1805 through early March of 1806 was when William Clark and Meriwether Lewis brought a group of hardy souls from back east and established Fort Clatsop, staying here for more than three long and wet months. (Fort Clatsop - courtesy photo)

This was the first time parts of what would eventually become Oregon were seriously written about and documented. Recently, the Fort's Lewis and Clark National Historical Park has been spotlighting some of the January journal entries, offering unique glimpses of life back then and the proto-Oregon coast. They've also had the brilliant idea of labeling them “Lewis and Clark's Social Media Posts.”

January wasn't quite as filled with the tense drama as their first month in the area, but it had some standout moments. See Fort Clatsop Memorial / Lewis and Clark Historical Park

By all accounts, the Lewis and Clark exploration party / Corps of Discovery knew how to party it up on occasion, but New Year's Eve here in future Clatsop County was not one of them. The day begins – big surprise – as gray and soggy. The Corps had not always been hitting it off well with local tribes, but December 31 saw some new guard duties and fencing go up that seemed to quell many of the problems – like thievery. A host of other rules and protocols were implemented, creating a more solid structure for operations of the fort.

Oregon Coast Beach Connection: re-enactment in Seaside every year

Of interesting note: on this day they encountered one local tribesman who had freckles and red hair, clearly a descendant of some European traveler that had been here before.

No booze for New Year's Eve. The plus side: no hangovers on January 1.

For the evening's celebration, Lewis notes they didn't do much other than talk about what it would be like to be back in civilization when 1807 rolled in.

“At present we were content with eating our boiled Elk and wappetoe, and solacing our thirst with our only beverage pure water,” Lewis wrote. “Wappatoe” was his way of spelling “wapato,” a local potato-like root.

A few days later, on January 5, some of them return after having searched for a place to boil saltwater to make salt. The modern edit from the journal (according to National Parks): “At 5 p.m. today, Willard and Wiser finally returned — not lost after all, just delayed. They told us it took 'five days' after leaving the fort to find a good spot for making salt. They’ve now set up camp about 15 miles southwest of here, near several Clatsop and Nehalem families.”

That spot was present day Seaside.

See Lewis & Clark History

On January 7, Clark and Bratten hiked up Tillamook Head, which was one of their nastiest and scariest climbs. For about 100 feet of it, they were pulling themselves up a sheer cliff face by roots and bushes. Exhausted, the pair and a local guide made it to the top – which they figured as 1,200 feet up. (They about nailed it). They eventually camped by a small stream, likely somewhere within Ecola State Park, and then hit the beach the following day.

Courtesy photo

As the park translates: “This day I proceeded to the place where the whale had perished and found only the skeleton of this monster lying upon the sand between two villages of the Nehalem Nation. The waves and tide had driven it up and left it upon the sand, and the people had already pillaged every valuable part. The skeleton measured 105 feet in length - a most astonishing sight.”

Clark mentions Ecola Creek, which gave it the name in perpetuity (and for a little while Ecola was Cannon Beach's original name).

The troupe – along with Sacagawea and York – left the fort on March 22.

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