Stay Eat Events Weather Beaches

Seaside's Drastic, Startling Changes: Oregon Coast History, Part Two

Published 04/14/2020 at 5:24 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

Seaside's Drastic, Startling Changes: Oregon Coast History, Part Two

Latest Coastal Lodging News Alerts
In Seaside:
Includes exclusive listings; some specials in winter
In Cannon Beach:
Includes rentals not listed anywhere else
In Manzanita, Wheeler, Rockaway Beach:
Some specials for winter
In Pacific City, Oceanside:
Some specials for winter
In Lincoln City:
Some specials for winter
In Depoe Bay, Gleneden Beach:
Some specials for winter
In Newport:
Look for some specials
In Waldport
Some specials for winter
In Yachats, Florence
Some specials for winter

(Seaside, Oregon) – Since its inception as a major tourist destination for Oregon back in the 1880s, Seaside and the areas north of there have undergone some remarkable changes. It’s been dramatic and startling, as seen in part one of Seaside Changes, Oregon Coast History.

The biggest catalyst was the building of the jetties on the Columbia River, which within ten years of their completion in 1917 resulted in thousands of extra feet of shoreline getting added. It caused the currents to change so much they deposited as much as an extra mile of sand in some areas. In Seaside, the beach went from 100 or so feet wide to its current 1,000 feet.

The story picks up again here:

In 1921 the concrete Promenade we all know and love was finished – and next year is set to be a big 100-year celebration of that (barring more coronavirus issues).

Up north, dunes started marching eastward and tussling up farmlands. Around then, invasive species of beach grass were introduced to stabilize wind-blown dunes, which sometimes actually made the situation worse all up and down the Oregon coast. Those invasive species took over, knocking out many native trees and plants of the region. In a way those invasive species backfired as well: it halted the spread eastward but the dunes along the beaches grew fatter and taller. The big Bandon fire about a century ago happened because of invasive species introduced into the area.


A weird little secret about those dunes is that Seaside should look like Gearhart, with its massive dune complex and thick cover of beach grass. However, Seaside sculpts its look – it does a bit of dune “manscaping,” if you will. The town actually shaves down the dunes occasionally, leaving the view open from the Prom to the sea. Otherwise it would have that look of Gearhart’s.


Above: the cove in '87 as debris was building a new beach (photo courtesy Tom Horning)

Seaside's Cove 100 Years ago
Above: near the Cove at Seaside over 100 years ago, courtesy Seaside History Museum.

Another rather startling change to Seaside’s landscape happened in the late ‘80s. Until then, the southern end at the Cove was still tiny by comparison. There was about 300 feet less than what you see now. But in 1987, something bizarre happened: a major landslide along the western part of Tillamook Head dumped massive amounts of boulders and debris into the sea, which added some 300 feet to a beach only about 200 feet wide. Much of that stretch from the parking lot at Avenue U wasn’t there until after ‘87.

All that rocky stuff started filling in the Cove quite quickly. Soon after, a new rocky spit appeared. Locals appreciated that, using it to catch loads of fish. Before long, however, the spit and the land were connected by moving debris and sand, thus forming large pools of sea water that, well, stank really bad awfully soon. At one point, time and tide filled in all that and created a beach that had never been there before.


This has an extra added element of weirdness because there were a lot of dead bodies buried in unmarked graves in this area going back maybe hundreds of years, starting with the native population. But as soon as proto-Seaside was settled, the bodies of people that had drowned offshore ended up here, often from ships that were en route to Astoria from exotic places like Russia, Scandinavia or Portugal. They frequently buried them in the cove area.

There is a grave of the “unknown sailor” still tended to today at the Cove.

There were major look changes to the north Oregon coast town for a time, including the towering cranes that eventually constructed high-rise condos at the Turnaround. First, they tore down the old buildings that had been in those spots for decades. Then the massive cranes went up, looking a bit like something out of a sci-fi movie. They slowly built the skyscraper-like condos, now the tallest structures on the Oregon coast.


Those dunes along this stretch from Seaside to the northern border of Oregon have an interesting secret. If you look at the mass

Nature’s changes have a little more in store for Seaside and Clatsop Beach. These days, all that sand building up has slowed its rate greatly, down to dune expansion of only 12 feet per year or so, according to Seaside geologist Tom Horning. It had been as much as 35 feet per year. Larger erosion events take place every other year or so, eating away chunks of dunes, and it may not be long before we start seeing Clatsop Beach shrinking. Drastic Changes and Old Looks of Seaside: Oregon Coast History Part 1 

Hotels in Astoria/Seaside - Where to eat - Astoria Maps and Virtual Tours




More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

 

Oregon Coast event or adventure you can't miss

 



Coastal Spotlight


LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Astoria's Seasonal Spin Includes Bats, Owls and Talking Gravestones: Oregon C...
Astoria events Fort Clatsop Oct 25, Cemetary Oct 27
Catching Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas in Oregon, Washington? Coast Could Be Best Bet
Will the weather allow it is another question. Sciences
First This Season: Large Sneaker Waves Possible Monday on Oregon Coast
A beach hazards statement for the entire coast, swells 13 feet
Seaside's Rock 'n Roll Riots Subject of Talk on N. Oregon Coast, Oct 24
1000s rioted in Seaside streets that Labor Day. Seaside events
Central Oregon Coast's Yachats Mushroom Fest is Back October 18 - 20
Foraging, culinary delights and educational outdoor adventures. Yachats events
UPDATES: Thursday's Aurora Borealis Over Washington, Oregon, Coast Latest - C...
Severe G4 Storm Watch for Thurs, Maybe Fri; also comet in west. Astronomy
20 Years of Oregon Coast Preservation: Cannon Beach's Friends of Haystack Roc...
November 1 - 3 it's a part of Stormy Weather Arts Festival. Cannon Beach events
Feds Seek Suspects in S. Oregon Coast Cliff Vandalism: Graffiti, Digging Laws...
Why it's illegal to dig or even carve on coastal cliffs. Sciences, Gold Beach

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted

Oregon Coast Lodging
Rentals
Specials

Dining

Events Calendar

Oregon Coast Weather

Travel News

Search for Oregon Coast Subjects, Articles

Virtual Tours, Maps
Deep Details