Keyword(s): William S. Hanable
Local history buffs call Clark County the "Cradle of Pacific Northwest History," reflecting the importance of the 628-square-mile southwestern Washington county as the scene of key historical developm...
The 107-foot Grays Harbor Lighthouse, dedicated in 1898, is the tallest lighthouse in Washington. It marks the entrance to Grays Harbor, the best of Washington's few outer-coast (on the Pacific Ocean)...
Despite the Columbia River's breadth where it spills into the Pacific Ocean, early European and American explorers often missed it. Later mariners struggling to find the mouth sometimes wrecked in the...
From 1898 to 1971, lightships were important elements in the system of navigation aids along the Washington coast. On May 22, 1898, Light Vessel No. 67 became the first on Washington's coast. She arri...
On July 6, 1788, English fur trader John Meares (1756?-1809) names the northern side of the entrance to the Columbia River, Cape Disappointment. The name reflects Meares' chagrin at not finding the Co...
On July 18, 1841, the 18-gun U.S. Navy sloop USS Peacock wrecks at foot of the promontory marking the north side of the Columbia River's entrance. The partially submerged sandspit there becomes Peacoc...
During August and September 1841, the United States Exploring Expedition, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes (1798-1877), carries out a hydrographic survey of the Columbia River from its mouth to ...
On December 28, 1857, the Cape Flattery Lighthouse on Tatoosh Island begins operation. Built between 1856 and 1857 on a 20-acre bean-shaped rock at the northwestern-most point of the continental Unite...
On October 1, 1858, Shoalwater Bay (later Willapa Bay) Lighthouse exhibits its beacon for the first time. For the next 100 years, problems with visibility and coastal erosion on the bay, which lies ju...
On January 1, 1892, at 4:26 p.m., lighthouse keeper Christian Zauner lights the five wicks of the Destruction Island lighthouse's first-order Fresnel lens for the first time. The lighthouse is located...
In 1897, the U.S. Life-Saving Service opens Peterson's Point Lifeboat Station on Grays Harbor at what will become Westport. The station provides rescue service for mariners wrecked while passing by or...
On June 30, 1898, ship builders, sea captains, government officials, merchants, fishing boat operators, and lumber tycoons gather at Westport to dedicate the 107-foot Grays Harbor Lighthouse. This is ...
In 1980, the U.S. Coast Guard opens its National Motor Lifeboat School at Ilwaco. This builds on a history of wreck and rescue at the mouth of the Columbia River, often dubbed the Graveyard of the Pac...