Like the Scarlet Pimpernel, Warrenton is here, is there, is everywhere. Newcomers are amazed: it's over here by the Columbia but it's over there by the airport, too--and close to Gearhart. Spreading amoeba-like, Warrenton covers a large part of the northwestern part of the county. Take a left from Hwy 101 onto E. Harbor St. shortly before the Young's Bay Bridge, through a corridor of businesses, over the arch of the Skipanon River Bridge, with the mooring basin to your right, and you will find the real downtown Warrenton. At the main intersection, you will see the Fishermans Memorial Lighthouse Park to your right. The anchor is from the 1860's and the harpoon gun is mid-twentieth century. Stop at the interpretive center to learn about fishing off the mouth of the Columbia River.
Continue straight ahead and you will pass through residential neighborhoods of cottages, bungalows, fishing shacks, ranches, manufactured homes, and new construction. This working class community is right near the Columbia River to your right. You will pass industrial sites, and suddenly you're in another downtown. You've found Hammond. It's another surprise you didn't have any idea you'd left Warrenton. Off to your right is another mooring basin.
Go straight through downtown Hammond (think restaurants) and you will come to the beautiful square where the officers quarters of Fort Stevens are located. One of the buildings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the Officers Inn Bed and Breakfast, built in 1905 to house Army officers and the forts communication center. The Inn is owned by Oregon State Parks, and is open year-round. In addition to the elegant square and other old buildings, there is a manufactured home community near the water, and other affordable housing.
WARRENTON HISTORY
The original city in the Warrenton location was platted in 1848. It was named Lexington, and was the first county seat. It later was called Skipanon, based on a Clatsop Indian word used to describe the mouth of the river that flows into the Columbia through Warrenton. The river later assumed the name. The town was named Warrenton for Daniel Knight Warren, an entrepreneur who earned money from logging, farming near Knappa, and running a mercantile in Astoria. He purchased 900 acres of tidal flats and gave bonuses to anyone who built a home there. The city was incorporated in 1899.
The Skipanon River was widened and dredged, and fill created the Skipanon Peninsulas. By 1938 the tidal portion of the river and a turning basin were dredged; the mooring basin was filled and stabilized by 1958. Warrenton and Hammond are home to commercial fishing boats, charter fishing boats, and outfitters.
Warrenton has continued the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder by welcoming businesses and industry.
HAMMOND HISTORY
The Clatsop Indian village near the current site of Hammond was named Ne-ahk-stow. Hammond, like Warrenton, has an industrial history. The town was named in honor of Andrew B. Hammond, a businessman with interests on the West Coast and in Montana. In addition to a lumber mill, Hammond?s interests included timber, shipping, fishing, and mercantile businesses. He was involved with railroads, and built the Astoria and Columbia River Railroad.
In the 1880's Hammonds salmon canneries attracted many workers with their families. Its mooring basin continues the strong relation to the ocean.
Hammond ceased to be incorporated in 1991, and merged with the city of Warrenton.
FORT STEVENS STATE PARK
Named for the Civil War General and Territorial Governor, Isaac Ingalls Stevens, Fort Stevens was built in 1863 to protect the mouth of the Columbia River from British and Confederate attacks. Eight gun batteries were built between 1897 and 1904. The fort closed in 1947, but continued to be used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until 1975. It is the main fort of three forts protecting the mouth of the Columbia River. When the Japanese fired on the fort in 1942, it earned the distinction of being the only military installation fired on by a foreign power since 1814. There was no damage. The state park was created in 1950.
ACTIVITIES
Fort Stevens has the largest campground in Oregon. Three lakes, offer boating, swimming, picnic areas, and fishing. Miles of nature trails are available for hiking and bicycling through forests, wetlands, and dunes.
The military museum located in the old war games building, with items dating back to the Civil War, is open year-round. You can take a guided tour of the fort's extensive facilities from the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and WWII on an Army truck. Explore the underground gun battery, see the original earthworks from the Civil War period, watch working blacksmiths, and view a replica of a Chinook longhouse
Go to the South Jetty to experience the full force of the Pacific Ocean. The waves crashing on the rocks that form the jetty can turn your knees to jelly.
A favorite spot for both locals and tourists is the Peter Iredale, a British bark that ran aground in 1906. Follow the signs to the parking lot by the beach and walk among the remains of an old sailing ship. You can imagine yourself at sea in this small vessel tossed by waves or lulled by calm seas.
EVENTS
Memorial Day Weekend: Fort Stevens Celebrating Veterans, Celebrating Freedom
Last July Weekend: Fort Stevens World War II Battle Reenactment
Labor Day Weekend: Fort Stevens Civil War Reenactment & Encampment
