Oysterville

Oysterville is in Southwest Washington on the east side of the Long Beach Peninsula on the shallow and sheltered Willapa Bay.

Understand
Oysterville was first settled in 1841 by John Douglas, who married a local Chinook woman. Oysterville was established and named in 1854 by J.A. Clark. It was a hub of oyster farming as the name suggests. It was the seat of Pacific County until the seat was relocated to South Bend in 1893.

On February 3, 1893, all of the county records and books were stolen in order to move the county seat from Oysterville to South Bend, Washington. However, it had been agreed upon that the seat would be moved to South Bend. There is a sign telling the story of this incident across from the historical Oysterville school.

Get in
Oysterville is located on the Long Beach Peninsula north of Ocean Park and south of Leadbetter Point State Park.

Get around
Oysterville can be appreciated best on foot or from a boat on Willapa Bay.

See
The town has many buildings on the National Register of Historic places, including a school house and historic homes, many built prior to 1880. Most of the buildings in this once prosperous town have been lost to the sea and the elements however a historic tour is available along with signage for visiting travelers. Since 1976 the core of Oysterville has been listed as a National Historic District.