Dreams of a Gateway to the World - Yaquina Head - Newport, Oregon - Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

A history sign along trail from Yaquina Head Visitor Center to Yaquina Head Lighthouse.
Text of sign:

Dreams of a Gateway to the World

Look down the coast, and you will see an area that once captured the iagination and hopes of Willamette farmers and business owners alike.
They just needed a shortcut - a land route between the Willamette Valley and Yaquina Bay. That became inevitable when President Andrew Johnson removed a swath of land from the Coast Indian Reservation in 1865. Initially a wagon road, the route would be developed by the Oregon Pacific Railroad and would end years of frustrating, expensive, and indirect transport of agricultural products.
Harbor improvements at Yaquina Bay, including the jetties still visible in the distance and the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse (located in the trees to their left), reflected the optimistic mood. Civic leaders dreamed of this area becoming Oregon’s major port, a prize ultimately won by Portland.

Text of image captions:

“She stands central in position . . . with one hand extending westward along its superior Yaquina Bay to the almost boundless Pacific Ocean . . . she invites the commerce of Asia and California to her bay.” — David Newsom, The Western Observer, July 4, 1866, praising Corvallis and the central Willamette Valley for their access to Yaquina Bay.

Yaquina Bay jetties enabled safe passage in and out of the harbor. They constricted the outflow of Yaquina River water to blast through sandbars at the harbor entrance.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was built in 1871 (4 miles south of here) and aided ships carrying railroad cargo in and out of Yaquina Bay. Construction began on the Yaquina Head Lighthouse the following year.

By 1885 the Oregon Pacific Railroad spanned the shortcut across the Coast Indian Reservation. If offered competitive shipping rates for Willamette Valley farmers and ranchers - but only briefly. Other rail lines in the area, along with steamship routes, soon became monopolized under the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.

Historic Topic: Pioneer Group Responsible for placement: BLM Marker Type: Trail Region: Coast County: Lincoln State of Oregon Historical Marker "Beaver Board": Not listed Web link to additional information: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/25/2017 Volcanoguy visited it