Columbia River Quarantine Station, Knappton, WA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Clarence V. and Katherine Bell and their children have owned the land where the former Columbia River Quarantine Station processed immigrants to the United States, and the family has taken it upon themselves to preserve the history and five of the buildings used in the quarantine processing.

The location of the land is on the north shore of the Columbia River, in the Knappton Cove, a sparsely populated area of Pacific County, directly across from Astoria, Oregon. The quarantine station was first established in 1899 on 4 acres of land, plus a half acre of tideland where a wharf and several quarantine support buildings stood. The wharf was dismantled around 1975 due to poor condition, rotting and obselecence. There are still some apple, cherry and pear trees on the four acres, a testament to the orchard planted by Job Lamley after he claimed the land in 1853 as part of the Donation Land Claim process.

While none of the buildings from the Lamley Land Claim still exists, there are five buildings on the property that were used during the quarantine operations. Three were had been built by the Eureka and Epicure Packing Company (a salmon cannery that owned the land), which were converted to quarantine use, and two were built in 1912 and 1926 specifically for the station. The government purchased the land for $8,000 in 1899.

The Caretaker's house (built in 1890's for the cannery superintendent) was remodeled to be used by the quarantine station caretaker. It has been moved twice, once from near the shoreline to drier ground, and again in 1956 when the state highway purchased the right-of-way and did not need the structure. The Bell family moved and remodeled the structure to become their family home; shakes now cover the original tongue and groove siding.

A pumphouse/boatshop was also built in the 1890's for the salmon cannery personnel, and they maintain their original tongue and groove siding. The pumphouse was converted in the 1950's to a restroom during the time the Bell family operated a fishing resort here, and the boathouse was repurposed as a storage garage, with three garage doors.


The hospital (1912) and chow hall/kitchen (1926) maintain most of the original exterior, but quite a bit of interior remodeling was done in the 1950s when the property was a fishing resort. Many artifacts, period items and media have been collected and displayed in the building, which is currently used as a museum. The actual quarantine station no longer exists; they were located near the shoreline on pilings, which have succumbed to the elements. The quarantine station was referred to as the West Coast Ellis Island from 1900 to 1936, when thousands of European and Oriental immigrants were processed thru the public health station on their way to home and jobs all over Oregon and Washington.

The museum is open part of each year, with members of the Bell family still involved in it's operation. Many school children visit the site on field trips. Check out the website for current days and hours of operation.

Street address: Columbia River Quarantine Station SW of Knappton on WA 401 Knappton, WA United States 98638 County / Borough / Parish: Pacific Year listed: 1980 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Industry; Health/Medicine; Exploration/Settlement Periods of significance: 1900-1924; 1875-1899 Historic function: Health/Medicine; Exploration/Settlement Current function: Museum Privately owned?: yes Season start / Season finish: From: 05/01/2013 To: 09/30/2013 Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Hours of operation: Not listed

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