Seaside, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Seaside is a city in Clatsop County
, Oregon
, United States
. The name Seaside is derived from Seaside House, a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay
. The city's population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.
built a salt-making cairn at the present site of Seaside. The Native American
name for the Clatsop
village near the cairn was Ne-co-tat. The city was incorporated on February 17, 1899.
In 1912, Alexandre Gilbert (1843–1932) was elected Mayor of Seaside. Gilbert was a French immigrant, a veteran of the Franco Prussian War. After living in San Francisco, California and Astoria, Oregon, Gilbert moved to Seaside where he had a beach cottage (built in 1885). Gilbert was a real estate developer who donated land to the City of Seaside for its one and a half mile long Promenade, or "Prom," along the Pacific beach.
In 1892 he added to his beach cottage. The Gilbert House, since the mid 1980's operated commercially as the Gilbert Inn, still stands at Beach Drive and A Avenue. Gilbert's "Gilbert Block" office building on Broadway also survives.
Gilbert died at home in Seaside and is interred in Ocean View Abbey Mausoleum in Warrenton, Oregon
.
, the city has a total area of 4 square miles (10.4 km²), of which, 3.9 square miles (10.1 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (3.99%) is water.
Seaside lies on the edge of the Pacific Ocean
, at the southern end of the Clatsop Plains
, about 29 km (18 mi) south of where the Columbia River
empties into the Pacific. The Necanicum River
bisects the city and flows out to the ocean at the city's northern edge. Tillamook Head
towers over the south edge of the city.
of 2000, there were 5,900 people, 2,656 households, and 1,511 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,529.4 people per square mile (590.2/km²). There were 4,078 housing units at an average density of 1,057.1 per square mile (407.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.08% White, 0.34% African American, 0.98% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.29% Pacific Islander, 2.17% from other races
, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.46% of the population. 14.6% were of German
, 13.1% English
, 11.9% Irish
, 9.5% American
and 5.1% Norwegian
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 2,656 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples
living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,074, and the median income for a family was $40,957. Males had a median income of $29,400 versus $21,913 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,893. About 11.6% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
celebration which includes a parade, outdoor concerts, and one of the largest fireworks displays on the west coast.
Every spring, Seaside hosts the Dorchester Conference, a convention of the Oregon Republican Party
. This convention was founded in 1964, by then-state representative Bob Packwood
as a forum for liberal Republicans, but within the next few years it attracted interest from other Republicans, and in the 1990s was dominated by members of the conservative branch of the party. Over the years the conference has attracted visits from presidential candidates, debates between Republican primary candidates, and discussions of wider political and social issues.
The Miss Oregon Pageant
, the official state finals to the Miss America Pageant
, takes place annually at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center.
The annual Salt Maker's Return is held in August. The themed event celebrates Seaside history as the site where the Lewis and Clark expedition took five men nearly two months to make the equivalent of 28 gallons of salt necessary to preserve meat for the winter and their journey home.
, featuring living regional marine life, a hands-on discovery center, and a 35-foot Gray Whale skeleton, all within a short walk from the Lewis & Clark monument.
Murals adorn several buildings throughout Seaside, depicting history, marine life, and life in Seaside.
Clatsop County, Oregon
Clatsop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast of the Pacific Ocean prior to European settlement. As of 2010, the population was 37,039. The county seat is Astoria.-Economy:The principal...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The name Seaside is derived from Seaside House, a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay
Ben Holladay
Benjamin "Ben" Holladay was an American transportation businessman known as the "Stagecoach King" until his routes were taken over by Wells Fargo in 1866...
. The city's population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.
History
About January 1, 1806, a group of men from the Lewis and Clark ExpeditionLewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
built a salt-making cairn at the present site of Seaside. The Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
name for the Clatsop
Clatsop
The Clatsop are a small tribe of Chinookan-speaking Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the early 19th century they inhabited an area of the northwestern coast of present-day Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia River south to Tillamook.-Language:Clatsop in the...
village near the cairn was Ne-co-tat. The city was incorporated on February 17, 1899.
In 1912, Alexandre Gilbert (1843–1932) was elected Mayor of Seaside. Gilbert was a French immigrant, a veteran of the Franco Prussian War. After living in San Francisco, California and Astoria, Oregon, Gilbert moved to Seaside where he had a beach cottage (built in 1885). Gilbert was a real estate developer who donated land to the City of Seaside for its one and a half mile long Promenade, or "Prom," along the Pacific beach.
In 1892 he added to his beach cottage. The Gilbert House, since the mid 1980's operated commercially as the Gilbert Inn, still stands at Beach Drive and A Avenue. Gilbert's "Gilbert Block" office building on Broadway also survives.
Gilbert died at home in Seaside and is interred in Ocean View Abbey Mausoleum in Warrenton, Oregon
Warrenton, Oregon
Warrenton is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The city is named for D.K. Warren, an early settler. The population was 4,096 at the 2000 census.- History :...
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4 square miles (10.4 km²), of which, 3.9 square miles (10.1 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square mile (0.517997622 km²) of it (3.99%) is water.
Seaside lies on the edge of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, at the southern end of the Clatsop Plains
Clatsop Plains
The Clatsop Plains are an area of wetlands and sand dunes between the Northern Oregon Coast Range and Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon in the United States. They stretch from near the mouth of the Columbia River south to the vicinity of Tillamook Head near Seaside...
, about 29 km (18 mi) south of where the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
empties into the Pacific. The Necanicum River
Necanicum River
The Necanicum River is river on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States, approximately long. It drains a timber-producing area of the Northern Oregon Coast Range northwest of Portland...
bisects the city and flows out to the ocean at the city's northern edge. Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head is a high promontory on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It is located in west-central Clatsop County, approximately 5 mi southwest of Seaside. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff on the ocean, approximately 1,200 ft high, forested with...
towers over the south edge of the city.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 5,900 people, 2,656 households, and 1,511 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,529.4 people per square mile (590.2/km²). There were 4,078 housing units at an average density of 1,057.1 per square mile (407.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.08% White, 0.34% African American, 0.98% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.29% Pacific Islander, 2.17% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.46% of the population. 14.6% were of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, 13.1% English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, 11.9% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, 9.5% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and 5.1% Norwegian
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 2,656 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,074, and the median income for a family was $40,957. Males had a median income of $29,400 versus $21,913 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $17,893. About 11.6% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
Seaside holds an art walk the first Saturday of each month.Annual cultural events
Seaside hosts an annual 4th of JulyIndependence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
celebration which includes a parade, outdoor concerts, and one of the largest fireworks displays on the west coast.
Every spring, Seaside hosts the Dorchester Conference, a convention of the Oregon Republican Party
Oregon Republican Party
The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Lake Oswego. The first state party convention was held in Salem on April 21, 1859, and its first nominee for Congress, Portland attorney David Logan...
. This convention was founded in 1964, by then-state representative Bob Packwood
Bob Packwood
Robert William "Bob" Packwood is a U.S. politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and assault of women emerged.-Early life and career:Packwood was born in...
as a forum for liberal Republicans, but within the next few years it attracted interest from other Republicans, and in the 1990s was dominated by members of the conservative branch of the party. Over the years the conference has attracted visits from presidential candidates, debates between Republican primary candidates, and discussions of wider political and social issues.
The Miss Oregon Pageant
Miss Oregon
The Miss Oregon competition is a regional scholarship competition and beauty pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Oregon in the Miss America pageant...
, the official state finals to the Miss America Pageant
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
, takes place annually at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center.
The annual Salt Maker's Return is held in August. The themed event celebrates Seaside history as the site where the Lewis and Clark expedition took five men nearly two months to make the equivalent of 28 gallons of salt necessary to preserve meat for the winter and their journey home.
Museums and other points of interest
Seaside is home to the Seaside AquariumSeaside Aquarium
The Seaside Aquarium is a privately owned aquarium in Seaside, Oregon, United States. It is one of the oldest aquariums on the West Coast.-History:...
, featuring living regional marine life, a hands-on discovery center, and a 35-foot Gray Whale skeleton, all within a short walk from the Lewis & Clark monument.
Murals adorn several buildings throughout Seaside, depicting history, marine life, and life in Seaside.
Radio
- KSWBKSWB (AM)KSWB is an American radio station licensed to serve Seaside, Oregon, USA. The station, which began broadcasting in 1968, is currently owned and operated by John Chapman while the broadcast license is held by KSWB Licensee, LLC....
- 840 AMAmplitude modulationAmplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
(OldiesOldiesOldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
) - KQCB-FM - 94.9 FMFrequency modulationIn telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
(Hot AC) - KCYSKCYSKCYS is a radio station licensed to serve Seaside, Oregon, USA. The station is owned by Dave's Broadcasting Corporation. KCYS broadcasts a country music format....
- 98.1 FM (CountryCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
) - KCRXKCRX-FMKCRX-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Classic rock format. Licensed to Seaside, Oregon, USA. The station is currently owned by New Northwest Broadcasters, LLC.-History:...
- 102.3 FM (Classic RockClassic rockClassic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
)
Transportation
- Seaside has two major highways, U.S. Route 101U.S. Route 101U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101, is an important north–south U.S. highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States...
and U.S. Route 26U.S. Route 26U.S. Route 26 is an east–west United States highway. It started in Ogallala, Nebraska, and gradually grew to reach the West Coast in Oregon. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and Oregon. The...
. - Seaside is served by an intercity bus system.
- Seaside Municipal AirportSeaside Municipal AirportSeaside Municipal Airport , is a public airport located one mile Northeast of Seaside in Clatsop County, Oregon, USA....
- Seaside is currently working on a Transportation System Plan (TSP). It will serve as the transportation element of the City of Seaside's Comprehensive Plan. The TSP will describe how the transportation network in Seaside is being used now and how it is expected to be used in the future (in 2030). TSPs need to be developed according to the State of Oregon's Transportation Planning Rule. At the end of the project, the recommended improvements will be consistent with the Clatsop County TSP and the Oregon Highway Plan.
Notable people
- Deborah BooneDeborah BooneDeborah Boone is a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 32 since her appointment on August 4, 2004, to serve out the remaining term of Representative Elaine Hopson...
- Ken CarpenterKen Carpenter (American football)Kenneth Leroy Carpenter is a former American and Canadian football player who played in the National Football League from 1950–1953, the Canadian Football League from 1954–1959, and the American Football League in 1960...
- Betsy EbyBetsy EbyBetsy Eby is an American encaustic painter currently residing on Vashon Island in Washington State.-Life:...
- Ormond RobbinsOrmond RobbinsOrmond Orlea Robbins was an American author of hardboiled detective fiction and weird fiction. His work was primarily published in the Popular Publications catalog of pulp fiction...
- John SchleeJohn SchleeJohn H. Schlee was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s.Schlee was born in Kremmling, Colorado and grew up in Seaside, Oregon, where he was known as Jack Schlee. He served two years in the U.S. Army starting in 1957. Schlee attended Memphis State...
- E. E. SmithE. E. SmithEdward Elmer Smith, Ph.D., also, E. E. Smith, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Doc Smith, "Skylark" Smith, and Ted was a food engineer and early science fiction author who wrote the Lensman series and the Skylark series, among others...
- Mark WiebeMark WiebeMark Charles Wiebe is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the Champions Tour. He has also played on the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour.Wiebe was born in Seaside, Oregon and grew up in Escondido, California...