Astoria, Oregon

During archeological excavations in Astoria and Fort Clatsop in 2012, trading items from American settlers with Native Americans were found, including Austrian glass beads and falconry bells. The present area of Astoria belonged to a large, prehistoric Native American trade system of the Columbia Plateau.[8][9]

A watercolor of Fort Astoria while under British ownership and called Fort George, 1813–1818

An image of Astoria in 1841 looking towards the mouth of the Columbia River

An image of Astoria in 1868 with various mast sailing ships

A image of Astoria in 1888 looking east towards Tongue Point

Images of the evolving town of Astoria through the 19th century

The Lewis and Clark Expedition spent the winter of 1805–1806 at Fort Clatsop, a small log structure southwest of modern-day Astoria. The expedition had hoped a ship would come by that could take them back east, but instead, they endured a torturous winter of rain and cold. They later returned overland and by internal rivers, the way they had traveled west.[10] Today, the fort has been recreated and is part of Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.[11]

Gabriel Franchère's 1813 sketch of Fort Astoria

An Astoria salmon cannery

In 1811, British explorer David Thompson, the first person known to have navigated the entire length of the Columbia River, reached the partially constructed Fort Astoria near the mouth of the river. He arrived two months after the Pacific Fur Company's ship, the Tonquin.[12] The fort constructed by the Tonquin party established Astoria as a U.S., rather than a British, settlement[12] and became a vital post for American exploration of the continent. It was later used as an American claim in the Oregon boundary dispute with European nations.

The Pacific Fur Company, a subsidiary of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, was created to begin fur trading in the Oregon Country.[13] During the War of 1812, in 1813, the company's officers sold its assets to their Canadian rivals, the North West Company, which renamed the site Fort George. The fur trade remained under British control until U.S. pioneers following the Oregon Trail began filtering into the town in the mid-1840s. The Treaty of 1818 established joint U.S. – British occupancy of the Oregon Country.[14][15]

Washington Irving, a prominent American writer with a European reputation, was approached by John Jacob Astor to mythologize the three-year reign of his Pacific Fur Company. Astoria (1835), written while Irving was Astor's guest, promoted the importance of the region in the American psyche.[16] In Irving's words, the fur traders were "Sinbads of the wilderness", and their venture was a staging point for the spread of American economic power into both the continental interior and outward in Pacific trade.[17]

In 1846, the Oregon Treaty divided the mainland at the 49th parallel north, making Astoria officially part of the United States.[18] As the Oregon Territory grew and became increasingly more colonized by Americans, Astoria likewise grew as a port city near the mouth of the great river that provided the easiest access to the interior. The first U.S. post office west of the Rocky Mountains was established in Astoria in 1847[19] and official state incorporation in 1876.[1]

Astoria attracted a host of immigrants beginning in the late 19th century: Nordic settlers, primarily Swedes, Swedish speaking Finns, and Chinese soon became larger parts of the population. The Nordic settlers mostly lived in Uniontown, near the present-day end of the Astoria–Megler Bridge, and took fishing jobs; the Chinese tended to do cannery work, and usually lived either downtown or in bunkhouses near the canneries. By the late 1800s, 22% of Astoria's population was Chinese.[20][21][22] Astoria also had a significant population of Indians, especially Sikhs from Punjab; the Ghadar Party, a political movement among Indians on the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada to overthrow British rule in India, was officially founded on July 15, 1913, in Astoria.[23]

In 1883, and again in 1922, downtown Astoria was devastated by fire, partly because the buildings were constructed mostly of wood, a readily available material. The buildings were entirely raised off the marshy ground on wooden pilings. Even after the first fire, the same building format was used. In the second fire, flames spread quickly again, and the collapsing streets took out the water system. Frantic citizens resorted to dynamite, blowing up entire buildings to create fire stops.[24][25]

Panoramic views of Astoria in the early 20th century
Photograph of Astoria c. 1912
Photograph of Astoria c. 1914
Photograph of Astoria c. 1915

The Port of Astoria (2009)

Astoria has served as a port of entry for over a century and remains the trading center for the lower Columbia basin. In the early 1900s, the Callendar Navigation Company was an important transportation and maritime concern based in the city.[26] It has long since been eclipsed in importance by Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, as economic hubs on the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Astoria's economy centered on fishing, fish processing, and lumber. In 1945, about 30 canneries could be found along the Columbia River.

In the early 20th century, the North Pacific Brewing Company contributed substantially to the economic well-being of the town.[27] Before 1902, the company was owned by John Kopp, who sold the firm to a group of five men, one of whom was Charles Robinson, who became the company's president in 1907.[28][29] The main plant for the brewery was located on East Exchange Street.[30]

As the Pacific salmon resource diminished, canneries were closed. In 1974, the Bumble Bee Seafoods corporation moved its headquarters out of Astoria and gradually reduced its presence until closing its last Astoria cannery in 1980.[31] The lumber industry likewise declined in the late 20th century. Astoria Plywood Mill, the city's largest employer, closed in 1989. The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway discontinued service to Astoria in 1996, as it did not provide a large enough market.[32]

The Astoria–Megler Bridge

From 1921 to 1966, a ferry route across the Columbia River connected Astoria with Pacific County, Washington. In 1966, the Astoria–Megler Bridge was opened. The bridge completed U.S. Route 101 and linked Astoria with Washington on the opposite shore of the Columbia, replacing the ferry service.[33]

Today, tourism, Astoria's growing art scene, and light manufacturing are the main economic activities of the city. Logging and fishing persist, but at a fraction of their former levels.[34] Since 1982 it has been a port of call for cruise ships, after the city and port authority spent $10 million in pier improvements to accommodate these larger ships.

To avoid Mexican ports of call during the swine flu outbreak of 2009, many cruises were rerouted to include Astoria. The floating residential community MS The World visited Astoria in June 2009.[35]

The town's seasonal sport fishing tourism has been active for several decades.[36][37][38] Visitors attracted by heritage tourism and the historic elements of the city have supplanted fishing in the economy. Since the early 21st century, the microbrewery/brewpub scene[39] and a weekly street market[40] have helped popularize the area as a destination.

The Astoria Column

In addition to the replicated Fort Clatsop, another point of interest is the Astoria Column, a tower 125 feet (38 m) high, built atop Coxcomb Hill above the town. Its inner circular staircase allows visitors to climb to see a panoramic view of the town, the surrounding lands, and the Columbia flowing into the Pacific. The tower was built in 1926. Financing was provided by the Great Northern Railway, seeking to encourage tourists, and Vincent Astor, a great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, in commemoration of the city's role in the family's business history and the region's early history.[41][42]

Since 1998, artistically inclined fishermen and women from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest have traveled to Astoria for the Fisher Poets Gathering, where poets and singers tell their tales to honor the fishing industry and lifestyle.[43]

Another popular annual event is the Dark Arts Festival, which features music, art, dance, and demonstrations of craft such as blacksmithing and glassblowing, in combination with offerings of a large array of dark craft brews. Dark Arts Festival began as a small gathering at a community arts space. Now Fort George Brewery hosts the event, which draws hundreds of visitors and tour buses from Seattle.[44]

Astoria is the western terminus of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a 4,250-mile (6,840 km) coast-to-coast bicycle touring route created in 1976 by the Adventure Cycling Association.[45]

Three United States Coast Guard cutters: the Steadfast, Alert, and Elm, are homeported in Astoria.[46]

Climate chart for Astoria

Astoria lies within the Mediterranean climate zone (Köppen Csb), with cool winters and mild summers, although short heat waves can occur. Rainfall is most abundant in late fall and winter and is lightest in July and August, averaging about 67 inches (1,700 mm) of rain each year.[48] Snowfall is relatively rare, averaging under 5 inches (13 cm) a year and frequently having none.[49] Nevertheless, when conditions are ripe, significant snowfalls can occur.

Astoria's monthly average humidity is always over 80% throughout the year, with average monthly humidity reaching a high of 84% from November to March, with a low of 81% during May.[50] The average relative humidity in Astoria is 89% in the morning and 73% in the afternoon.[51]

An aerial view of the city

Annually, an average of only 4.2 afternoons have temperatures reaching 80 °F (26.7 °C) or higher, and 90 °F or 32.2 °C readings are rare. Normally, only one or two nights per year occur when the temperature remains at or above 60 °F or 15.6 °C.[52] An average of 31 mornings have minimum temperatures at or below the freezing mark. The record high temperature was 101 °F (38.3 °C) on July 1, 1942, and June 27, 2021. The record low temperature was 6 °F (−14.4 °C) on December 8, 1972, and on December 21, 1990. Even with such a cold record low, afternoons usually remain mild in winter. On average, the coldest daytime high is 36 °F (2 °C) whereas the lowest daytime maximum on record is 19 °F (−7 °C).[53] Even during brief heat spikes, nights remain cool. The warmest overnight low is 63 °F (17 °C) set as early in the year as in May during 2008.[53] Nights close to that record are common with the normally warmest night of the year being at 61 °F (16 °C).[53]

On average, 191 days have measurable precipitation. The wettest "water year", defined as October 1 through September 30 of the next year, was from 1915 to 1916 with 108.04 in (2,744 mm) and the driest from 2000 to 2001 with 44.50 in (1,130 mm). The most rainfall in one month was 36.07 inches (916.2 mm) in December 1933, and the most in 24 hours was 5.56 inches (141.2 mm) on November 25, 1998.[53] The most snowfall in one month was 26.9 in (68 cm) in January 1950,[54][55] and the most snow in 24 hours was 12.5 in (32 cm) on December 11, 1922.[53]

As of the 2010 census,[62] 9,477 people, 4,288 households, and 2,274 families were residing in the city. The population density was 1,538.5 inhabitants per square mile (594.0/km²). The 4,980 housing units had an average density of 808.4 per square mile (312.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.2% White, 0.6% African American, 1.1% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 9.8% of the population.

Of the 4,288 households, 24.6% had children under 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.0% were not families. About 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.15, and the average family size was 2.86.

The median age in the city was 41.9 years; 20.3% of residents were under 18; 8.6% were between 18 and 24; 24.3% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 17.1% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

As of the 2000 census,[4] 9,813 people, 4,235 households, and 2,469 families resided in the city. The population density was 1,597.6 people per square mile (616.8 people/km²). The 4,858 housing units had an average density of 790.9 per square mile (305.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.08% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 1.14% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 2.67% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. About 5.98% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

By ethnicity, 14.2% were German, 11.4% Irish, 10.2% English, 8.3% United States or American, 6.1% Finnish, 5.6% Norwegian, and 5.4% Scottish according to the 2000 United States Census.

Of the 4,235 households, 28.8% had children under 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were not families. About 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.26, and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the age distribution was 24.0% under 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,011, and for a family was $41,446. Males had a median income of $29,813 versus $22,121 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,759. About 11.6% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under 18 and 9.6% of those 65 or over.