North Cove, Washington

North Cove is an unincorporated community in Pacific County, Washington. North Cove is mostly residential, with some vacation rentals and a general store being the only commercial properties. The community suffers from the extreme coastal erosion of Cape Shoalwater, which has been diminished drastically in size, with the ocean claiming dozens of structures over the last 100 years and remaining a substantial threat.

North Cove
Unincorporated community
Effects of coastal erosion in North Cove
Effects of coastal erosion in North Cove
North Cove is located in Washington (state)
North Cove
North Cove
Location within the state of Washington
North Cove is located in the United States
North Cove
North Cove
North Cove (the United States)
Coordinates: 46°44′31.78″N 124°4′56.41″W
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CountyPacific
Elevation
30 ft (9 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
Area code360
GNIS feature ID1511536[1]

Establishment

The United States established a military reservation on Cape Shoalwater in 1854 after negotiating with Chief Ma-Tote of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe for the land.[2]: 3  In 1858, the Willapa Bay Light was built on the site, becoming one of the earliest light houses in the state.[3]

US Coast Guard North Cove lifesaving station, Willapa Bay, Pacific County

Even with the lighthouse in operation, ships continued to have difficulty navigating the waters around Cape Shoalwater, and the government decided to build the Shoalwater Bay Lifesaving Station in 1878. Captain George Johnson was assigned to keep the station, and he left his land claim near current day Raymond, Washington to purchase 32 acres (13 ha) near Cape Shoalwater.[2]: 6  The town of North Cove was platted on this property in February 1884 by his wife, Lucy Johnson.[4]

The town was in a beneficial position, as it was a convenient rest stop for ships making the voyage between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Mrs. Johnson began opening her home to travelers, and soon opened it officially as the Hotel Norwood.[2]: 9  At the time, the town also had a general store, a post office, a Knights of the Maccabees events hall, and over a dozen homes. A cannery also opened in 1909, providing employment for many residents.[2]: 9 

Coastal erosion

By 1920, the Coast Guard decided to begin moving equipment from the military reservation to Tokeland, Washington due to erosion at North Cove (The United States Life-Saving Service merged with the United States Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard in 1915).

Washaway Beach home losing the battle

The Willapa Bay Light was lost to erosion in 1940.[5] By 1950, the entire station was in jeopardy of falling into the ocean, and the facility was relocated to Tokeland, with buildings being salvaged when possible but otherwise left to the ocean.[2]: 9 

By 2016, 60 residential properties and 537 land parcels totaling over 2,018 acres (817 ha) had eroded into the ocean.[6] North Cove has been nicknamed "Washaway Beach," and its loss of over 100 feet (30 m) of land per year has led to it being labeled the fastest-eroding shoreline on the West Coast.[7]

The nearby communities of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation and Tokeland have also been affected by the rapid erosion of the north shore of the bay.[8][9]

The community continues struggling to slow the rapid coastal erosion through ongoing efforts to maintain shorelines, including portions of Washington State Route 105.[10] However, efforts to stabilize the shoreline using dynamic revetment, which employs natural materials such as driftwood and cobble to dissipate wave energy, are showing promise.[11][12]

Geography

North Cove lies at the end of Cape Shoalwater, at the mouth of Willapa Bay. It is south of Grayland Beach State Park along State Route 105.

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: North Cove
  2. McCausland, Ruth (Spring 1988). "North Cove" (PDF). The Sou'wester. 23 (1). Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  3. "Willapa Bay Light Station and Surrounding Town Slipped into the Bay". Lighthouse Digest. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  4. "North Cove". Revisiting Washington. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  5. "Willapa Bay Lighthouse". Lighthouse Friends. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  6. Decker, Kevin. "North Cove: The Erosion of a Coastal Community". Washington Coastal Hazards Resilience Network. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  7. Park, Kathy (November 24, 2018). "'Washaway Beach,' fastest-eroding place on the West Coast, cobbles together a solution". NBC News. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  8. "U.S. spending $20M to protect reservation". Chinook Observer. May 22, 2018. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  9. Henry, Barbara (February 15, 1993). "Pacific County Ponders What To Do About Eroding Beach". The Seattle Times. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  10. Banse, Tom (May 23, 2018). "New Hope To Stop Relentless Erosion Of Washington's 'Washaway Beach'". Northwest Public Broadcasting. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  11. Weiner, Heather. North Cove Dynamic Revetment Monitoring: Winter 2018-2019 (PDF) (Report).
  12. Bengel, Erick (October 8, 2022). "The experiment that may have saved a Washington town from falling into the ocean". The Guardian. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
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