Founding Families

Rockaway Beach Historic Walking Tour

Rockaway Beach Co. was established in 1909, with Frank Miller as the resident agent, and sold home sites. Frank, his wife Ida, and son Dayle were the first family to settle in Rockaway. Ida provided this account:

"... In 1910, when we arrived, Rockaway was just sand. There was an old farm building that stood in today's Main Street, and that was it at that time. We came on the old Sue Elmore boat to Garibaldi, and then Mr. Miller rented a team and wagon and brought our goods up the beach to Rockaway. The railroad grade was in, but there was no railroad at that time, and we had to carry the food we got from Garibaldi. My son Dayle would go with his dad with his little packsack and carry groceries."

A sepia-toned vintage photo of a steamship passing between two rocky coastal cliffs at the edge of a sandy beach.

1910 - Frank, Dayle, & Ida Miller

SS Elmore entering Tillamook Bay

The first flatcar ran from Tillamook to Mohler on the 4th of July 1910, delivering lumber and enabling development. "In 1911, we built a seven-room house and named it 'Alpha,' the beginning. And we built a store building and had a grocery store there. ... At that time, there were no other resident in Rockaway, until the Ed Best family came, and by 1912, we had many summer people. By then, Mr. Miller sold considerable property off and others moved in."

The Millers established Rockaway's first post office and served as Postmasters for 25 years. Today, Troxel's across Hwy 101 occupies the Miller's Rockaway Mercantile Co. Building built in 1913.

The Best Family arrived in Rockaway Beach on November 9th, 1910. Ed Best and his son Leo traveled over the Wilson River in their buggy (pictured below) and were later joined by his wife, Carrie, and their youngest son, Lewis. Here's what their first week in Rockaway Beach looked like, as accounted in the Log Book of the Ed Best Family:

Nov 9: Started up the beach for Rockaway, wading through water knee-deep most of the time. The breakers would catch us sometimes and all we could do was to wade through, and arrived at our place minus some of our things in the wagon. Left them on the Beach and got them later. Everything soaking wet through as well as ourselves.

Rockaway Beach, Nov. 9th 1910: Found a house and barn and took over till we can build. All's well that ends well!

Nov 10th, 11th, 12th: Boarded at Mr. Miller's house at Rockaway and dried out our clothes and slept in the first home bed in two weeks. Felt good, I tell you.

Nov 13th: Fixed up the stove. Put shakes on the roof and dried out the house.

Nov 14th: Moved in and ate our first meal of salt pork and hot pancakes there.

Nov 15th: Shot a duck and had fresh meat.

Nov 16th: Caught a salmon 30 lbs with a pitchfork. Taking it easy now. ~ 3 days stormy weather.