Introduction
Rockaway Beach Historic Walking Tour
The earliest pioneers arrived in the 1850s in what is now Tillamook County, and for the next 20 years traveled almost exclusively on existing Indian trails and by boat to get into or out of the county. Transportation by water was a hit-or-miss proposition. Steamers bound from Astoria to Tillamook Bay would often find the bar too rough to enter. Freight and passenger service could be held up in Astoria for weeks at a time.
Before jetties were built there was a wide sandy beach all the way from Garibaldi to Nehalem Bay, referred to as the “Garibaldi Beaches”. This was the only passage within the area. Only the pioneering few resided here, driving up the beach by horse and wagon or walking during the low tide.
To encourage development, an act of Congress was passed in 1862, “To Secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers on the Public Domain”. Under Presidents Cleveland and Harrison in the 1890’s, the General Land Office issued Homestead Certificates to individuals whose names appear on the original platting of homestead claims on this map.
By 1905, in the Willamette Valley, there was growing prosperity, optimism, and plans for progress. Portland hosted the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, where bankers, investors, lumbermen, and mill operators gathered from across the country. New public buildings, bridges, and railroads immediately followed. By connecting rails with Tillamook, they intended to access the region’s timber fields and ship the freight back to Portland.
Pacific Railway & Navigation Company
Railroad promoter, Elmer Elm Lytle, incorporated the Pacific Railway & Navigation Company in October 1905 and began work on a line from Hillsboro toward Tillamook. The first steam engine was delivered to Tillamook at the end of 1907. The coastal land claims, once considered nearly worthless, took on new value and a flurry of subdividing into townsites took place beginning in 1909.