Oysterville - Washington Ghost Town

OYSTERVILLE

NAME: Oysterville
COUNTY: Pacific
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 6
CLIMATE: Cool winter and summer.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime.

COMMENTS: Semi-ghost.
REMAINS: Some original buildings.

It doesn’t take much imagination to guess how the town received its name. Founded in 1854 by a R. H. Espy from Wisconsin, he and a partner, an I. A. Clark, became excited about the possibilities of commercially canning the abundantly available oysters. They built a log house on the spot where the town of Oysterville would develop on the shores of Willapa Bay on North Peninsula. During the decade of 1880-1890, Oysterville enjoyed its best days. The town had two deep-water wharves, one built in 1884 and the other in 1888. It had churches, schools, canneries and other businesses to support its population. But it was not to last. Oysterville lost being the county seat to South Bend in 1892 and that, along with the eventual depletion of the oyster beds, led to its demise. The town’s prosperity was based on a single industry. When that vanished, so did the economy. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

It doesn’t take much imagination to guess how the town received its name. Founded in 1854 by a R. H. Espy from Wisconsin, he and a partner, an I. A. Clark, became excited about the possibilities of commercially canning the abundantly available oysters. They built a log house on the spot where the town of Oysterville would develop on the shores of Willapa Bay on North Peninsula. During the decade of 1880-1890, Oysterville enjoyed its best days. The town had two deep-water wharves, one built in 1884 and the other in 1888. It had churches, schools, canneries and other businesses to support its population. But it was not to last. Oysterville lost being the county seat to South Bend in 1892 and that, along with the eventual depletion of the oyster beds, led to its demise. The town’s prosperity was based on a single industry. When that vanished, so did the economy. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

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