Astoria, Ecola and Fort Stevens

Fort Stevens is strategically located at the mouth of the Columbia River on the Oregon side. The Fort was commissioned in 1863 to defend against the possible attack from Canada should England enter the Civil War on the Confederate side and was active until decommissioned in 1947. On June 6, 1941 a Japanese submarine fired several 5.5” rounds at the fort, causing no damage, but making Fort Stevens the only military installation on US soil to come under enemy attack since the War of 1812. Today it is a State Park, Oregon’s largest, and you can tour the vast network of gun emplacements, underground batteries, and a museum covering the fort’s long history. An interesting sidelight is the “Gratitude Train”. In 1949, France presented the US with 49 narrow gauge railroad boxcars loaded with artworks and other gifts, one for each state and the District of Columbia. These cars, which had been used to transport US troops to the front in both World Wars, were marked on the side as “Gratitude Train” and carried the coat of arms of each French province. The car received by Oregon is on display at Fort Stevens. We thoroughly enjoyed touring the gun batteries and riding the bike trails that connect the various attractions in the park, and we even spotted some seals playing just offshore.

From Fort Stevens we went a few miles upriver to Astoria, the first permanent settlement west of the Mississippi. It was here that Lewis and Clark built Fort Clatsop and spent the winter of 1805-06. In 1811, John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company arrived and built Fort Astoria. The town is built on the side of a steep hill leading down to the water and reminds you of a miniature San Francisco. The town’s crown jewel is the Astoria Column, a beautifully ornate 125-foot tower atop 600-foot Coxcomb Hill. We climbed the 164 steps (count ‘em) to the top and were rewarded with a breathtaking 360-degree view of the Columbia River, the Pacific Ocean, and the surrounding countryside, including what is left of Mt. St. Helens, WA. It was really quite a view.

A few miles down the coast we stopped at Ecola State Park, perched on a high headland jutting out into the Pacific. The narrow winding road up to the park climbs through a dense forest of huge Sitka Spruce trees before reaching a large cleared area at the top, which affords a good view of the Tillamook Lighthouse, where we watched sea lions sunning on the rocks, and Cannon Beach with its trademark “Haystack Rock”. The park ranger told us this is the most photographed scene on the Oregon coast and we believe him. Of course, we took a picture.

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