Clifton, Clatsop County, Oregon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Clifton, Oregon
|
|
|---|---|
 Clifton, Oregon
Location in Oregon
Clifton, Oregon
Location in the United States
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Clatsop |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1119023 |
Clifton is a small, unincorporated community in Clatsop County, Oregon. It is located north of U.S. Route 30. You can find it about nine miles northwest of Westport. Clifton sits on the south bank of the Columbia River, right across from Tenasillahe Island.
Contents
A Look Back: Clifton's History
Early Days and the First Sawmill
Clifton's story began in 1845. A pioneer named Henry Harrison Hunt, who traveled the Oregon Trail in 1843, set up a sawmill here. This was one of the first businesses in the area. By 1851, Hunt had moved on, but the site remained important. It became a base for gillnetters, who are fishermen using special nets.
The Salmon Cannery Era
In 1873, two brothers, James W. and Vincent Cook, started a salmon cannery in Clifton. This was only the second salmon cannery in all of Clatsop County. It helped make the Pacific Northwest famous for its salmon. It's thought that an early settler, Stephen G. Spear, named his farm "Clifton" because of the tall cliffs along the river. The Clifton post office opened in 1874, with Vincent Cook as the first postmaster.
Life in a Busy Town
The cannery brought many people to Clifton. Chinese workers canned the fish. Fishermen from Greece, Yugoslavia, and Italy caught the salmon. When the cannery closed in 1906, the Chinese workers left. Their bunkhouses, where they lived, are no longer there. Other immigrant families stayed and settled in different parts of town.
In its busiest times, Clifton was a lively place. It had two saloons, one with a skating rink and dance hall upstairs. There were also two stores, a church, and a one-room schoolhouse. The railroad tracks, built in 1898, served as the main street. In 1915, about 200 people lived in Clifton.
Getting Around and Logging
For a long time, Clifton was hard to reach by road. People had to travel by boat across the Columbia River to Cathlamet, Washington. Or they could take the train to Astoria or Portland. A road connecting Clifton to U.S. 30 wasn't built until 1937.
In the early 1900s, there were five logging camps nearby. When these camps closed, many loggers moved into Clifton. But by 1930, all logging in the area had stopped. Today, Clifton is on the edge of the Clatsop State Forest. It wasn't until 1958 that electricity finally reached the community.
Clifton's Decline: A Quiet Town Today
Fading Away
Over time, Clifton became much quieter. The number of salmon in the river decreased, which led to the cannery closing. Author Ralph Friedman even calls Clifton a "picturesque ghost town" because of its decline.
One store closed in 1950, and the other in 1960. The last store became an office for the caretaker of the town. At that time, the town was owned by Bumble Bee. As people moved away, many houses were taken apart for their wood. Other buildings, like the first store and the church, simply fell apart. Some even fell into the river. The post office closed in 1966. By 1990, very few buildings were left in Clifton.
Clifton Today
The railroad line that runs through Clifton is now operated by the Portland and Western Railroad (PNWR). It was bought from the BNSF Railway. Clifton is still a station stop for the PNWR. In the early 2000s, there was some new interest in the area because of a planned project called Bradwood Landing.
