Seaview, Washington facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Seaview
|
|
|---|---|
 Seaview
Location in Washington (state)
Seaview
Location in the United States
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Pacific |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population
(2010)
|
|
| • Total | 473 |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP codes |
98644
|
| Area code(s) | 360 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1512652 |
Seaview is a small community in Pacific County, Washington. It is not an official city, but a place where people live without a formal town government. Seaview is close to Long Beach. In 2010, about 473 people lived in the area covered by its 98644 ZIP code.
Contents
Where is Seaview Located?
Seaview is found in the very southwest part of Washington state. It sits on the Long Beach Peninsula. Its exact location is 46°20′04″N 124°03′17″W / 46.33444°N 124.05472°W.
The History of Seaview
Early Days and Resort Plans
Seaview's story began in 1859. A man named Jonathan Stout came to the Long Beach Peninsula. He was a cooper, which means he made barrels. In 1880, he bought 153 acres of land by the ocean. He wanted to build a summer resort there.
Stout tried a few names for his resort. These included Stout's, Ocean View, and North Pacific Beach. He finally settled on "Sea View." He built a hotel a short distance from the ocean. It had great views over the piles of driftwood. Today, a half-mile of sand and trees separates the hotel site from the ocean. This change happened because of the North Jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Selling Lots and Building Homes
In October 1881, Stout officially registered his town plan. He started selling pieces of land, called lots. Most lots were 50 by 100 feet. They sold for about one hundred dollars each. Building a small house, or cottage, cost between two and three hundred dollars. These cottages were simple, with wooden boards on the outside. They did not have insulation or plaster inside.
Many people from Portland bought lots in Seaview. They built summer homes there in the 1880s and early 1890s. However, a money crisis in 1893, called the Panic of 1893, slowed down this building boom.
Traveling to Seaview
In the early days, getting to Seaview was an adventure. Summer homeowners would take a steamboat down the Columbia River. They would go to Astoria in Oregon. From there, they boarded a smaller steamboat to cross the river to Ilwaco.
At Ilwaco, they would transfer their luggage to a wagon. Horses would pull the wagon the rest of the way. The wagon path went through the woods on a plank road. Then, it continued along the beach to Seaview.
The Arrival of the Railroad
In 1889, the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company started a train service. It was a narrow-gauge railroad that ran up the Long Beach Peninsula to Nahcotta. The Seaview train station was just a shed and a platform at first. It was located near Stout's "Sea View House" hotel.
With the train, families could easily travel up the peninsula. They could board the train cars right at the Ilwaco docks. In 1885, hundreds of people were visiting the peninsula for summer vacation. By 1900, a local newspaper reported that this number had grown to 20,000 visitors.
Westborough House and the Sou'wester Lodge
In 1892, US Senator Henry Winslow Corbett built a large vacation home in Seaview. He was a businessman from Portland. His home, called Westborough House, was on three acres facing the ocean. It was a three-story house with a ballroom on the second floor. It also had separate living areas for servants and a stable for horses. The family even brought a cow with them for fresh milk during their summer stay.
In the late 1930s, the Corbett family no longer owned the property. It became the Grandview Lodge, a place for tourists to stay. It had rooms in the main house and cabins on the grounds. Today, the Grandview Lodge is known as the Sou'wester Lodge. It is still a notable building near the Seaview beach. The Sou'wester Lodge often hosts cultural events. These include talks, book readings, and music concerts. The area where Corbett's cows once grazed is now an RV park and campground.
The Seaview Depot and Other Hotels
In 1905, a proper train station was built in Seaview. Its front doors faced the main road leading to the beach. A long wooden walkway ran along the train tracks. Several businesses were located next to the station along this walkway. Old photos from 1908 and 1910 show businesses like an ice cream shop, an "Oyster House and Lunch Room," and a fish market.
The original Seaview train station building is still standing today. It has been turned into a restaurant. The Hotel Shelburne, built in Seaview in 1896, is also still open as the Shelburne Country Inn. Other hotels that once existed in Seaview included the Hackney Cottage, Sunset Hotel, The Hotel Seaview, and The Sou'Wester Inn.
Important People from Seaview
Many famous people who were connected to Seaview usually lived elsewhere. They would spend their summers enjoying the community.
- Henry W. Corbett (1827-1903), a US Senator
- Joe Knowles (1869-1942), an American painter
- Charles Mulvey (1918-2001), an American artist
- Terence O'Donnell (1924-2001), an American writer
- Theodore B. Wilcox (1856-1918), an American businessman
See also
In Spanish: Seaview (Washington) para niños
