Learn about the history of this favourite Oregon beach town, from its Native American residents to its thriving hotel industry.
To capture the spirit of Seaside and appreciate its past, visit the Seaside Museum and Historical Society. Travel back through the millennia, then cover history up to the present. The state of Oregon has tasked this non-profit institution with collecting, preserving and interpreting materials that illustrate the history of Seaside, illuminating the region for visitors and residents.
Plan for about 1 hour to peruse the various galleries of the museum. Start with the Native American exhibit, where you’ll find artifacts that the Smithsonian Institution unearthed during the Palmrose and Par-Tee Archaeological Digs in the second half of the 20th century. The exhibit also includes a wall map depicting various topographic features and sites in the county and the names given to them by Native Americans. See a model of a Clatsop Indian long house and various handmade items crafted by the Clatsop people in the late 19th century.
Photos and postcards tell the story of the Pacific Pier, as well as the history of the Turn Around Building, which was originally known as Oates Natatorium. Locals in the early 20th century came here to swim, roller skate and visit or enjoy treats and necessities from the neighboring ice cream and sweets shop, the barbershop and the Oregon Woolen Mills Store.
Check out the Butterfield Cottage, Seaside’s first oceanside resort and a popular tourist stop historically. Visitors arrived via excursion boats on the Columbia River and then traveled by rail to Seaside. See the cottage’s period furnishings and its lovely surrounding gardens, cared for by a local horticultural club.
Additional exhibits feature Seaside’s hospitality and logging industries, the Seaside Signal newspaper, the historic volunteer fire department and a pictorial history of Seaside schools. If you’re a train buff, you’ll enjoy the Railroad History exhibit, full of railroad artifacts and a timeline of the development of the Portland-to-Seaside route.
Visit the Seaside Museum and Historical Society Monday through Saturday, except holidays. Find it on the western side of the Necanicum River, just north of downtown Seaside. Donations are requested for admission for adults and children.
