$2.00 45 me 3ou'westef* - pacific county historical …pacificcohistory.org/souwester/1988...

20
45Me SPRING 1988 SINCE1966 3ou'Westef* PublishedQuarterlybythe PacificCountyHistoricalSociety StateofWashington CelebratingtheWashingtonStateCentennialin1989 NORTHCOVEPOSTOFFICE andHomeoftheMartinJacobsenFamily $2 .00 VolumeXXIII Number1

Upload: dangkiet

Post on 01-Aug-2018

223 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

45 Me

SPRING1988

SINCE 1966 3ou'Westef*Published Quarterly by the

Pacific County Historical SocietyState of Washington

Celebrating the Washington State Centennial in 1989

NORTH COVE POST OFFICEand Home of the Martin Jacobsen Family

$2 .00

Volume XXIIINumber 1

A$ UleSINCE 1966 ou Wee tefs%5

A Quarterly Publication of the Pacific County Historical Society . Inc .A Non-profit Organization

Magazine subscription rate - $8.00 AnnuallyMembership in the Society - $3 .00 single, $5 .00 couple

Payable annually - membership card issuedAddress: P .O. Box P, South Bend, WA 98586

Historical articles accepted for publication may be edited by the editors to conform to size and other re-quirements . Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the historical society . AllRights Reserved . Reprinting of any material approved by special permission from the Pacific CountyHistorical Society . Second class postage paid at South Bend, Washington .

PUB. NO. ISSN-0038-4984Editor - Larry Weathers

Contributing Editor - Ruth McCauslandContributing Editor -- Joan MannSubscriptions - Luvirla Evavold

Printed by Pacific Printing, Ilwaco, Washington

Our CoverThe home of Karl Martin Jacobsen and family was also the North Cove Post Of-

fice, 1902-1927 . Elise Jacobsen was appointed in November 1902 . She operated astore stocked with staples alongside the Post Office in the front part of the house .The Jacobsen home was located northwest of the town overlooking a small cove .This photo is from the family collection of Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen .

Table of ContentsTILE

PIN( ,E

Our Cover 2North Cove - by Ruth McCausland 3Pat Paulsen : North Cove's Favorite Son? - by Larry Weathers 14North Cove Post Office - Estab . June 10, 1878 15They Delivered the Mail to North Cove - by Ruth McCausland and Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen - . 16North Cove and Vicinity : 1915-1920 - as remembered by Bill Jacobsen . 181988 Pacific County Historical Society Officers and Directors

.20

2

North Coveby Ruth McCausland

Editor's Note : Ruth McCausland is a resident of Tokeland, WA, and contributing editor to theSou'wester . This issue was prepared with her assistance . Photographs were selected from the privatecollection of Bill Jacobsen, Raymond, and the files of Pacific County Museum, South Bend . BobMcCausland provided the illustrations and the maps were prepared by Bill Jacobsen and drawn byLarry Weathers .

Introduction

It has been estimated that the point of land known as Cape Shoalwater wasmore than a mile long before the north entrance channel on Willapa Bay migratednorthward between 1887-1987 and reclaimed the sand covered cape. Our story re-counts the history of Cape Shoalwater and the town of North Cove which wasestablished there in the latter part of the 19th Century . Both the cape and theoriginal townsite were taken by erosion during the last century but their history isnot forgotten .

Naming the Cape

At one time a point of land along the southwest coast of Washington state ex-tended southwards and rounded into the entrance of a large shallow bay . Thissandy point formed a cape which John Meares, English trader commanding the EastIndia Company ship Felice Adventurer, named "Cape Shoal-Water" in July 1788 .He also applied the name "Shoal-Water" to the bay which lay east of where hisship wallowed in the swells three miles off the cape .

Cape Shoalwater was uninhabited and windswept when Meares named it . On-ly an occasional visiting band of bay Indians camped there in search of clams,crabs, and berries . On the ocean side of the cape were rolling sand dunes dottedwith coarse grass. Further away from the shore the cape was covered withsphagnum moss and verdant vegetation . Wild strawberry and kinnikinnick blend-ed into growths of salal, evergreen huckleberry, and wax myrtle . The dune heightsgraduated into stands of scrub pine and Sitka spruce . The east side of the cape wasa sandy finger of land pointing to the mainland, surrounded by tide flats laced withmuddy channels. The south end of the cape formed a hook which created asheltered cove .

Shoalwater Bay Military Reservation and Lighthouse

It was on this coastal point that the United States Government established amilitary reservation in 1854 . The property negotiation was made between thegovernment and Chief Ma-Tote of the Shoalwater band of Indians . Wild anduninhabited, Cape Shoalwater was apparently the perfect site for a governmentmilitary reservation .

By 1858 the United States Bureau of Lighthouses installed a light on a high capedune which could be seen from the ocean by passing ships . Increased water trafficon the bay, much of it crossing the shallow bar between open ocean and inner har-bor, necessitated the construction of the beacon . It was built on the roof of a white

3

building, the main floor serving as living quarters for the keeper, his family, and anassistant .

In 1977 an attempt was made by A .V. Petersen, son of Rasmus Petersen, akeeper of the North Cove lighthouse 1894-1913, and again in 1983 by BillJacobsen, to obtain the names and information on the early keepers of thelighthouse . Both men were unsuccessful . More recently, Bill Jacobsen put togethera partial list of names from local sources . Apparently the first keeper in 1858 was acertain Captain Wells . He was followed by a series of men who served between1859 and 1882 for little more than a year at a time. Prominent among them wasRobert H . Espy, co-founder of Oysterville and later County Sheriff .

The first keeper to serve a lengthy term was Marinus Stream . He was appointedin 1883 and served at North Cove until he was transferred to the Umpqua Stationon the Oregon coast in 1894 . While stationed in Oregon he lost his life at sea . Hisson, Captain Henry Stream, sometimes operated the steamers Shamrock and

Reliable for Captain A .W . Reed of the Willapa Bay Transportation Company andspent most of his life navigating the waters of Willapa Bay . Henry's son, CaptainMarinus Stream, spent his childhood years in North Cove and is now retired inGrayland after leaving the sea several years ago .

When Stream was transferred to Oregon, Rasmus Petersen was appointedkeeper of the lighthouse. Born in Denmark in 1853, he followed a seagoing careerand somehow found his way to North Cove where he decided to settle . He and hisfamily lived in the lighthouse quarters until his death in 1913 . Some of hisdescendents, which now include two great-great-grandsons, have made theirhomes in Tokeland .

The last permanent lighthouse keeper at North Cove was John Wilson . Heserved from 1930 until the Bureau of Lighthouses was absorbed into the UnitedStated Coast Guard Service in 1939 . During the same year, the ocean had moved

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

The sand dunes of Cape Shoalwater around 1900 . A view looking east to North Coveand Willapa Bay .

4

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

North Cove Lighthouse, ca . 1910 . The lighthouse was established at the Cape in 1858 .The building was also the living quarters for the lighthouse keeper, his family, and anassistant .

almost to the front door of the North Cove lighthouse . After salvaging what theycould, a crew undermined the building with water hoses and the lighthouse fell in-to the surf in 1940 . A new light was placed on a scaffolding-type tower away fromthe erosion site until that, too, had to be moved . The tower was moved severaltimes to avoid erosion when it was finally dismantled in 1986 and a different systemof warning was installed on the cape several miles from the original lighthouse site .

Shoalwater Bay Lifesaving Service Station

The lighthouse at Cape Shoalwater was an aid to navigation, but ships, bothlarge and small, continued to run into trouble often enough that the governmentdecided to establish a lifesaving station on the military reservation in 1878. Anenclosed watchtower was built near the lighthouse from which lifesaving personnelcould see the open water beyond . Station buildings were constructed in a com-pound east of the cape . One of the sloughs between the cape and mainland hadsufficient depth for small boat launching and navigation during any tide. Aboathouse was constructed along its banks to house the station surfboat. Whendistress calls came, a crew of six to eight men rowed the boat down the slough toopen water. If conditions warranted, the surfboat was hauled across the dunes byhorses to the beach where it was launched directly into the breakers .

When Shoalwater Bay Lifesaving Station was completed in 1878, CaptainGeorge Johnson was appointed the first keeper . His crew on rescue missions dur-ing the first few years were all volunteers from nearby farms and the ShoalwaterBay Indian Reservation . The men from the reservation were excellent seamen andknew the local waters . In a report made to the Tuesday Club in January 1920, Stella

5

Raymond, Captain Johnson's only child, said, "When an English lime juicer, boundfor the Columbia River, would pile up by mistake at the entrance to ShoalwaterBay, his wife (Stella's mother Lucy Johnson) would mount her spirited little saddlepony, and in the sweeping riding habit of that decorous age, ride forth to rouse theneighbors and secure a volunteer crew for the rescue ."

George Johnson was a Norwegian who came to Oysterville in the early 1870s .

After scouting the bay he purchased an "island" land claim (now Raymond) on theWillapa River and travelled from port to port around the bay delivering mail undergovernment contract . He sailed in a boat called a "plunger", a local name for asloop not longer than thirty feet and about ten feet wide . It had a jib and mainsailand the centerboard (a kind of moveable keel) was useful in the shallow cove atCape Shoalwater where he delivered mail and freight to the scattered settlers andlighthouse crew .

Captain Johnson's appointment to the station prompted him to move his wife,Lucy Ann (Paulding), and daughter Stella from the island on the Willapa River tothe new station . The Johnsons immediately purchased 32 acres next to the stationwhich Lucy later platted as the town of North Cove . Lots in the plat were sold tolocal residents and promoters but sales in the early years were anything but brisk .(Many years later Stella, who married L .V. Raymond in 1897, platted portions of thefamily's "island" property which eventually was named Raymond in 1906 .)

When Captain Johnson died suddenly in 1881, Captain A .T . Stream was namedas his replacement. Stream, brother of Marinus Stream who was lighthouse keeperat the Cape from 1883-1894, was born in Norway and came to Pacific County in1861 . For several years he towed logs for timber companies on Grays Harbor andShoalwater Bay . During his years as keeper he was involved in the saving of livesfrom three shipwrecks off the coast. When he left the service in 1884, he moved toSouth Bend to sell real estate and later helped develop Klipsan Beach on LongBeach Peninsula .

The next station keeper was Captain John Brown . Prior to his appointmentCaptain Brown operated a small steamer, the Garfield, from point to point aroundthe bay much as Captain Johnson had, carrying mail and freight . He assumed hisjob at the station in 1884 and was allowed six assistant surfmen who were put onthe government payroll .

In 1788 when John Meares charted the bay as "Shoal-Water" he had no ideathat the name would later discourage ships' masters from crossing the bar to innerwaters. The Willapa and North rivers, which empty into the northern end of the bay,actually created channels with enough depth for ocean-going vessels to sail into thenorth end for about fifteen miles . About 1890 Harborites decided the bay could use achange of image and started referring to the north half as Willapa Harbor . About thesame time, the U .S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Steamer Gedney, which had spentthree months taking soundings in the harbor, reported their findings concerning theshipping channel . The report determined that the harbor had been misnamed andfrom then on all official charts designated the bay "Willapa Bay" .

The name of the lifesaving station was also changed. The crew were given newuniforms of black turtleneck sweaters with Willapa Bay LSS lettered across the chestand crossed oars on a lifebuoy as an insignia on the sleeve .

6

Other changes were made at the station as well . Regularly scheduled trainingexercises were held by the crew to improve rescue techniques and new buildingswere constructed . The rescue drills became so popular that they were often the oc-casion for spectator picnics . For a typical drill, a tower with a platform simulating aship's mast was positioned in an open field . A line-throwing gun would fire amessenger line from a two-wheeled cart to a man atop the tower . The line, towhich a heavier rope was attached, was pulled in by the catcher and the rope firm-ly fastened to the "mast" . After it was attached a breeches-buoy was added to theline and the rescue drill was underway . (The breeches-buoy was a ring buoy fittedwith a canvas breeches for bringing shipwrecked persons ashore .) These trainingexercises did much to improve rescues and saved the lives of many personstrapped on a disabled ship .

The last officer in charge of the station for an extended period was Captain Her-man Win beck . He was appointed keeper of the Willapa Bay LSS in late 1910 whenCaptain Brown injured himself severely and had his foot amputated . CaptainBrown eventually died at the Tokeland home of his daughter Mrs . Chris Olsen onSeptember 10, 1910, at the age of 74. In the meantime, Martin Jacobsen, SurfmanNo. 1, was temporarily in command of the station until Captain Winbeck and fami-ly could move north from Point Arena, CA . Captain Winbeck served from 1910 un-til 1940 when he retired and moved to Aberdeen where he died in 1960 .

During Captain Winbeck's tenure at the station motorized surfboats were in-troduced, eliminating the need for a rowing crew . The size of the station crew wasalso increased to improve their efficiency during rescues . A floating boathouse wasalso built at the south end of the cove for the surfboat when the slough, where theold boathouse was located, clogged with sand and the channel was too shallow tonavigate at low tide .

7

- Illustration by Bob McCausland, Pacific County Historical Society

U.S . Lifesaving Station at North Cove . The station was built in 1878. It disappeared withmuch of the cape in the 1950s

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "8111" Jacobsen collection

Willapa Lifesaving Station crew and beach cart near North Cove, ca . 1910 . Identifiedfrom left to right: George Jacobsen, Morgan, Edward Jacobsen, Adolph Holst, AntonAnderson, Edward Greenbrook, Karl Martin Jacobsen (temporary keeper), OttoHansen .

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

Willapa Lifesaving Station beach drill, ca . 1912 . The crew practices "hauling in theman" at North Cove . This drill was a favorite of spectators who gathered on the beachin the summer .

8

Captain Winbeck was also in charge when the Lifesaving Service and U .S .Revenue Service were joined to become the U .S. Coast Guard in 1915 . The neworganization was established as a military service . Personnel and vessels werearmed, and officers and men were trained "for the acts and circumstances of war,as well as schooled in the methods and inured to the hardships of the sea" . In 1917the Coast Guard was temporarily reassigned from the U .S . Treasury Department tothe Navy Department and manpower at the station was increased to 12 men .

One of the notable shipwrecks during Captain Winbeck's command involvedthe Canadian Exporter on August 1, 1921 . She was bound for Portland to loadlumber for the Orient when she went aground in fog at the entrance to WillapaHarbor . No lives were lost but the freighter could not be salvaged and finally brokein half .

Erosion and shallowing of the channel at North Cove finally caused the CoastGuard to move station equipment to Tokeland in the 1920s . Lifeboats and equip-ment were the first to be moved to a new launching site at the tip of Toke's Point .When the entire station was jeopardized in the early 1950s, a new station com-pound was built at Tokeland and personnel were moved in 1956 . The abandonedbuildings at North Cove were salvaged in part or allowed to fall into the ap-proaching breakers . The Tokeland site was used by the Coast Guard until 1978when the office functions were transferred to newer and larger quarters inWestport .

Town of North Cove

The plat for the town of North Cove was made and recorded (at Oysterville, thecounty seat) by Mrs . George (Lucy) Johnson in February, 1884 . The town was sitedon land east of the Cape Shoalwater military reservation overlooking a shallowcove . The cove was also called North Cove. Before the town was platted, the earlypopulation of the area was limited to government personnel and their families onthe military reservation, the Shoalwater Indian Tribe on their reservation, and ascattering of farm families along the ocean beach north of the military reservation .Creation of the townsite at the cove attracted new residents and provided astopover for travelers . Due to its position on the bay, North Cove was a convenienthalfway stop for those making the arduous three to four day trip from Portland toSeattle and vice versa . In the beginning there were no overnight accommodationsin town, so Lucy Johnson opened her home to wayfarers when necessary . After herhusband died in 1881, she opened her home in town and operated it as the HotelNorwood .

In addition to the Hotel Norwood, the town of North Cove had a general store,post office, a Knights of Maccabees hall where dances and public events were held,and at least a dozen homes. Among the early residents were the Hansen, Peterson,Jacobsen, Anderson, McGuire, Williams, Solomon and Holst families .

Employment for ten to fifteen people was provided at the cannery built andoperated by Louis Solomon in 1909 . The cannery, a 300 sq . ft ., steam operatedplant, stood on pilings over the muddy tide flats of a smaller cove on the north sideof town . Solomon, who lived for a short time in South Bend before moving toNorth Cove, had been in the canning business off and on for twenty years . Hiscompany, the Solomon Packing Company, canned minced razor clams at North

9

0GF.

MLA"

ERNSsi

CmpApL0sSEASTRPNO

R.D . sTORNs

Et\NNr6L REXDItJCr

KA-S NANSotiANDREWRICK* i'

3AH6S SMITH

& ORG. Houl~,

255E GDUt D

C-RAYS ~ARBo2. CtuNT`1PAGtFtG COVN'Tv

EARL`( SCTT ! -RS CF NDRTN Cove

AuD ViC tt4lTV

C A- f$-73

cOPW E D E3\1 VJ M - "91Lt." SACOBS E NSKET~N s3`I "~0.RR'1 S WEP?HERS

It

AA.- D. CuLLE'1

BP+RNE

(1n~CUUEY)

iMILES I704m

GRISwau, IAa.RSHAL

NU)

Z

A.5 .

MERe-ER

ANNIE E .AERCM

.I .

b. µ .13

nSNOALW ATER SAYt ANTNW SE ,<~\

ESTA$ll SNEDl09l;6

Vl

xti a

9*

MlU WK-WALL

:si4OjiLuj/-klJEK

TRIBE RE.SERVATwUfixEWT,VE o(tpEIL

$CPT . 22 ; I04

L"I ANN7DON5oN

N.s . GILE

Cove under the label "Pacific Brand" and advertised that they were "Free FromSand" . For a time, the company also canned a salmon loaf .

Among the families living north of the military reservation on the ocean beachand marshy interior were the Dibkeys, Barnes, Browns, Johnsons, Strawns,Mercers, Streams, Seastrands, Goulds, Benns, Richmans, Roirdans, Houks,Roneys, and several families with the last names of Smith and Jacobsen .

Most of the earliest residents of the area were government employees . Many ofthem were transient residents who moved from station to station around the North-west . There were several exceptions however . The family of Karl Martin Jacobsen,for example, became permanent residents and prominent members of their chosenhome .

Karl Martin Jacobsen, called Martin, was a Norwegian who had come toAstoria, Oregon, around 1880 . He moved to North Cove in 1884 where he got in-volved in the oystering industry, and then joined the U .S. Lifesaving Service part-time in 1888 . In 1890 he married Elise Olsen, another Norwegian immigrant, andstarted a family which eventually included 10 children . In 1897, Martin, who wasSurfman No . 1 at North Cove, was promoted to the position of Keeper at the CoosBay station in Oregon . He stayed there until he became dissatisfied with the joband resigned in 1902, returning to his former position at the North Cove station .

When Martin and Elise moved back to North Cove, they purchased propertynear town and set down permanent roots . Martin continued at the station until heretired in 1917 (re-enlisting for the duration of WWI) . After the war he worked atvarious jobs, including oystering, and then died in 1921 . Elise was appointedPostmaster at North Cove in 1902 and served twenty-five years until her death in1927 . For many years, she operated a store alongside the post office in her home .

Many of the Jacobsen's children were longtime county residents . George, theoldest, joined the Coast Guard and retired as Lt. Commander . Anna married Ed-ward Jacobsen, another Coast Guardsman . Two of the daughters, Otilda and Clarabecame nurses . Carl died at age 16 . Richard acquired forty acres at North Cove andbecame a farmer. May married Pete Maloney, Raymond policeman and PacificCounty Sheriff, and became a housewife . Harold was a truckdriver and machineoperator for the state and county . William "Bill" obtained eighty acres at NorthCove and was a carpenter. Rose married George Knight, log scaler, and became ahousewife .

Half of the land Bill Jacobsen acquired at North Cove in 1956 is now eroded bythe ocean . Richard's land, presently the property of his daughter Catherine, andher husband Pat Doyle, was safe from the erosion until 1986 . The family's land-mark barn collapsed into the ocean in January 1987, and the Doyle's now acceptthe fact that their home, which once stood a long distance from the shoreline, willone day disappear as well .

North Cove was never incorporated as a town but the residents who livedthere did make it a true bay community .

(To be continued)

12

t

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

Louis Solomon's cannery at North Cove, ca . 1912 . The cannery packed minced clams. Itwas located in the mudflats of the small cove on the north side of town . This photo wastaken at slack tide .

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

Solomon Packing Company crew, ca . 1912 . Louis Solomon is the short, bald-headedman leaning against the building in the center of the photograph . His son is on the farleft with hand on hip. Maggie Anderson is standing below Louis Solomon . John Smith isleaning on the cannery dumper. The others are unidentified .

1 3

Pat Paulsen: North Cove's Favorite Son?by Larry Weathers

Editor's Note : Background information for this story was taken from articles which appeared in the Aber-deen Daily World in 1968, 1984 and 1987 .

Pat Paulsen, the deadpan comic sidekick of TV's Tom and Dick Smothers, has nomore chance of being elected President of the United States than Harold Stassen orGary Hart. But that hasn't stopped him from making a career of trying . He made his bidin 1968 and again in 1972, and is running once more in 1988 . What makes him thinkhe has any better chance at the job this time around? Well, for starters he says that hehas political experience now. In December 1987 he told an audience that he is theMayor of Asti, California . He admits, however, that he wasn't elected to the job . "I justsaid I was mayor, and nobody's complained yet," he said .

If Asti ever decides to spurn Pat there is probably another West Coast communitythat would willingly let him have the title of Mayor : North Cove, Washington . NorthCove is Pat's home town .

Pat Paulsen was born in North Cove during the depression years . His parents, Nor-man and Beulah Paulsen, were residents of North Cove for nearly eight years . Normanwas a member of the Coast Guard crew and Beulah was postmaster for the communi-ty. Catherine Doyle, who grew up in North Cove and still lives there, remembers thatPat was in her brother Loren's class . One of the grade school pictures she has includesPat in the group .

In 1984, Pat told a reporter that he had only visited North Cove a couple timessince his parents moved the family in 1937 . He said he doesn't have relatives or friendsin North Cove but a few people he went to school with probably remember him .

Whether his school chums remember him or not, he remembers them . In 1968,when he announced his first presidential campaign, the Smothers Brothers Show pro-ducers sent a crew of cameramen to North Cove to shoot scenes for his campaign kick-off. Never serious, and always witty, Pat's narration for the film declared that hishometown wasn't washed out at all . He said he preferred to think of it as a shrinepreserved in brine, for the ages to come .

r

- Illustration by Bob McCausland, Pacific County Historical Society

North Cove Lighthouse 1858 .Lost to sea erosion December 1940

1 4

North Cove Post OfficeEstablished June 10, 1878

Postmasters

Name

Date of Appointment

Lucy Ann Johnson June 10, 1878

Jessie Johnson August 16, 1901

Elise Jacobsen November 15, 1902

Lucy M . Gentry (temporary 4-22-27) June 29, 1927

Edna Hoffstetter June 8, 1928

Ruth Livesay (temporary 6-28-29) June 17, 1929

Beulah F . Paulsen (temporary 11-24-30)March 14, 1931

Josephine Welsh July 1, 1937

Lois A. Robson February 1,1940

Erma M . Wilson August 20, 1945

Lillie L . Miller (became Lillie L. Summers 9-11-54)August 28, 1947

North Cove Post Office closed August 16, 1963

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

North Cove Post Office, 1902-1927

1 5

They Delivered the Mail to North Coveby Ruth McCausland and Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen

Editor's Note: The following facts about early North Cove mail carriers and postmasters werecompiled by Ruth McCausland, Tokeland, and Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen, Raymond . Their research hasbeen collated in this story for the sake of brevity .

1858 - Mail for North Cove and vicinity was generally delivered by ShoalwaterBay residents passing through the area from points north and south . Delivery wassporadic .

1859 - Wm. P. Wright was given the first contract to haul mail from Olympiato Chehalis Point (Westport) every other week . Delivery to North Cove and vicinitystill depended on Shoalwater Bay residents traveling south to the bay .

1868 - William Hannigan was awarded a contract to carry mail from Olympiato Shoalwater Bay on a weekly basis .

1870 to 1875 - John Fry and son Charles of Chehalis Point took a four-yearcontract to carry mail between Olympia and North Cove .

1875 - Various sub-contractors hauled mail coming from the north toShoalwater Bay and back by stage . The stage carried passengers and freight alongthe ocean beach at low tide . Among the carriers were Sam Williams, Giles Ford,Willie Bergman, Jim Ford, Frank Peterson, G .W. Williams, and George L . Houk .Mail from the south was hauled by sailboat from Oysterville . Some of the early cap-tains were George Johnson and John Brown .

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

The Steamer SHAMROCK, Nov. 12, 1909, taking tourists to the Tokeland/North Cove resorts .

1 6

1878 - A post office was officially established at North Cove on June 10th . Mrs .Lucy Ann Johnson, wife of Shoalwater Bay Life Saving Station keeper GeorgeJohnson, was appointed first postmaster . Her office was located in the sta-tionkeeper's quarters . When Captain Johnson died in 1881, Lucy moved off the sta-tion property and built the Hotel Norwood on her property in the town of NorthCove . The post office was moved from the station to the hotel . Mrs . Johnson re-mained postmaster until 1901 .

1886 to 1900 - Mail delivery to North Cove from points north continued bystagecoach. There is no clear record dating the end of mail delivery from ChehalisPoint to North Cove . George L . Houk was still driving his stage along the dirt roadsbetween Tokeland-North Cove-Glen Grayland-Cohassett-Westport in 1900 .

1886 to 1906 - Small launches like the Naselle, Lassie, Arthur, and Edgar, andlater, steamers like the Shamrock and Reliable, were making regular scheduledstops on Shoalwater Bay at South Bend, Bay Center, North Cove, Nahcot-ta/Sealand and Sunshine bringing passengers, mail and other freight from thesouth . Around 1889, the channel into North Cove was found to be too shallow andmailboats were diverted to Tokeland . The stage then delivered passengers and mailto North Cove. Some of the early drivers to Tokeland were Arthur Hansen (son ofJohn Hansen), John Smith and William R . Dibkey, who both sold milk along theroute .

1901 - Jessie Johnson became postmaster .1902 - Elise Jacobsen became postmaster in November . She operated a store

and distributed mail from the front room of her home . Elise's husband K . MartinJacobsen was a surfman at the Shoalwater Bay Life Saving Station . Martin came toNorth Cove in 1884, married Elise in 1890 and then spent five years in Coos Bay asstation keeper there . The family moved back to North Cove and Martin took backhis position as surfman . Elise managed the post office for twenty-five years .

- photo courtesy of the Wm . "Bill" Jacobsen collection

North Cove to Tokeland stage, ca. 1905 . Arthur Hansen, driver.

1 7

1927 to 1931 - Lucy M. Gentry (1927), Edna Hoffstetter (1928), and RuthLivesay (1929) held the position of postmaster at North Cove in quick succession .Often the post office was part of the postmaster's home .

1931 to 1937 - Beulah F. Paulsen was appointed postmaster in 1931 and re-mained for six years . Norman and Beulah Paulsen were the parents of Emmy awardwinning, and perennial presidential candidate, Pat Paulsen .

1937 to 1945 - Josephine Welsh was appointed postmaster in 1937 and serveduntil 1940. Lois Robson was appointed in 1940 and served through the war years .In later years Lois wrote stories about her years in the community of North Coveand Westport for local newspapers and the Sou'wester .

1945 to 1963 - Erma Wilson was appointed postmaster in August 1945 andserved until August 1947 . She was replaced by Mrs . Lillie Miller who remarried andbecame Mrs. Lillie Summers on September 11, 1954 . As the erosion of CapeShoalwater continued unabated the post office was moved further north out ofharm's way. The office was finally closed August 16, 1963 . Residents were assignedto pick their mail up at the offices in Grayland or Tokeland . The opening ofHighway 105 along the northside of Willapa Bay on June 16, 1962, made it possibleto deliver mail by truck from Raymond on a daily basis .

North Cove and vicinity: 1915-1920As remembered by Wm. 'Bill" Jacobsen

Editor's Note : This list of houses, commercial buildings and other structures was compiled by Wm ."Bill" Jacobsen, Raymond . The list is keyed to the map on the following page .

1 8

Houses1 . Bob Solocky 23 . Jesse Gould2. Jack James 24. George Houk/later renters3 . George Charley 25. Charles Seastrand4 . John Hansen5 . Mrs. Rasmus Petersen Commercial/other structures6 . Tom McGuire A. Louis Solomon Cannery7 . Louis Solomon (over tidewater)8 . Leighton Williams loghouse B. Old North Cove Store/Post9 . Adolph Hoist Office/later Bill Williams house10 . Anton Andersen/later Thompson C. Hotel Norwood/later Edward11 . Albert Brown/later Strawn Jacobsen house12 . Thomas Roney/later D. Maccabee Hall

Henry Stream E . U .S. Coast Guard Station13 . W.R. Dibkey house and barns (four main buildings)14 . James Smith F . North Cove Post Office/Store/15 . John Smith K . Martin and Elise Jacobsen16 . Robert Smith house17 . John Mitchell/later G. Old and New North Cove

Cyrus Johnson Schoolhouse18 . Jessie Smith Riordan H . WWI soldier barracks19 . Anton Andersen I . WWI mortar pits (three pits)20. Lloyd Cook J . Old North Cove cemetery21 . Charles Smith location22. Hans Smidt/later Ben Gumm K . Warrenton Cannery (c .1921-22)

AC

I

F

I

C

Ir

A

,T-

ORIGINAL -,ITC Of LICIAT14OQSE

T "TowN 5TREETS

r :y,

5ANCJ DONEStN

AREA OF CRANBERR`/ BOGS ANO MARSH

0

1 9

GRA4', WRBcR. C(A TY?~-IFic . CouNTy

A5 REHEtA(3ERED BV WM. "PILL ° 3ACC6SEIJ

AND MRS. RICHKRD "DA" TR00(SK"C,R BY LARRY S . WEATHERS

LC C-ENQ

© To 2l HOg5E5 (KEYED TO l-t5T)TO O CGMMERCIPL STRUCTURES (KEYED TO LIST)

WILLAPA 6AY

1988 Officers and Directors of Pacific County Historical Society . Front row (left toright) : Luvirla Evavold, Al Richardson, Larry Weathers . Back row: Jake Merkel, ArnoldShotwell, Barbara McDonald, Joan F . Mann, Pat Welling, George Heppes .

Pacific County Historical Society and Museum

*Resigned April 27, 1988

District Board of Directors Term ExpiresCentral District - South Bend - George Heppes** October 1988North District - Willapa - Barbara McDonald October 1988North District - Menlo - Jake Merkel October 1989South District - Seaview - Joan F. Mann October 1989South District - Klipsan Beach - Pat Welling October 1990Central District - Bay Center - Arnold J . Shotwell October 1990**Resigned April 27, 1988 ; Eleanor Lopez Smith, South Bend, appointed May 25th

County Museum - South BendMuseum Director

Luvirla Evavold (appointed as interim director January 1988)Volunteers

Elizabeth Gillies, Joe Krupa, Virginia Graves, Helen Baker,Shirley Dinsmore, Carrie Seaton, Margaret VanTuyl

Photo Preservationist Nyel StevensLegal Counsel

Joel Penoyar

Washington State Centennial ProjectSponsorship of Shoalwater Storytellers history program, July - August 1988, at Oysterville Church . Socie-ty sponsorship is helping to make the Saturday afternoon programs in July and August free to the public .

1988 OfficersPresident - Al Richardson Naselle 1 year termVice President - Luvirla Evavold Raymond 1 year termSecretary - Larry Weathers Raymond 1 year termTreasurer - Janet King* Bay Center 1 year term