Editing Astoria, Oregon (section)

==History==

=== Prehistoric settlements ===
The present area of Astoria was inhabited by a large, prehistoric Native American trade system of the [[Columbia Plateau]].<ref>Rebecca Sedlak (August 2, 2012). [https://www.dailyastorian.com/news/first-archaeological-dig-scratches-the-surface-of-fort-astoria-146-s-history/article_e79c22b1-9633-52f8-a46a-a1a2db62ed37.html "First archaeological dig 'scratches the surface' of Fort Astoria’s history"]. ''The Daily Astorian''. Retrieved April 29, 2021.</ref><ref>Galm, Jerry R., (1989), Prehistoric Trade and Exchange in the Columbia Plateau, Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Northwest Anthropological Conference, Spokane, Washington. Retrieved April 29, 2021.</ref>

=== 19th century ===
The [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] spent the winter of 1805–1806 at [[Fort Clatsop]], a small log structure southwest of modern-day Astoria. The expedition had hoped a ship would come by that could take them back east, but instead, they endured a torturous winter of rain and cold. They later returned overland and by internal rivers, the way they had traveled west.<ref>{{cite book|author1=William Clark|author2-link=Meriwether Lewis |author2=Meriwether Lewis |title= The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804–1806 |edition= Library of Alexandria |year= 2015 |publisher=Library of Alexandria |isbn= 978-1-613-10310-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NrOUUf7288C&pg=PP1|author1-link=William Clark }}</ref> During archeological excavations in Astoria and Fort Clatsop in 2012, trading items from American settlers with Native Americans were found, including Austrian glass beads and falconry bells. Today, the fort has been recreated and is part of [[Lewis and Clark National Historical Park]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History & Culture: Places: Fort Clatsop – "The National Park Service maintains a replica fort within the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park that is believed to sit on or near the site of the original fort." |publisher= National Park Service / U.S. Department of the Interior|access-date=May 12, 2016|url=https://www.nps.gov/lewi/learn/historyculture/histcult-places-focl.htm}}</ref> 

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In 1811, British explorer [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]], the first person known to have navigated the [[David Thompson (explorer)#Columbia River travels|entire length]] of the Columbia River, reached the partially constructed [[Fort Astoria]] near the mouth of the river. He arrived two months after the [[Pacific Fur Company]]'s ship, the ''[[Tonquin (1807)|Tonquin]]''.{{Sfn|Meinig|1995|pages=37–38, 50}} The fort constructed by the ''Tonquin'' party established Astoria as a U.S., rather than a British, settlement{{Sfn|Meinig|1995|pages=37–38, 50}} and became a vital post for American exploration of the continent. It was later used as an American claim in the [[Oregon boundary dispute]] with European nations.

The Pacific Fur Company, a subsidiary of John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company, was created to begin fur trading in the [[Oregon Country]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Ronda | first= James |title=Astoria & Empire |url= https://archive.org/details/astoriaempire0000rond |url-access= registration |year= 1995 |publisher= University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |isbn= 0-8032-3896-7}}</ref> During the [[War of 1812]], in 1813, the company's officers sold its assets to their Canadian rivals, the [[North West Company]], which renamed the site Fort George. The fur trade remained under British control until U.S. pioneers following the [[Oregon Trail]] began filtering into the town in the mid-1840s. The [[Treaty of 1818]] established joint U.S. – British occupancy of the Oregon Country.<ref name="US Treaties in Force 2005">{{cite book
| last = United States Department of State
| author-link = United States Department of State
| others = Compiled by the Treaty Affairs Staff, Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State.
| title = Treaties In Force: A List of Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States in Force on November 1, 2007. Section 1: Bilateral Treaties
| url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/83046.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/83046.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live
| edition = 2007
| date = November 1, 2007
| location = Washington, DC
| pages = 320
}}</ref>{{Sfn|Lauterpacht|2004|p=8}}

[[File:(1882) ASTORIA, OREGON, ENTRANCE TO COLUMBIA RIVER.jpg | thumb | alt=A grayscale ink illustration of a city of simple buildings, with pine trees throughout and the Columbia river dominating the background|Astoria in 1882, looking east towards Tongue Point]]

[[Washington Irving]], a prominent American writer with a European reputation, was approached by John Jacob Astor to mythologize the three-year reign of his Pacific Fur Company. ''[[Astoria (book)|Astoria]]'' (1835), written while Irving was Astor's guest, promoted the importance of the region in the American psyche.<ref>In his introduction to the rambling work, Irving reports that Astor explicitly "expressed a regret that the true nature and extent of his enterprize<!--enterprize in original-->and its national character and importance had never been understood."</ref> In Irving's words, the fur traders were "[[Sinbad]]s of the wilderness", and their venture was a staging point for the spread of American economic power into both the continental interior and outward in Pacific trade.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdRKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA105|title=Collections of the Kansas State Historical Society, Volume 9|date=1906|publisher=Kansas State Historical Society|page=105}}</ref>

In 1846, the [[Oregon Treaty]] divided the mainland at the [[49th parallel north]], making Astoria officially part of the United States.<ref name="Canado-American Treaties Text">{{cite web|year=2000 |url=http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cus.1818.15.en.html |title=Convention of Commerce between His Majesty and the United States of America.—Signed at London, 20th October 1818 |work=Canado-American Treaties |publisher=Université de Montréal |access-date=March 27, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411212640/http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cus.1818.15.en.html |archive-date=April 11, 2009}}</ref>

As the [[Oregon Territory]] grew and became increasingly more colonized by Americans, Astoria likewise grew as a [[Port|port city]] near the mouth of the great river that provided the easiest access to the interior. The first U.S. post office west of the Rocky Mountains was established in Astoria in 1847<ref name="Oregon Sesquicentennial exhibit online version.pdf">{{cite web |url=http://www.pacificnorthwestpostalhistorysociety.org/Downloads/OregonTerritorialExhibit/Oregon%20Sesquitennial%20exhibit%20online%20version.pdf |title=Oregon Territorials – Oregon Sesquicentennial exhibit online version.pdf |year=2009 |publisher=Pacific Northwest Postal History Society |access-date=November 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220055006/http://pacificnorthwestpostalhistorysociety.org/Downloads/OregonTerritorialExhibit/Oregon%20Sesquitennial%20exhibit%20online%20version.pdf |archive-date=February 20, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and official state incorporation in 1876.<ref name="incorp" />

[[File:Salmon cannery at Astoria, Oregon (retouched).jpg|thumb|An Astoria salmon cannery]]

Astoria attracted a host of immigrants beginning in the late 19th century: [[Nordic countries|Nordic]] settlers, primarily [[Swedish Americans|Swedes]], Swedish-speaking [[Finnish Americans|Finns]], and [[History of Chinese Americans|Chinese]] soon became larger parts of the population. The Nordic settlers mostly lived in Uniontown, near the present-day end of the Astoria–Megler Bridge, and took fishing jobs; the Chinese tended to do [[Salmon cannery|cannery]] work, and usually lived either downtown or in [[bunkhouse]]s near the canneries. By the late 1800s, 22% of Astoria's population was Chinese.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.loffe.net/emigration-mainmenu-59/1474-the-swedes-of-oregon|title=The Swedes of Oregon}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.opb.org/news/article/astoria_embraces_chinese_legacy/|title=Astoria Embraces Chinese Legacy|author=Chelsea Gorrow|newspaper= The Daily Astorian | date=April 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNwizCeblKgC&pg=PA38|title = American Swedish Historical Museum: Yearbook 1946| publisher=American Swedish Hist Museum |isbn = 9781437950021}}</ref> Astoria also had a significant population of [[Indian Americans|Indians]], especially Sikhs from Punjab; the [[Ghadar Movement|Ghadar Party]], a political movement among Indians on the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada to overthrow British rule in India, was officially founded on July 15, 1913, in Astoria.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ogden |first=Johanna |date=Summer 2012 |title=Ghadar, Historical Silences, and Notions of Belonging: Early 1900s Punjabis of the Columbia River |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5403/oregonhistq.113.2.0164 |journal=Oregon Historical Quarterly |volume=113 |issue= 2 |pages=164–197 (34 pages)|doi=10.5403/oregonhistq.113.2.0164 |jstor=10.5403/oregonhistq.113.2.0164 |s2cid=164468099 }}</ref>

=== 20th and 21st centuries ===
In 1883, and again in [[1922 Astoria, Oregon fire|1922]], downtown Astoria was devastated by fire, partly because the buildings were constructed mostly of wood, a readily available material. The buildings were entirely raised off the marshy ground on wooden pilings. Even after the first fire, the same building format was used. In the second fire, flames spread quickly again, and the collapsing streets took out the water system. Frantic citizens resorted to [[dynamite]], blowing up entire buildings to create fire stops.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/O/index.ssf/2010/12/infernos_leave_historic_marks.html | first = John | last= Terry | title = Infernos leave historic marks on Astoria's waterfront | publisher = The Oregonian/OregonLive | date=December 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nEwiCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26| first = Rachel | last= Dresbeck | title = Oregon Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival |chapter=Chapter 3 – Port Town in Flames – The Astoria Fire – 1922 | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield | date= July 15, 2015| isbn = 9781493013197 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable collapsible autocollapse" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
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! style="background: #F3E5AB" | Panoramic views of Astoria in the early 20th century [[File:Astoria, Oregon, looking out the mouth of the Columbia River LCCN2007662739.tif|frameless|85px]]
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|{{Panorama |image=File:Astoria, Oregon, looking out the mouth of the Columbia River LCCN2007662740.tif|fullwidth=3201 |fullheight=684 |caption={{center|Photograph of Astoria {{circa|1912}}}}|height=140}}
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|{{Panorama |image=File:Astoria, Oregon, looking out the mouth of the Columbia River LCCN2007662739.tif|fullwidth=3946 |fullheight=680 |caption={{center|Photograph of Astoria {{circa|1914}}}}|height=140}}
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|{{Panorama |image=File:Astoria, Oregon and mouth of the Columbia River LCCN2007662735.tif|fullwidth=3305 |fullheight=680 |caption={{center|Photograph of Astoria {{circa|1915}}}}|height=140}}
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[[File:Port of Astoria Oregon Signs.jpg|thumb|alt=Port of Astoria|Port of Astoria]]

Astoria has served as a port of entry for over a century and remains the trading center for the lower Columbia basin. In the early 1900s, the [[Callendar Navigation Company]] was an important transportation and maritime concern based in the city.<ref>{{Citation 
| title = Callendar Navigation Co.
| type = schedule
| url = https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn85042400/1905-05-09/ed-1/seq-6/
| newspaper = Morning Astorian
| publisher = J.S. Dellinger Co.
| editor = 
| location = Astoria OR
| volume = 59
| issue = 177
| date = May 9, 1905
| page  = 6, col.3
| no-pp = 
}}</ref> It has long since been eclipsed in importance by [[Portland, Oregon]], and [[Seattle|Seattle, Washington]], as economic hubs on the coast of the [[Pacific Northwest]]. Astoria's economy centered on fishing, fish processing, and lumber. In 1945, about 30 canneries could be found along the Columbia River.

In the early 20th century, the North Pacific Brewing Company contributed substantially to the economic well-being of the town.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 22, 1906 |title=Report of Committee on Manufacturies |pages=5 |work=The Morning Astorian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102302548/report-of-committee-on-manfacturies/ |access-date=May 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}
----{{Cite news |date=May 22, 1906 |title=Ethics and Business |pages=2 |work=The Morning Astorian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102303425/ethics-and-business/ |access-date=May 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Before 1902, the company was owned by John Kopp, who sold the firm to a group of five men, one of whom was Charles Robinson, who became the company's president in 1907.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 17, 1903 |title=Emil Schimpff Ends His Life |pages=4 |work=The Times-Tribune |location=Scranton, Pennsylvania |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51250122/emil-schimpff-suicide/ |access-date=May 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hankel |first=Evelyn G. |date=Fall 1989 |title=Early Astonian Breweries |url=https://archive.org/details/cumtux.19890904/page/20/mode/2up |journal=CUMTUX |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=21 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The main plant for the brewery was located on East Exchange Street.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 28, 1908 |title=Working and Repairing |pages=5 |work=The Morning Astorian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102304090/working-and-repairing/ |access-date=May 21, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

As the [[Oncorhynchus|Pacific salmon]] resource diminished, canneries were closed. In 1974, the [[Bumble Bee Foods|Bumble Bee Seafoods]] corporation moved its headquarters out of Astoria and gradually reduced its presence until closing its last Astoria cannery in 1980.<ref>{{cite book|title=South Tongue Point Land Exchange and Marine Industrial Park Development Project, Clatsop County: Environmental Impact Statement |publisher=US Dept of Interior: Fish & Wildlife Service |date=1992 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDQ3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PT106 |chapter=3 |page=53 |access-date=2021-11-21}}</ref> The [[Wood industry|lumber industry]] likewise declined in the late 20th century. Astoria Plywood Mill, the city's largest employer, closed in 1989. The [[Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway]] discontinued service to Astoria in 1996, as it did not provide a large enough market.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bendbulletin.com/lifestyle/3256316-153/going-goonie-in-astoria| first = John Gottberg | last= Anderson | title = Going "Goonie" in Astoria | newspaper = Bend Bulletin | date=June 21, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Astoria-Megler Bridge.jpg|thumb|Astoria-Megler Bridge]]

From 1921 to 1966, a [[Astoria–Megler ferry|ferry route across the Columbia River]] connected Astoria with [[Pacific County, Washington]]. In 1966, the [[Astoria–Megler Bridge]] was opened. The bridge completed [[U.S. Route 101]] and linked Astoria with Washington on the opposite shore of the Columbia, replacing the ferry service.{{Sfn|Smith|1989|p=299}}

Today, tourism, Astoria's growing art scene, and light manufacturing are the main economic activities of the city. Logging and fishing persist, but at a fraction of their former levels.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://koin.com/2014/10/29/report-astoria-tops-west-coast-fishing-ports/ |title=Report: Astoria tops West Coast fishing ports |agency=Associated Press |date=October 29, 2014 |access-date=May 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808204432/http://koin.com/2014/10/29/report-astoria-tops-west-coast-fishing-ports/ |archive-date=August 8, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 1982 it has been a port of call for [[cruise ship]]s, after the city and port authority spent $10&nbsp;million in pier improvements to accommodate these larger ships.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dailyastorian.com/news/cruise-ship-season-to-see-double-the-visits/article_8e52ff7b-5f7b-521e-99be-e2ba6a9cb234.html| first = LeeAnn | last= Neal | title = Cruise ship season to see double the visits | newspaper = The Astorian | date=Apr 30, 2011}}</ref>

To avoid [[Mexico|Mexican]] ports of call during the [[2009 flu pandemic|swine flu outbreak of 2009]], many cruises were rerouted to include Astoria. The floating residential community [[MS The World|MS ''The World'']] visited Astoria in June 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/swine_flu_sends_cruise_ship_an.html | first = Katy | last= Muldoon | title = Swine flu sends cruise ship, tourism dollars to Astoria |publisher = The Oregonian/OregonLive | date=May 14, 2009}}</ref>

The town's seasonal sport fishing tourism has been active for several decades.<ref>{{cite web |author=Edward Stratton |title=Keeping fishing fever in check|url=http://www.dailyastorian.com/Local_News/20150811/keeping-fishing-fever-in-check |website=The Daily Astorian |date=August 11, 2015 |access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Bill Monroe|title=Early success at Buoy 10 promises good fall season ahead for salmon fishing |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/bill_monroe/index.ssf/2015/08/post_191.html |website=The Oregonian/OregonLive |date=August 8, 2015 |access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=Andrew McKean |title=The Bite: Salmon Fishing the Columbia River |url=http://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/fishing/2015/08/bite-salmon-fishing-columbia-river |website=Outdoor Life |date=August 2015 |access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref> Visitors attracted by heritage tourism and the historic elements of the city have supplanted fishing in the economy. Since the early 21st century, the [[microbrewery]]/[[brewpub]] scene<ref>{{cite news |author=Edward Stratton |title=Sour beer to join Astoria's impressive brewing lineup |url=http://www.dailyastorian.com/local_biz/20160524/sour-beer-to-join-astorias-impressive-brewing-lineup |website=The Daily Astorian |date=May 24, 2016 |access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref> and a weekly street market<ref>{{cite web |title=Astoria Sunday Market – Astoria, OR |url=http://nfmd.org/or/astoria/1003661/ |website=National Farmers Market Directory |access-date=May 30, 2016}}</ref> have helped popularize the area as a destination.

[[File:Astoria Column e.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Astoria Column|The Astoria Column]]

In addition to the replicated Fort Clatsop, another point of interest is the [[Astoria Column]], a tower {{convert|125|ft|m}} high, built atop Coxcomb Hill above the town. Its inner circular staircase allows visitors to climb to see a panoramic view of the town, the surrounding lands, and the Columbia flowing into the Pacific. The tower was built in 1926. Financing was provided by the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]], seeking to encourage tourists, and [[Vincent Astor]], a great-grandson of John Jacob Astor, in commemoration of the city's role in the family's business history and the region's early history.<ref name=acolcch>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cbFXAAAAIBAJ&pg=6859%2C293169 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Astoria Column, Coxcomb Hill |date=July 13, 1926 |page=7}}</ref><ref name=tcatas>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=orVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6372%2C1096842 |newspaper=Eugene Guard |location=Oregon |title=The Column at Astoria |date=July 24, 1926 |page=4}}</ref>

Since 1998, artistically inclined fishermen and women from [[Alaska]] and the Pacific Northwest have traveled to Astoria for the [[Fisher Poets Gathering]], where poets and singers tell their tales to honor the fishing industry and lifestyle.<ref name=smithso>{{cite magazine |url= http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/rhyme-or-cut-bait-76082918/?c=y%3Fno-ist|title=Rhyme or Cut Bait When these fisher poets gather, nobody brags about the verse that got away|author=Sharon Boorstin|magazine=Smithsonian Magazine|date= June 2005}}</ref>

Another popular annual event is the Dark Arts Festival, which features music, art, dance, and demonstrations of craft such as blacksmithing and glassblowing, in combination with offerings of a large array of dark craft brews. Dark Arts Festival began as a small gathering at a community arts space. Now Fort George Brewery hosts the event, which draws hundreds of visitors and tour buses from Seattle.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dailyastorian.com/multimedia/festival-of-dark-arts/collection_e559eb12-32fa-11e9-b34d-335c31cd3beb.html#1 |title=Festival of Dark Arts|author=Colin Murphey|newspaper=The Daily Astorian|date= February 17, 2019}}</ref>

Astoria is the western terminus of the [[TransAmerica Bicycle Trail]], a {{convert|4250|mi|adj=on}} coast-to-coast bicycle touring route created in 1976 by the [[Adventure Cycling Association]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm
 |title        = TransAmerica Trail Summary
 |publisher    = Adventure Cycling Association
 |access-date  = December 26, 2012
 |archive-url  = https://archive.today/20130112054026/http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/transamerica.cfm
 |archive-date = January 12, 2013
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref>

At least two [[United States Coast Guard]] [[United States Coast Guard Cutter|cutters]]: the ''David Duren'' and ''[[USCGC Elm (WLB-204)|Elm]]'', are homeported in Astoria.<ref>{{cite web 
| url = http://www.chinookobserver.com/co/coast-guard/20150916/new-commander-takes-steadfasts-helm
| title = New commander takes Steadfast's helm
| author = Edward Stratton
| publisher = EO Media Group / chinookobserver
| date = September 16, 2015
| access-date = May 12, 2016
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Coast Guard accepts 56th fast response cutter, to be homeported in Astoria, Oregon |url=https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Assistant-Commandant-for-Acquisitions-CG-9/Newsroom/Latest-Acquisition-News/Article/3727094/coast-guard-accepts-56th-fast-response-cutter-to-be-homeported-in-astoria-oregon/ |website=Latest Acquisition News |publisher=United States Coast Guard |access-date=16 January 2025}}</ref>