Editing Tokeland, Washington (section)

==History==
Tokeland is named after [[Chief Toke]] of the [[Shoalwater Bay Tribe]]. Toke made the area a summer home for himself and his family, and his presence was first documented there by Lieutenant [[John Meares]] after Toke approached Meares' ship in his canoe at the mouth of [[Willapa Bay]] in 1788.<ref name="TokelandHotel">{{cite web |last1=McCausland |first1=Ruth |title=Tokeland Hotel: A History |url=http://www.tokelandhotel.com/history.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327230500/http://www.tokelandhotel.com/history.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2016 |access-date=18 October 2019}}</ref>

In 1854, J. F. Barrows settled on Toke Point, but left only a few years later. No other known settlers appeared in the area until the arrival of George Brown in 1858.<ref name="TokelandHotel" /> In 1885, Brown's daughter Lizzie, and her husband, William Kindred, built a home that became the Kindred Inn, and eventually as the Tokeland Hotel.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Tokeland Hotel |url=https://www.tokelandhotel.com/our-history-1 |website=Tokeland Hotel |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> When the town's first post office was established in 1894, the Kindreds operated it, and continued doing so for 17 years. Lizzie Kindred was also partial owner of the Tokeland Oyster Company when it opened in 1905.<ref name="TokelandHotel" />

Tokeland became a popular enough destination that in 1910, a group of investors from [[Portland, Oregon]] sought to develop an amusement park there that would resemble [[Coney Island]], although these plans never materialized.<ref name="TokelandHotel" />

Similarly to [[North Cove, Washington|North Cove]] and other towns on the north side of [[Willapa Bay]], [[coastal erosion]] became a serious concern for Tokeland. This, combined with the overall economic pressure affecting the nation during [[The Great Depression]], caused a decline in the area's tourism industry in the 1930s and 1940s.<ref name="TokelandHotel" /> The area's economy received a small boost starting in the 1950s, as recreational boating and fishing, combined with a surge in once-dwindling oyster harvests, rekindled many businesses. This led to the [[Port of Willapa Harbor]] making many improvements to Tokeland, including the 1974 addition of a new jetty, moorage, boat ramp, timber seawall, and fish buying station.<ref>{{cite web |title=Port of Willapa Harbor |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/9500 |website=HistoryLink |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref>

===Tsunami evacuation tower===

The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe built a {{convert|50|foot|m|adj=mid| tall}} tsunami evacuation tower in 2022.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 9, 2022 |title=Coastal tribe builds tsunami refuge tower in SW Washington |url=https://katu.com/amp/news/local/coastal-tribe-builds-tsunami-refuge-tower-in-sw-washington-shoalwater-bay-indian-tribe-tokeland-wash-cascadia-fault-zone-pacific-northwest-fema-megathrust-eathquake |access-date=2022-08-09 |work=KATU}}</ref> The freestanding structure was built at a cost $5 million, $1.2 million supplied by the tribal council and an additional $3.8 million from the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency|Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)]]. The tower is considered the first of its type in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Libby Denkmann |author2=Tom Banse |author3=Jason Burrows |title=Exploring North America's first free-standing tsunami tower |url=https://www.kuow.org/stories/exploring-north-america-s-first-free-standing-tsunami-tower |access-date=December 2, 2022 |work=KUOW.org |date=August 10, 2022}}</ref> In honor of tribal elder Lee Shipman who guided the project to completion, the council bestowed the tower the nickname, "Auntie Lee".<ref name="TSU"/>