Editing Waldport, Oregon (section)

== History ==
Settlement of Waldport began in 1879 when David Ruble bought squatter’s rights from Lint Starr for $300 for property including the area now known as "Old Town." Many early settlers were of German descent, and one of the names proposed for this town was Waldport: "wald" meaning forest or trees, and "port" referring to its proximity to the ocean. The plat for the town was recorded on September 9, 1885, and by 1911, when Waldport was incorporated, it boasted a dozen businesses and 150 inhabitants.

The earliest inhabitants of the area were known as the "Alsi" or "Alsea", a name given to them by the Coos tribe. (Their name for themselves in their own language was "Wusi" or "Wusitslum".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.native-languages.org/definitions/wusitslum.htm|title=Wusitslum (Wusitslums)}}</ref>) In 1780 the total number of "Yakonan", which included tribes from Yaquina Bay to the Siuslaw, was estimated to have numbered upwards of 6,000 and the Alsea river and bay was home to numerous small villages. At the time of Lewis and Clark, the numbers had dwindled to about 1,000, and by 1910 only 29 remained at the Siletz reservation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://accessgenealogy.com/oregon/alsea-indians.htm|title = Alsea Indians| date=4 July 2012 }}</ref>

[[Camp Angel]], a [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] camp near Waldport, was home to [[World War II]] [[conscientious objectors]] involved in the arts.<ref>{{Cite web
| last = Siuslaw National Forest
|author2=History Department |author3=Portland State University
 | title = Camp 56: An Oral History Project: World War II Conscientious Objectors and the Waldport, Oregon Civilian Public Service Camp
| work = Center for Columbia River History
| access-date = 2013-08-15
| url = http://www.ccrh.org/oral/co.pdf
}}</ref>

In September 1975, [[Marshall Applewhite]] and [[Bonnie Nettles]] gave a lecture in Waldport on [[UFO]]s which was attended by roughly 150 people. In the following days, an estimated 20 residents, nearly one out of 30 people who lived in the town, abandoned their homes and possessions and joined their group, [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]]. An [[Oregon State Police]] investigation concluded that no laws had been broken.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brooke|first1=James|title=The Day a Cult Shook a Tiny Town|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/30/us/the-day-a-cult-shook-a-tiny-town.html|access-date=5 February 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=30 March 1997}}</ref>