First
settled in 1863 by Henry Blodgett, a trapper and hunter. He homesteaded 160 acres and eventually
gave part of his land to his hunter friend, P.H. Roundtree with
the stipulation that he build a $500 home. Roundtree built
an $800 house which was near the site of the Pacific Beach Hotel
(currently the old fire station is near this site).
Originally,
Pacific Beach was called Joe Creek. In
1903, Roundtree began plotting the town and decided on the Pacific
Beach name. Other names considered were Bluffton, Illahee
Beach, Roundtree and Ocean View.
In
1906, a hotel was built along the bluff called The Quinault Inn. This business was later taken over
by Carl Cooper who formerly owned the Breakers Pavilion, a dance
hall along the beach in Moclips. The name of the hotel was
changed to Pacific Beach Hotel. Cooper also owned the Motor
Village (where the new North Beach Community Center and Fire Station
is located). He also owned a ranch style "resort" complete
with chickens and other farm animals near Copalis Crossing. The
Pacific Beach Hotel was known as the "Honeymoon Hotel". Over
the years, several wings were added to the original building. Electricity
and hot water were eventually included. The Navy used the
building for their officers quarters after they took over the property. They
tore it town in the early 1950's.
The
Air Force came to Pacific Beach in the early 1940's and later the
Navy took over the site. When
the military decided to abandon this property in the 1950's, they
offered it to Pacific Beach for $1.00. Unfortunately, being
that Pacific Beach was unincorporated, this gift was not legally
possible.
In
the early 1900's, George Emerson of Hoquiam built the mansion in
Pacific Beach on Joe Creek which is still
there along the highway. Several photos of this Pacific Beach
icon are on display in the musuem.
In
the 1960's, a new state park was created at the juncture of the
Pacific Ocean and Joe Creek. The Pacific
Beach State Park is very popular with visitors and is often booked
solid during the summer.
A
recent discovery of an old, abandoned garbage site has yielded
some great artifacts including many from the 1940's
Navy base. A wooden water pipe was found which provided
Pacific Beach with water for over 100 years before the newer system
was implemented.
Carlisle
