Clallam Bay is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Clallam County Clallam County is a List of counties in Washington, county in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 77,616 in 2023. The cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States, at the mouth of the

Clallam River The Clallam River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. The river is over long. Nearby and similar rivers include the Pysht River and Hoko River. Course The Clallam River originates in the Olympic Mountains near Ellis Mountain. It flows g ...

into Clallam Bay. Known for its natural environment and hunting, Clallam Bay is partially reliant on tourism. Clallam Bay is considered the twin city of nearby Sekiu. As of the 2020 census, the population of Clallam Bay was 386, up from 363 at

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

History

Clallam Bay was founded in the 1880s as a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

stop. It became a

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...

in 1890. Two years later, the mill burned, and making

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

s for West Clallam Bay's tanning extract became its main industry. In 1905, the

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

at Slip Point was lighted on

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...

. Sekiu Point (pronounced "See'-kew"), the western cape of Clallam Bay, was first charted by Captain Henry "OG" Kellett in 1847. The town of Sekiu was founded as "West Clallam" in 1870, by A.J. Martin who built a

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container ( jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although unde ...

to be nearer the fishing grounds. The area boomed before the turn of the century when a

leather tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

extract was produced here by the Pacific Tanning Extract Company established in 1887. Sekiu crashed in 1893 when the demand for the extract ceased, and hundreds of men were left unemployed. People turned to fishing, and later logging. From 1902 to 1907, D.A. Robinson logged here, building a railroad with what was then the longest railroad bridge in the world. The long, high bridge spanned Charlie Creek.

Geography and climate

The community of Clallam Bay is located in northwestern Clallam County, where the Clallam River enters the southeastern side of Clallam Bay, a small indentation in the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The Canada–United States border, international boundary between Canada and the ...

Washington State Route 112 State Route 112 (SR 112, named the Strait of Juan de Fuca Highway) is a state highway and scenic byway in the U.S. state of Washington. It runs east–west for along the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Clallam County, connecting the Makah ...

passes through the community, leading south via Washington State Route 113 to

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

US 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

. To the west, Route 112 leads to Sekiu at the west end of Clallam Bay, and to

Neah Bay Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 935 at the 2020 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Europeans originally called ...

References

Census-designated places in Washington (state) Census-designated places in Clallam County, Washington Populated coastal places in Washington (state) {{ClallamCountyWA-geo-stub