Seaside is a city in
Clatsop County,
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
, United States, on the coast of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
. The name Seaside is derived from ''Seaside House'', a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate
Ben Holladay
Benjamin Holladay (October 14, 1819 – July 8, 1887) was an American transportation businessman responsible for creating the Overland Stage to California during the height of the 1849 California Gold Rush. Ben Holladay created a stagecoach ...
. The city's population was 6,457 at the
2010 census.
History

The
Clatsop
The Clatsop is a small tribe of Chinookan-speaking Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the early 19th century they inhabited an area of the northwestern coast of present-day Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia ...
were a historic Native American tribe that had a village named ''Ne-co-tat'' (in their
Chinook language) in this area.
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
had long inhabited the coastal area.
About January 1, 1806, a group of men from the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...
built a salt-making
cairn at the site later developed as Seaside. The city was not
incorporated until February 17, 1899, when coastal resort areas were being settled. It is about by car northwest of
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
, a major population center.
In 1912, Alexandre Gilbert (1843–1932) was elected Mayor of Seaside. Gilbert was a French immigrant, a veteran of the
Franco Prussian War (1870-1871). After living in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
and
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corn ...
, Gilbert moved to Seaside where he had a beach cottage (built in 1885). Gilbert was a real estate developer who donated land to the City of Seaside for its one-and-a-half-mile-long
Promenade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
, or "Prom," along the Pacific beach.
In 1892, he added to his beach cottage. Nearly 100 years later, what was known as the Gilbert House was operated commercially as the Gilbert Inn since the mid-1980s. Both it and Gilbert's eponymous "Gilbert Block" office building on Broadway still survive.
Gilbert died at home in Seaside and is interred in
Ocean View Abbey Mausoleum in
Warrenton.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy
An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Seaside lies on the edge of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
, at the southern end of the
Clatsop Plains
The Clatsop Plains are an area of wetlands and sand dunes between the Northern Oregon Coast Range and Pacific Ocean in northwestern Oregon in the United States. They stretch from near the mouth of the Columbia River south to the vicinity of Tilla ...
, about south of where the
Columbia River empties into the Pacific. The city is developed on both sides of the
Necanicum River, which flows to the ocean at the city's northern edge.
Tillamook Head
Tillamook Head is a high promontory on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States. It is located in west-central Clatsop County, approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Seaside. The promontory forms a steep rocky bluff ...
towers over the southern edge of the city.
120px, Harvesting razor clams
The geography associated with the gradual slope of the broad sandy beaches of
Clatsop Spit
Clatsop Spit is a giant sand spit on the Pacific coast along U.S. Route 101 between Astoria and the north end of Tillamook Head in Clatsop County, northwest Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River. The Clatsop Spit was formed by Columbia Rive ...
provide excellent conditions for the formation of beds of millions of
Pacific razor clam
The Pacific razor clam, ''Siliqua patula'', is a species of large marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pharidae.
Range
Pacific razor clams can be found along the Pacific West Coast of North America from the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to ...
s annually. The razor clams attract thousands of visitors to Seaside Beach each year.
Waves attract surfers all year round from the challenging point break off the tip of Tillamook Head to the sandy shores at "the cove" parking lot at Ocean Vista Drive.
Climate
Seaside has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(Köppen ''Cfb''), typical
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
climate, bordering very closely on a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(Köppen ''Csb''). It receives rainy winters and mild-to-cool summers. Mean high temperature in the warmest month, August, is roughly . The warmest heatwaves, however, occur in September. The hottest day on record was , which occurred on both September 23, 1943 and September 24, 1974. The coldest temperature ever recorded was which occurred on December 8, 1972.
Tsunami inundation zone

Part of Seaside is located in a tsunami inundation zone. Among other preparation, the City of Seaside has embarked on a program in which residents above the zone are asked to volunteer to store within their homes barrels of medical supplies, water purification systems, emergency rations, tarps, and radios, with each barrel having enough supplies to last 20 individuals for at least 3 days. As of January 2017, there are 119 barrels within volunteer households and a waiting list of interested households.
Seismologists estimate that there is a one in three chance that Seaside will be hit by an earthquake and tsunami within the next fifty years.
[The Really Small Ones]
''New Yorker'', Kathryn Schulz, Nov. 4, 2016. On Tues. Nov. 8, 2016, Seaside citizens voted 65% to 35% to issue $99.7 million in bonds to move the remaining three schools out of the tsunami inundation zone.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 6,457 people, 2,969 households, and 1,565 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was . There were 4,638 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.1%
White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.6%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.8%
Native American, 1.4%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
, 5.8% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 12.4% of the population.
There were 2,969 households, of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.3% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.83.
The median age in the city was 41.5 years. 20% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 28.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.
Arts and culture
Seaside holds an
art walk the first Saturday of each month from March through December. Several galleries are located along Broadway street in the historic Gilbert District.
The Seaside Jazz Festival (formerly the Oregon Dixieland Jubilee) was a long-running annual festival that featured some of the most popular
Trad Jazz
Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a revival ...
and
Swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing rid ...
bands in the US and Canada.
Annual cultural events
Seaside hosts an annual
4th of July
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
celebration which includes a parade, outdoor concerts, and one of the largest fireworks displays on the west coast.

Every spring until 2016 (in 2017 and 2018, the conference was moved to Salem, and the Dorchester Conference was moved to Welches, Oregon in 2019), Seaside hosted th
Dorchester Conference a convention of Oregon political activists, typically conservative, independent, or center-right. This convention was founded in 1964 by then-state representative
Bob Packwood
Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is an American retired lawyer and politician from Oregon and a member of the Republican Party. He resigned from the United States Senate, under threat of expulsion, in 1995 after allegations of ...
as a forum for all Republicans statewide.
In the 1990s, it became dominated by members of the conservative branch of the party. Over the years the conference has attracted visits from presidential candidates, debates between Republican primary candidates, and discussions of wider political and social issues. It is run by an independent board and is not formally affiliated with the
Oregon Republican Party
The Oregon Republican Party is the state affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Oregon, headquartered in Salem. The party was established in the Oregon Territory in February 1857 as the "Free State Republican Party of Oregon" and held ...
.
The
Miss Oregon Pageant
The Miss Oregon competition is a regional scholarship competition and beauty pageant that selects the representative for the US state of Oregon in the Miss America pageant. The annual event includes contestants from across the state and awards ...
, the official state finals to the
Miss America Pageant
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...
, takes place annually at the
Seaside Civic and Convention Center.
Seaside Beach Volleyball, the 2nd largest Beach Volleyball Tournament in the world takes place annually on the 2nd weekend of August. Started in 1982 the tournament has grown each year. In 2022 Seaside Beach Volleyball had over 1,800 teams and 192 courts for the four days of tournament play.
The annual Salt Maker's Return is held in September. The themed event celebrates Seaside history. Five men of the Lewis and Clark expedition needed nearly two months to make the equivalent of of salt; it was critical for them to be able to preserve meat for the winter and their several thousand-mile journey home to the East.

The beach and promenade at Seaside serve as the finish line for the
Hood to Coast and Portland to Coast relays, held annually on the weekend before
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...
.
Museums and other points of interest
Seaside is home to the
Seaside Aquarium, featuring living regional marine life, a hands-on discovery center, and a gray whale skeleton, all within a short walk from the Lewis & Clark monument.
The Seaside Museum & Historical Society features exhibits on local and regional history, and offers tours of the Butterfield Cottage, which has been restored to its 1912 state.
Murals adorn several buildings throughout Seaside, depicting history, marine life, and life in Seaside.
The Seaside Visitors Bureau and Travel Oregon Welcome Center offers one-on-one information for travelers to Seaside, as well as maps, magazines, public restrooms, and an oversized Adirondack chair popular for selfies with those traveling along the 101.
Media
Newspaper
*''
Seaside Signal''
Radio
*
KSWB — 840
AM (
Classic Hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...
)
*
KBGE — 94.9
FM (
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and ...
)
*
KCYS
KCYS (96.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Seaside, Oregon, United States. The station is owned by Jeff Huffman, through licensee Jacobs Radio Programming, LLC. KCYS broadcasts a country music format.
The state of Oregon has desig ...
— 96.5 FM (
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...
)
*
KCRX — 102.3 FM (
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
)
*
KMUN — 91.9 FM
Transportation
*Seaside has two major highways,
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal R ...
and
U.S. Route 26.
*Seaside is served by an intercity bus system.
*
Seaside Municipal Airport
Seaside Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located one mile (1.6 km) Northeast of Seaside in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. It is owned and operated as a public airport by the city of Seaside. The airport has one as ...
*Seaside is currently working on a Transportation System Plan (TSP).
It will serve as the transportation element of the City of Seaside's Comprehensive Plan. The TSP will describe how the transportation network in Seaside is being used now and how it is expected to be used in the future (in 2022).TSPs need to be developed according to the State of Oregon's Transportation Planning Rule. At the end of the project, the recommended improvements will be consistent with the Clatsop County TSP and the Oregon Highway Plan.
Notable people
*
Deborah Boone
Deborah Boone (born 1951) is an American politician from the state of Oregon. She served as a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, where she represented District 32. Her time in office began with her appointment on August 4 ...
(born 1951), member of Oregon's House of Representatives
*
Ken Carpenter (1926–2011), American football player
*
Betsy Eby Betsy Eby (born April 3, 1967) is an American artist and musician known for her abstract encaustic paintings. Eby lives and works in Columbus, Georgia and Wheaton Island, Maine.
Life
Eby was born April 3, 1967 in Seaside, Oregon. In 1972, her f ...
(born 1967), painter
*
Charles Irving Elliott
Charles Irving "Sam" Elliott (1892–1972) was a pioneer aviator in the Hawaiian Islands. As an airline pilot, he is credited with the first scheduled passenger flight between the Hawaiian Islands, the first scheduled airmail flight between the H ...
(1892-1972), Aviation Pioneer
*
Karl Marlantes
Karl Arthur Marlantes (born December 24, 1944) is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. He has written three books: '' Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War'' (2010), ''What it is Like to go to War'' (2011), and ''Deep River' ...
(born 1944), author, businessman and decorated Marine veteran.
*
Ruth Radelet (born 1982), singer and musician of
Chromatics
*
Ormond Robbins
Ormond Orlea Robbins (March 14, 1910 – July 21, 1984) was an American author of hardboiled detective fiction and weird fiction. His work was primarily published in the Popular Publications catalog of pulp fiction. The most part of his ...
(1910–1984), author
*
John Schlee (1939–2000), golfer
*
Norton Simon
Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907 – June 2, 1993) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was at one time one of the wealthiest men in America. At the time of his death, he had amassed a net worth of nearly US$10 billion.
...
(1907–1993), industrialist and philanthropist
*
E. E. Smith
Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...
(1890–1965), author
*
Tsin-is-tum (c. 1814–1905), Native American folklorist
*
Mark Wiebe
Mark Charles Wiebe (born September 13, 1957) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He also played on the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour.
Early life
Wiebe was born in Seaside, Oregon and grew up in Escondi ...
(born 1956), golfer
References
External links
City of Seaside(official website)
Seaside Visitors BureauEntry for Seasidein the ''
Oregon Blue Book
The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division.
The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...
''
Seaside Chamber of CommerceSeaside Historical SocietySeaside Downtown Development Association*
{{authority control
1899 establishments in Oregon
Astoria, Oregon micropolitan area
Cities in Clatsop County, Oregon
Cities in Oregon
Oregon Coast
Populated coastal places in Oregon
Populated places established in 1899
Seaside resorts in Oregon