Cannon Beach’s name derives from wreckage, including three small cannons and the capstan, off the survey schooner U.S.S. Shark that sank in September 1846 at the mouth of the Columbia River. Washing ashore near Arch Cape, to the north, in October 1846, they were buried and lost until 1898, when Shark Creek revealed its secret. Replicas, with minimal informational historical markers, are mounted at pull-offs both north and south of town. Cannon Beach
Historical Society’s museum has the genuine cannon and capstan.
Despite the seemingly obvious nature of the name evolution, the town was actually called other things, including Elk Creek and Ecola (causing misdirection of mail with Eola in the Willamette Valley), until 1922. This mirrors the changes the town went through. A working town that feared it would be "discovered" when the first roads connected it to the outside world (when President Truman visited his trip from Portland took 7.5 hours) has, over the years, become a thriving artist colony, and, embracing the outside world, a tourist destination.
The main exhibit, Cannon Beach: A Place By The Sea, chronicles the evolution, from the formation of Tillamook Head to the present through a series of photographs and artifacts arranged chronologically, with significant world events noted at appropriate spots for perspective. Two antique telephones conversationally report the town’s "current news" and a model tide pool’s drawers hide answers to questions designed to interest kids. The logger up the tree, the docent informs me, is Herman.
A side room holds a quilt collection. One covering a not-so-local issue, the Underground Railway contains instructions for a flight to freedom encoded in the geometric patterns within the quilt’s squares.
Another side room chronicles the history of Sandcastle Day, with a collection of event posters. The accompanying photographs highlight a few more memorable moments, such as the 5 years of the Dragon Parade, cardboard boxes of graduated size simply painted with scales, with a sculpted head atop the largest, and a person hidden within each performing a dragon dance. After the parade, the dragon made a glorious bonfire. Sounds like fun.
My main motivation to visit this little museum came from learning they had a scale model of Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, but by the time I’d viewed the other exhibits, I’d nearly forgotten it. It was just a warm enough day that having both the doors into the museum open was a pleasant way of keeping the interior cool. We’d entered through the rear from the museum’s parking and found the model in a semidetached "room" outside the front entrance, with windows on three sides. At a half-inch to the foot, it was much larger than I’d anticipated, and more detailed.
Located at Sunset and Spruce in midtown, removed from the hectic congested areas of downtown or the beach, the museum has no admission, but donations are accepted. An online Historical walking tour lets you pursue more local history.
Contacts: 503/436-9301 cbhs@seasurf.net
Hours: Wed-Mon. 1-5pm