Platted
in 1925 by J.E. Glenn of Copalis Rocks and Otis Chabot from Moclips,
their vision for Ocean City was to create a great resort town. This
included plans for a country club but the depression put a stop
to that idea. Ocean City was known as a "shack" town. There
was no electricity, water supply or road - everything had to be
transported via the beach. Ocean City became a clam cannery
town with the Bode Cannery as its first business. Ocean City
is known for its excellent razor clam beach. It is also
known for its three famous women residents:
Dorothy Anderson came to the United States from Norway when
she was nineteen. She worked in several hotels in Seattle and
Spokane before coming to Ocean City in 1926. She collected driftwood
along the beach and built several cabins with the help of one carpenter. This
resort was called, "Dorothy Anderson's Tourist Harbor". Her
cabin, built in 1926, was deminishing with time and had to be removed from its original location. The cabin was moved to Seabrook, north of its original location on State Route 109, where it has been restored.
Nina
Rutherford came from Everett to work in the canneries
including the one in Taholah. In 1938 she became the
postmaster at Ocean City. In 1939, she opened a small
grocery store and gas station, "Nina Rutherford's General
Store" which
also included the post office in the rear of the building. Together,
Nina and Dorothy Anderson cleared the land. Nina's
building is also still standing; it is the yellow one just
to the south
of the Sunrise Market.
Norah
Berg came to Ocean City from Seattle with her new
husband Sarge in 1942. She learned very quickly that life on the
beach was difficult but rewarding. In 1952, she wrote
a book, "LADY ON THE BEACH" which is highly
sought after (especially an autographed first edition). In
her book, she details her and Sarge's life on the beach at Ocean
City. Norah's 1912 typewriter that she used to write
the book, copies of Lady on the Beach and photos of Norah
and Sarge are on display in the museum.
Oyehut