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.
