This stretch of Oregon coast is steeped in military history dating back to the Civil War, which was a surprise to us. We do of course know, and visited on a previous trip, the Lewis and Clark Historical Park located close by, where the Corps of Discovery Party spent the winter of 1805-06. What we discovered on this trip is that Fort Stevens was a military fort guarding the Columbia River from the Civil War through World War II and that its claim to fame is that it became the first US mainland military base to be fired on by a foreign power since the War of 1812. On the night of June 21st, 1942, a Japanese submarine fired seventeen shells in the direction of the fort, several of which landed close to one of the gun batteries.
Here is the same video that we watched at the museum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io_w4UWCcCE
We walked around Battery Pratt with its replica of one of the 10-inch disappearing rifles.
Here is the "disappearing rifle" hiding behind the wall. It pivots up to fire the shot, then retracts back to its hidden position.
There is more military memorabilia on the grounds adjacent to the Museum:
For my history buff fan club, here is a link to the PDF of the detailed brochure on the Fort Stevens historical site:
We also visited Battery Russell which is the vicinity where the Japanese shell hit, leaving a 5-foot crater in the ground.
We didn't see the crater, but we did see the Pacific Rim Peace Memorial that was erected on the 50th anniversary of the 1942 attack. It remains a reminder of a wish for everlasting peace between the US and Japan.
There was not much else to see other than another abandoned concrete battery.
My impression is that there was a lot of concrete used in the construction of the batteries and gun emplacements, and that concrete has a very long shelf life. These structures may be utilitarian in purpose but now the crumbling remains seem quite ugly and out of place among the lush natural flora of the surrounding area.
Here is link to the informative brochure about Battery Russell:
Fort Stevens State Park is also proud of its very own shipwreck. This brochure explains how the British sailing ship, Peter Iredale, ran aground in 1906 on this notoriously hazardous river bar:
Not much of significance remains 100 years later, though it still attracts folks who seem to enjoy taking photos of the skeletal remains of the rusted hull.
The park boasts five miles of hiking trails and nine miles of bike trails. We walked most of those miles to the historical sites and down to the beach.
Here is what we saw along the way:
Coffenbury Lake -
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| lilies and mosquitoes love this lake |
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| but so do swimmers and "fisherfolks" |
...the expanse of endless beach and dunes -
...pretty woods and wetlands -
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| miles of paved paths for bikers and hikers |
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| interesting variety of trees |
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| moss encrusted branches |
We also enjoyed some "down time" at our campsite nestled between the trees. And here, I would like to add that my bus driver is now an expert at maneuvering this rather large home on wheels into very tight spaces. This site was a particular challenge as he had to back the coach between two rows of trees. Though many of the sites in this park are angled, making it easier to back in, ours was not and Michael had to back in at a 90 degree angle while avoiding the trees on the site across the narrow roadway from us.
The folks opposite us were so impressed as they watched, that they came over to comment afterwards.
Tomorrow we continue on to our next stop, this time on the Washington coast, in Westport, where we will spend a couple of nights before arriving back home.