Lecture Examines Lewis and Clark's Time on Oregon Coast

Published 12/23/2012

(Cannon Beach, Oregon) – With the rather mammoth moniker of "Elk, Salt and 'a Monstrous Fish' - Lewis and Clark's Winter on the Oregon Coast,” it promises to be an evening full of facts and fascinating tidbits about one the most pivotal moments in U.S. history and its relation to this area. The talk will be given by Tom Wilson, a Nation Park Interpretive Ranger and a retired elementary school teacher on January 3 in Cannon Beach.

Wilson will cover Clark’s journey over Tillamook Head to the whale, the men he brought, why this was so important to them, and also why it was important to the native people - plus how they rendered the whale and brought it back to their respective plank houses.

In his journals of the walk through what is now Seaside and then over Tillamook Head, William Clark said he embarked on this journey to obtain oil and blubber from a “monstrous fish.” Along the way, Clark, Sacegawea and a handful of men encountered the salt-making camp you now find a replica of at Seaside.

Tom Wilson has portrayed William Clark for several years. He helped start the Saltmakers program in Seaside and has also participated in many other programs. including those for PBS. During the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Tom, as Clark, participated in a program at the top of Tillamook Head recreating Clark’s journey back from the whale.

During their stay at Fort Clatsop in the winter of 1805-06, the Corps of Discovery was quickly informed by local tribes that more protection from storms and more game was available on the southern side of the Columbia River, so they elected to head there instead of stay in what is now Washington State. This was of also of major historical significance, since it appears to be the first time in the United States that a black slave and a woman were allowed to vote on their own futures.

Lewis and Clark were the first to visit the Oregon coast and get a taste of its now-legendary wet conditions: it rained all but a few days of their few months' stay here.

"Elk, Salt and 'a Monstrous Fish' - Lewis and Clark's Winter on the Oregon Coast.” The program is part of the World of Haystack Rock Library Lecture Series in Cannon Beach and happens January 3 at the Cannon Beach Library at 7 p.m. 131 N. Hemlock St. Cannon Beach, Oregon. (503) 436-2623

Replica of the Salt works at Seaside

Clark stood somewhere on this bluff above Cannon Beach and carved his initials, but they were never found.

Lewis and Clark Memorial at Cannon Beach

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