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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2018)
July 20, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3B CELEBRATING GEARHART’S 100TH ANNIVERSARY World-class city on the Oregon Coast Major events in Gearhart’s history from its founding to the present day 1850 — Phillip Gearhart, a local settler, arrives in Gear- hart. 1889 — Gearhart is estab- lished and named for Phillip Gearhart. 1890 — Marshall Kinney purchases property land plats the town site of Gearhart Park in 1890, the same year that the Astoria & South Coast Rail- way arrives, in which Kinney is an investor. 1890 — The first Hotel Gearhart, opens on the pres- ent-day site of City Hall. When the second Gearhart Hotel was built on the oceanfront, the first hotel is renamed the Neacoxie and used as hotel staff quarters. The first was destroyed by fire in 1913. 1890 — Ridge Path is de- signed between Cottage Ave- nue and Neacoxie Creek. 1897 — Gearhart Post Of- fice opens. 1898 — Through train-ser- vice from Portland is inaugu- rated as Gearhart thrives. 1901 — Marshall Kinney R.J. MARX Gearhart’s Mayor Matty Brown and former Mayor Kent Smith at the Gearhart Firehouse. FILE PHOTO 1918 Signal article recognizes the adoption of Gearhart’s charter. develops a full nine-hole golf course, touted as “the finest in the country.” 1909 — Gearhart School District is formed. 1911 — Gearhart’s first school on A Street opens to classes. 1913 — Hotel Gearhart burns, replaced by what is described as a “monumental shingled hostelry perched on the foredune like a huge Cape Cod Cottage.” 1915 — William Samuel Badger, a contractor and road builder, moves to Gearhart. Badger is to become the first African-American to serve in public office in Oregon in 1918 as a member of the City Council, in a state with racial exclusion laws on the books during his term and remaining law until 1926. 1918 — Gearhart, former- ly part of the town of Clatsop, is incorporated. P.A. Lee was elected mayor; F.L. Hager, auditor and police judge; and D.B. Schroeder, treasurer. 1920 — Gearhart’s popula- tion is counted at 128. 1923 —Second Hotel Gear- hart opens; the structure is to entertain guests until demoli- tion in 1972. 1924 — City Hall is dedi- cated. 1929 — Development stalls after the stock market crash of October 1929. 1932 — City offers munici- pal work to those unable to pay their water bills. 1937 — Gearhart Fire De- partment is formed under the leadership of Harold Tyberg, the first fire chief. 1938 — Carl Lolk wins the mayoral election, unseating in- cumbent J.L Burgess by three votes. 1943 — Enter the elk: The Signal reports elk which make their home along the Necani- cum valley “have become par- ticularly obnoxious,” turning their attentions to the shrubs, lawns, garden plots and the pastures of the farms along the valley. “As they are tame as cat- tle, there is nothing much to do be done about it without harm- ing the animals,” the Signal writes. 1943 — Representatives of Seaside and Gearhart meet to consider a merger of the two cities. If the plan had been adopted, the result would have been an enlarged mu- nicipality with about 4,000 people, extending from the base of Tillamook Head to a point about two miles north of the mouth of the Necani- cum River. 1947 — Gearhart’s Les- ley Miller advocates the establishment of Gearhart Park, stretching along the ocean front north of Pacif- ic Way. Miller envisioned it as “a place to play base- COURTESY GEARHART REMEMBERED ball, football, have a pic- nic, or just sit, relax and Lesley Miller, who dedicated herself to preserving parkland in Gearhart. watch the sunset.” 1948 — Bids for a new elementary school in Gearhart 1953 — The City Council are received. The new build- accepts the annual budget of ing, estimated to cost $58,000 $13,433.70. including the site, is sited on a 1953 — William Badger 5-acre tract facing Sixth Street. dies at age 75. 1948 — Meetings of the el- 1958 — Volunteers build ementary school boards of Can- firehouse on Pacific Way with non Beach, Gearhart and Seaside, a budget of $20,000. seek an administrative merger of 1959 — Gearhart enacts the elementary schools. first zoning rules, labeling 1951 — The old school- South Marion Avenue “Resi- house on A Street is sold by the dential-1” in response to a re- district into private ownership; quest for a garage for logging a two-room annex acquired by trucks in the dunes. 1968 — Dunes north of the newly formed Trail’s End Gearhart considered as a lo- Art Association. 1951 — A fluoridation plant cation for a county convention is established for the Gearhart center. The center would be located on the foredune facing water supply. 1953 — The remains of an the ocean. 18-foot to 20-foot killer whale See Timeline, Page 4B washes ashore. Gearhart’s Grand Hotel in an undated photo by Fred H. Kiser. OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY C oast G allery and n umismatiCs “a different kind of gallery” Coast Gallery and Numismatics is the northwest coast newest gallery. Opened June 1, 2018, Coast Gallery and Numismatics exclusively features original oil paintings and wood fired ceramics by Jeff Whyman MFA University California Berkeley 1981. Jeff Whyman lived in Cannon Beach for over 10 years and taught at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Oregon. From around the world we also offer exotic shells and choice world coins. Regards coins we offer complimentary appraisals on Saturdays. C oast G allery and n umismatiCs 3350 N Hwy 101 Suite D, Gearhart, Oregon • Wed. thru Sat. 9 am to 4 pm www.coastgallerynumismatics.com