Oysterville church built in 1892
Photos and Article by Rick Harden
Oysterville, Washington
A visit to Oysterville is like going back in time to the
middle 1800's. This small coastal community was settled in 1854 by R.
H. Espy and I. A. Clark. Prior to the settlement of Oysterville, Chinook
Indians harvested the oysters from this part of Willapa Bay, and called
the area "tsako-te-hahsh-eetl" this name had two meanings "place of the
red topped grass" and "home of the yellowhamer". The Yellowhammer is the
local name for the red- shafted flicker (woodpecker) common to this region.
Espy, Clark and Oysterville at this time were all doing well, selling
the bivalves to oyster hungry San Francisco. Where a plate of oysters
sold for a Mexican "slug" worth two and a half times the twenty dollar
gold piece. In 1855 Oysterville became the county seat for Pacific County
and served as the county seat until Sunday Morning Feb. 5, 1893, when
a band of South Bend Raiders came and carried away the records.
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