Washington Coast · WA
Ilwaco
A fishing port tucked inside Cape Disappointment.
- Population
- 1,087 (2020 census)
- Settled
- 1851
- Incorporated
- 1890
Then
- 1851
Henry Feister settles here, at a place first called Unity.
- 1890
Ilwaco incorporates on December 16, named for Lower Chinook leader Elwahko Jim, son-in-law of Chief Comcomly.
- 1890s–1930s
The narrow-gauge Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company runs for more than thirty years.
- 2024
A January fire at Ilwaco Landing destroys a seafood receiving plant and about 600 crab pots.
Now
Ilwaco's seafood processors handle a big share of Washington's commercial catch, and cranberry bogs lie north of town. This place includes Cape Disappointment and the Columbia's north jetty.