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History
"Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers" written about South Tillamook County, Oregon
The page below was written by Mrs. Hardy Rock (Alexandria LEY Rock) and published in 1949. NVMS students have retyped her history so that many may read it. Although some punctuation errors have been corrected the text remains as written by Mrs. Rock.
Note that Alexandria LEY Rock's "Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers" has been republished in book form as of January 2007 and is now being offered for sale by the Tillamook County Historical Society!
(The first three paragraphs were typed by NVMS 7th grader, Heather, during the spring of 2002 and edited by Dean Bones. The remainder was typed by Dean Bones.)
A few local families continued to reside there until the property passed into possession of the Christian Church, since which it is used exclusively for members of the faith.
A little south of the Lake and west of the high points of land belonging to Herman Vogel and son, stood the house and home of Mr. Rogers, who lived there on the beach with his wife, son, and daughter, Lizzie, from 1888 to 1891. He secured title by pre-emption claim. He was not related to the Roger families who later lived on the Ed Talbot farm. At that time, this house, the one owned by Henry Page at Slab Creek, and one occupied by Alex Kitterman (on Brigham place) were the only ones on the Beach. The Roger house has long since completely disappeared and the property owned by Messrs. Ralph Sutton and Harold Scherzinger. The stretch of Beach seven miles long has (and still does) afforded pleasure to horseback riders.
Slab Creek was so named from the slab of lumber off a wrecked vessel before the entry of the whites. It is supposed to have been a Hudson Bay Company ship. An anchor from it is still at the summer home of South of Slab Creek.
The floor of the cabin in which Chris Christensen first lived was composed of some of these slabs or planks. J.W. Hellenbrand also used some for flooring in his log house. Henry Page had some nice fragments of copper salvaged from the wreck. The Indian name of Slab Creek was Neschesne. Some early settlers called it "Creek Kiawanda."
At the mouth of Slab Creek, stands a very large high rock which can be climbed at low tide on its northern end. The Indians called it Schlock. Mrs. Henry Page, whose husband and herself homesteaded the farm surrounding it, gave it the name "Proposal Rock," because her daughter, Della Page, became engaged on the top of the rock to Charlie Gage. The name still endures. Between this rock and rocky bluff at the south end of the beach stand, visible at low tide, many petrified tree stumps which have been there since long before the whites moved into this locality. At times, sands will entirely cover them at low tide' again the sands will be swept away leaving the stumps like sentinels on the beach.
South of these rise a rocky high promontory (known now as Cascade Head) running east and west between Slab Creek and Salmon River to Lincoln County and which reached out into the ocean ending in a number of low rocks covered with edible mussles obtainable at low tide. Farther out and cut off by a deep length of ocean water and separated from the mainland, stands Burley Rock. Once a man named Burley got out on it at very low tide to fish, and was cut off by a high tide. Henry Page and others tried to get a tope to him but failing, he was compelled to remain there all night in danger of drowning. He escaped at the next very low tide. Mrs. Henry Page then named the rock, "Burley Rock."
Many persons have narrowly escaped drowning while gathering mussels from the lower rocks over which the sea is almost constantly pounding.
The first camping ground at Neskowin was on the south side of Slab Creek, close to the house occupied by Alex Kitterman, now known as the Brigham Place. Here wealthy families from Salem established as Artistic Resort; arranged the tents in rows to form a street. This was an exclusive campground. They enjoyed fishing in Slab Creek which abounded in fish. Among enthusiastic anglers was Belle Golden, daughter of Dr. Golden of Salem, who became the wife of Dr. . .
Continue to page 12 of "Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers!"