Clallam Bay is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Clallam County Clallam County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 77,155, with an estimated population of 78,209 in 2021. The county seat and largest city is Port Angeles; the county as a whole comprises the ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States, at the mouth of the

Clallam River The Clallam River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington. The river is over long. Nearby and similar rivers include the Pysht River and Hoko River. Course The Clallam River originates in the Olympic Mountains near Ellis Mountain. It flows gen ...

into Clallam Bay. Known for its natural environment and hunting, Clallam Bay is partially reliant on tourism. Clallam Bay is considered the twin city of nearby Sekiu. As of the 2010 census, the population of Clallam Bay was 363.

History

Clallam Bay was founded in the 1880s as a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

stop. It became a

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

in 1890. Two years later, the mill burned, and making

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

s for West Clallam Bay's

tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

extract became its main industry. In 1905, the

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

at Slip Point was lighted on

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...

. Sekiu Point (pronounced "See'-kew"), the western cape of Clallam Bay, was first charted by Captain Henry "OG" Kellett in 1847. The town of Sekiu was founded as "West Clallam" in 1870, by A.J. Martin who built a

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although un ...

to be nearer the fishing grounds. The area boomed before the turn of the century when a

leather tanning Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, makin ...

extract was produced here by the Pacific Tanning Extract Company established in 1887. Sekiu crashed in 1893 when the demand for the extract ceased, and hundreds of men were left unemployed. People turned to fishing, and later logging. From 1902 to 1907, D.A. Robinson logged here, building a railroad with what was then the longest railroad bridge in the world. The long, high bridge spanned Charlie Creek.

Geography and climate

The community of Clallam Bay is located in northwestern Clallam County, where the Clallam River enters the southeastern side of Clallam Bay, a small indentation in the

Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about long that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean. The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the centre ...

. Washington State Route 112 passes through the community, leading south to

Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...

US 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

. To the west, Route 112 leads to Sekiu at the west end of Clallam Bay, and to

Neah Bay Neah Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Makah Reservation in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The population was 865 at the 2010 census. It is across the Canada–US border from British Columbia. Originally called "Scarborou ...

References

Census-designated places in Washington (state) Census-designated places in Clallam County, Washington Populated coastal places in Washington (state) {{ClallamCountyWA-geo-stub