Moclips is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
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
Grays Harbor County,
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. The population was 207 at the
2010 census.
It is located near the mouth of the
Moclips River.
According to
Edmond S. Meany, the word ''moclips'' comes from a
Quinault word meaning a place where girls were sent as they were approaching puberty. However, according to William Bright, the name comes from the Quinault word meaning simply "large stream".
History
![Moclips deer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Moclips_deer.jpg)
The indigenous inhabitants of the area were members of the
Quinault tribe along the coast north of
Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuary, estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state, in the United States of America. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the l ...
and the Upper and Lower
Chehalis Chehalis may refer to:
People
* Chehalis people, a Native American people of Washington state
**Lower Chehalis language
**Upper Chehalis language
* Sts'Ailes people (Chehalis people), a First Nation in British Columbia
* Chehalis First Nation, Bri ...
tribes of the lower
Chehalis River drainage. Other groups included the Copalis, Wynoochee, and Humptulips subtribes of the Upper Chehalis subtribe, and the Satsop subtribe of the Lower Chehalis. The Chehalis, Quinault, Cowlitz, and Queets spoke
Coast Salish languages
Coast Salish languages are a subgroup of the Salishan language family. These languages are spoken by First Nations or Native American peoples inhabiting the Pacific Northwest, in the territory that is now known as the southwest coast of Briti ...
related to other
Salishan
The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). They are characterised by ag ...
language groups in the
Northwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
. The Quileute and Hoh spoke unrelated
Chimakuan languages
The Chimakuan languages are a group of extinct languages that were spoken in northwestern Washington state, United States, on the Olympic Peninsula. They were spoken by Chimakum, Quileute and Hoh tribes. They are part of the Mosan sprachbund, ...
, while the
Makah
The Makah (; Klallam: ''màq̓áʔa'')Renker, Ann M., and Gunther, Erna (1990). "Makah". In "Northwest Coast", ed. Wayne Suttles. Vol. 7 of ''Handbook of North American Indians'', ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institut ...
spoke a
Wakashan language, also unrelated. To the south the
Chinookan
The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington (state), Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 ...
people spoke yet another family of unrelated languages, the
Chinookan languages
The Chinookan languages were a small family of languages spoken in Oregon and Washington along the Columbia River by Chinook peoples. Although the last known native speaker of any Chinookan language died in 2012, the 2009-2013 American Community ...
. All the tribes also used a trade
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
called
Chinook Jargon.
The area's indigenous people lived in permanent villages along rivers and lakes. Water defined their economic and cultural lives. They harvested
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 ...
as they swam upstream to spawn, as well as whales and seals along the coast. In the summers, hunters ranged inland and into the
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...
for game and to trade with other tribal groups. The Indians developed a high degree of skill with canoes carved from cedar trees in a variety of specialized designs adapted to swift-flowing rivers, broad estuaries, and the sea.
The Quinaults' first recorded contact with Europeans, in 1775 near Grenville Point, ended in the deaths of seven Spaniards and as many as seven Indians. The Indians had traded peacefully with the explorers, but turned on them after the Spaniards landed, erected a cross, and claimed the land for the Spanish king. The reason for the sudden attack remains unexplained, but tribal historians have offered the possibility that the Europeans had violated a woman's safe haven.
In 1792, Captain
Robert Gray discovered Grays Harbor and entered the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
, the first non-indigenous people to have done so. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
to explore the vast interior between the
Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean. Although the expedition cemented American claims to
Oregon Country
Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...
, it failed to find a practical wagon route. It wasn't until the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
began to be used by American settlers in the 1840s that British control of the Pacific Northwest, in the form of the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
, became challenged.
Contact with Europeans and the frequent interaction between tribes accelerated the several epidemics that swept the region, beginning with
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
in the 1770s and continuing with what was likely
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
in 1829,
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
in 1836, and smallpox again in 1853. The native population dropped from thousands to a few dozen. So many Chinooks died around
Willapa Bay
Willapa Bay () is a bay located on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state in the United States. The Long Beach Peninsula separates Willapa Bay from the greater expanse of the Pacific Ocean. With over of surface area Willapa Bay is the ...
in the 1850s that the Chehalis moved in to take their place.
In 1855, after the creation of
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
, the
Quinault Treaty
The Quinault Treaty (also known as the Quinault River Treaty and the Treaty of Olympia) was a treaty agreement between the United States and the Native American Quinault and Quileute tribes located in the western Olympic Peninsula north of Grays ...
was signed by Chief Taholah of the Quinault and Chief How-yat'l of the Quileute, along with many other tribal delegates. One result of the treaty was the creation of the roughly triangular shaped
Quinault Indian Reservation between the Pacific Ocean and
Lake Quinault
Lake Quinault ( or ) is a lake on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington state. It is located in the glacial-carved Quinault Valley of the Quinault River, at the southern edge of Olympic National Park in the northwestern United States. One o ...
.
The first American settlers came to the
North Beach area in the mid-19th century. Many homesteaded with of fine timber.
Although settled earlier by homesteaders such as Steve Grover in 1862, Moclips was not incorporated until 1905 with the completion of the
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
and the first Moclips Beach Hotel built by Dr. Edward Lycan. The hotel was a two-story, 150-room beachside resort. It burned down in 1905, just months after it was completed. Dr. Lycan then had a new, larger hotel built on the same site. It was three stories high, a block long, and loomed from the dunes. This Moclips Beach Hotel was completed in 1907 and advertised as having 270 "outside" rooms, with of covered veranda, and a perfect view of the Pacific Ocean, reported to be just from the hotel grounds. This close proximity to the ocean, however, would prove its undoing.
Back then Moclips was publicized as a healthy getaway from the toil and trouble of city life. It was a
health resort
A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and ...
. The moist salt air and bathing in the surf was touted as very medicinal. A promotional pamphlet of the time purports Moclips' climate to be "simply perfect". Dr. Lycan believed that Moclips was the Mecca for health and pleasure of the Northwest.
Moclips grew into a sizable town with restaurants, hotels, a candy store, theater, canneries, and the M.R. Smith Lumber and Shingle Mill. Many hotels, schools, canneries and shingle mills were quickly built. Four schools once taught children from
Taholah to
Ocean Shores. Class schedules for the local schools were based on the clamming tides. Two of these buildings exist today.
![WW Kurtz Co fish cannery, Moclips, Washington, 1915 (COBB 191)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/WW_Kurtz_Co_fish_cannery%2C_Moclips%2C_Washington%2C_1915_%28COBB_191%29.jpeg)
In 1911 Moclips was struck by a series of fatal storms, eventually washing much of the town away. The Moclips Beach Hotel stood in pieces. By the end of 1913, there was nothing left of the hotel. Fires destroyed much of Moclips along the beach. In 1948 a hilltop welding accident destroyed many homes and businesses.
The U.S. Navy and Air Force made the neighboring town of
Pacific Beach their home during World War II. The Navy still occupies property along the bluff in Pacific Beach - now a recreational use center for the military.
In 1960, a second wave of tourism began. According to yearly polls by ''Evening'' magazine, this resort town is consistently near the top of places to visit in Washington state, being number two behind
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.
Geography
Moclips is located in western Grays County at (47.219809, -124.204838).
The CDP includes the community of Moclips, plus the residential area of Sunset Beach. The CDP is bordered to the south by
Pacific Beach, to the north by the
Quinault Indian Reservation, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Washington State Route 109
State Route 109 (SR 109) is a Washington state highway in Grays Harbor County. Beginning at its terminus at (US 101) in Hoquiam, the highway travels west to intersect near Ocean Shores and then turns north to continue along th ...
passes through Moclips, leading north along the Pacific coast to its terminus at
Taholah and southeast to
Hoquiam
Hoquiam ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It borders the city of Aberdeen at Myrtle Street, with Hoquiam to the west. The two cities share a common economic history in lumbering and exporting, but Hoquiam has maintai ...
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.48%, are water.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, the Moclips CDP included the area of
Pacific Beach, which was split before the 2010 census to form its own CDP.
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 615 people, 273 households, and 146 families residing in the CDP. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 189.1 people per square mile (73.1/km
2). There were 565 housing units at an average density of 173.7/sq mi (67.1/km
2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 64.72%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.16%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 24.72%
Native American, 0.81%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.49%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 2.44% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 6.67% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 7.15% of the population.
There were 273 households, out of which 17.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.5% were non-families. 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 31.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $32,045. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $21,250 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $17,411. About 8.1% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
Popular culture
The beach scenes of the 1974
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
film ''
McQ
''McQ'' is a 1974 American Panavision neo-noir crime action film directed by John Sturges and starring John Wayne. It costars Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, and Al Lettieri, and features Colleen Dewhurst, Clu Gulager, David Huddleston, Julian Chri ...
'' were filmed at Moclips.
The song "
NW Apt." by
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
-based rock band
Band of Horses
Band of Horses is an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line-up also includ ...
takes place in Moclips.
The 2012
Animal Planet
Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
docufiction
Docufiction (or docu-fiction) is the cinematographic combination of documentary and fiction, this term often meaning narrative film. It is a film genre which attempts to capture reality such as it is (as direct cinema or cinéma vérité) a ...
television film ''
Mermaids: The Body Found'' is about two former
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
scientists who uncover the source behind mysterious underwater recordings and an unidentified marine body during an investigation of
mass stranding of whales in Moclips.
According to
Michael Azzerad, Nirvana frontman
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
and his band
Fecal Matter
Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relat ...
opened for the
Melvins
Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...
at a Moclips beach bar called The Spot Tavern.
References
External links
Moclips-By-The-Sea Historical Society and Museum of the North Beach
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Grays Harbor County, Washington
Census-designated places in Washington (state)
Populated coastal places in Washington (state)