Westport 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 ...

on 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 ...

Clatsop County Clatsop County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,072. The county seat is Astoria. The county is named for the Clatsop tribe of Native Americans, who lived along the coast of ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 321. Westport is connected to

Cathlamet, Washington Cathlamet is a town located along the Ocean Beach Highway in Wahkiakum County, Washington, United States, where it is the county seat. The population was 532 at the 2010 census, though it has an additional rural population outside of the town ...

, across the river via the Wahkiakum County ferry to

Puget Island Puget Island is a 7.5 sq mi(4,785 acre; 19.365 km) island and Census-designated place (CDP) in the Columbia River in Wahkiakum County, Washington, United States. The Julia Butler Hansen Bridge (built in 1938) carries State Route 409 acros ...

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

passes through the community, connecting it to Astoria to the west and Clatskanie to the east. Westport is named after "Captain" John West, a

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

and

lumberman Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

who settled in the area in the early 1850s. West was a native of Scotland, emigrated to Canada as a young man where he worked in a sawmill on the St. Lawrence River and then came to Oregon via California during the

gold rush of 1849 The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

.Aalberg, Bryan C & Aalberg, James C (2005) Penner, Lisa ed. "Captain John West" article in Cumtux, Clatsop County Historical Society Quarterly, Volume 25, No. 1 - Winter 2005. ISSN 1083-9216 West ran a sawmill and a salmon cannery in the community. The Westport post office was established in 1863 with West was its first postmaster.

Demographics

References

Unincorporated communities in Clatsop County, Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon Census-designated places in Clatsop County, Oregon Census-designated places in Oregon 1863 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1863 Oregon populated places on the Columbia River {{ClatsopCountyOR-geo-stub