Nye Beach History

Nye Beach, located in Newport, Oregon, is a historic district with a rich and fascinating history. The area has been a popular vacation spot since the late 19th century, attracting visitors with its beautiful coastline, charming shops, and vibrant arts scene.

The history of Nye Beach dates back to the early 1800s when the coastal land was part of the sprawling Coast Indian Reservation. By 1865, the Indian population in the area had significantly diminished, and the United States government opened the land for homesteading. John Nye homesteaded the Nye Creek area in 1865, when it was still a semi-wilderness. At that time, Yaquina Bay frontage was the primary destination for visitors to Newport.

In the late 1800s, Nye Beach began to develop as a separate community from the burgeoning port town of Newport. It quickly became a popular destination for tourists seeking pleasure, respite, and rejuvenation. Visitors would travel by train from the Willamette Valley to Yaquina City and then take a ferry to Newport. The beach attracted tide-pool enthusiasts, beachcombers, surfers, sail-boarders, crabbers, clam diggers, kite flyers, photographers, and artists. It also became the site of marine and geological research projects .

One of the significant coastal features of Nye Beach was Jump-off Joe, a rocky outcropping that extended into the sea and posed an obstacle to beach traffic. By the mid-20th century, coastal erosion had caused the sea stack to separate from the cliff, develop an arch, and finally crumble, leaving only a scattering of rock formations to mark the spot. Without this natural barrier, nothing remains to separate Nye Beach from Agate Beach State Recreation Site to the north.

In the early 1900s, Nye Beach continued to grow in popularity as a tourism destination. The building of Highway 101 in the 1930s and roads from the valley greatly increased the area's appeal. However, World War II brought a halt to tourism for a while, and it slowly sputtered back to life by the early 1950s. During its early days, the city organized the summer tradition of outdoor clambakes, which ran until 1918. Tourists dressed in respectable garb gathered at long tables piled with food, including clams cooked in a fire pit in the sands .

In the early 2000s, Newport revived the clambakes as a celebration with a kind of food court, but unfortunately, that only lasted a few years. Nye Beach has managed to hold onto its historic roots in unique ways, building upon what becomes historical later on. The neighborhood went through a big rebuild around 2000, where the arches were created, and the tile-like squares in the streets that evoke something much older were placed .

Today, Nye Beach is a vibrant and eclectic district that continues to attract visitors with its charming shops, art galleries, and beautiful coastline. Cultural and literary groups such as the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts, Yaquina Art Association, and Writers on the Edge are based in Nye Beach, as are Newport's Performing Arts and Visual Arts Center. The area remains a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, offering a unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty.