City of South Bend Pacific County, Washington

Name: City of South Bend
Address: Washington

SOUTH BEND: The county seat of Pacific County on Highway 101 overlooking the Willapa River. South Bend was named for the south bend in the Willapa River. The town had its beginnings in 1869 when the Riddell brothers (Valentine S. and John) built a sawmill on the bend. At first, the mill operated seasonally as a lumber camp, the crew returning to their homes when orders were filled. When the mill was sold to A.M. Simpson and partners in 1874, there were over a dozen families living on the tidelands and hills surrounding the mill. The settlement was officially named South Bend on May 12, 1875, when a post office was established. The name was suggested by John Wood, manager of the mill and the first postmaster. Wood heard Captain Will Whitcomb remark that no matter how he maneuvered the winding curves of the river, his compass always read south. In April 1890, the South Bend Land Company signed a contract with the Northern Pacific Railroad, donating half of the property the company owned to the railroad. The railroad announced that South Bend would be the ocean terminus of their Yakima and Pacific Coast branch line. The local chamber of commerce and South Bend Land Company expansively promoted the town as the future Baltimore of the Pacific. Although the railroad was completed in 1892 and South Bend benefited, the Panic of 1893 ended the Baltimore dream. South Bend was incorporated as a town Sept. 15, 1890, and became the county seat in 1893. The courthouse on South Bends Quality Hill was built in 1910-11, ending rumors that the courthouse was going to be moved to Raymond. South Bend has been the home of Pacific County Historical Society and Museum since 1969.

“A Name for Every Place Around Pacific County, from A to Z.” Chinook Observer, 13 May 2013, https://chinookobserver.com/2013/05/13/a-name-for-every-place-around-pacific-county-from-a-to-z/.

Mapped Location

City of South Bend: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

Information

General information on City of South Bend

Feature Type: Incorporated

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for City of South Bend

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name	Description
City of South Bend	Official
South Bend	Official

Origin Notes and History of City of South Bend

References to City of South Bend that document the origin of its place name

SEAHAVEN, in Pacific County. "The town of Seahaven, at mouth of the Willapa River, was founded about 1889 and was located on a tract of tide land belonging to Thomas Potter. The moving spirits in the townsite proposition were Herman Trott of Saint Paul, Minn., John Dobson, Frank Donahue, N. B. Coffman and others of Chehalis, Wash. In 1890, it had a bank, a newspaper, a large hotel and several buildings. All of them have long ago disappeared or have been moved to South Bend and the place is again a fine dairy farm." (F. A. Hazeltine, of South Bend, in Names MSS. Letter 91)

Edmond S. Meany in Origin of Washington Geographic Names

Meany, Edmond S., Origin of Washington Geographic Names, 1923 University of Washington, pp 261 | Origin of Washington Geographic Names

SOUTH BEND, county seat of Pacific County. The Willapa River takes a bend to the south in what is now the city. A sawmill was located there as early as 1860 and in 1890 the South Bend Land Company was organized with George U. Holcomb, L. M. Eklund nd P. W. Swett as the prime movers. Since then the growth has been steady. (F. A. Hazeltine, in Names MSS. Letter 91.)

Edmond S. Meany in Origin of Washington Geographic Names

Meany, Edmond S., Origin of Washington Geographic Names, 1923 University of Washington, pp 281 | Origin of Washington Geographic Names

Pacific County

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2026-09-27