Ocean Park Pacific County, Washington
OCEAN PARK: Resort community at the north end of Highway 103 on the Long Beach Peninsula. Ocean Park was established as a camp meeting site by county Methodists and members of the old Taylor Street Methodist Church of Portland in 1883. Isaac A. Clark, co-founder of Oysterville, suggested to Portland Methodists that the concept of camp meetings and summer resort be combined. They liked the idea and formed a corporation under the laws of Oregon titled, The Ocean Park Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Rev. William B. Osborn, founder of a similar Methodist camp at Ocean Grove, N.J., was the associations guiding light. He had also lived in California where he participated in the formation of another camp association at Pacific Grove, near Monterey, in June 1875. Rev. Osborn chose the sight which originally encompassed 250 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean on one side and Shoalwater Bay on the other. The name was suggested by the camps park setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The plat of Ocean Park was filed at the courthouse in Oysterville on Oct. 8, 1883. Association land on Shoalwater Bay was never subdivided. It was later sold to John Peter Paul, who filed the plat of Nahcotta in 1889. The association disbanded around 1888 and issued deeds to association members which contained prohibitions on the use and manufacture of intoxicating drinks, gambling and other immoral practices. The post office department established an office on June 28, 1890. Ocean Park, combined with Surfside, is the fastest growing area in Pacific County.
“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
Ocean Park: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Ocean Park
- Feature Type: Place
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Ocean Park
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Ocean Park | Official |
Origin Notes and History of Ocean Park
References to Ocean Park that document the origin of its place name
OCEAN PARK, a town on the ocean shore, in the west central part of Pacific County. Isaac Alonzo Clark, founder of Oysterville, purchased land at the ocean front and enlisted the support of Rev. A. Atwood presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to organize there a great camp-meeting and resort. The latter obtained the help of Rev. William R. Osborn, founder of Ocean Grove, on the New Jersey Coast. Their efforts made a success of Ocean Park. (Julian Hawthorne, History of Washington, Volume II, page 532.)
Pacific County
- Balevile (historical)
- Bay Center
- Bay Center Junction
- Bedford
- Breakers
- Brigham City (historical)
- Brooklyn
- Bruceport
- Burt
- Camp Brix (historical)
- Chinook
- Davis
- Dexter by the Sea
- East Raymond
- Elk Creek
- Firdale
- Fort Canby
- Frances
- Frankfort
- Globe
- Heather
- Hilda
- Hines
- Holcomb
- Holman
- City of Ilwaco
- Klipsan Beach
- Knappton
- Lebam
- City of Long Beach
- Loomis
- McGowan
- Megler
- Menlo
- Middle Nemah
- Moores Corner
- Nahcotta
- Nallpee
- Naselle
- Nemah
- Nemah Junction
- North Cove
- North Nemah
- Ocean Park
- Oceanside
- Oceanview
- Oysterville
- Pacific City (historical)
- Pluvius
- City of Raymond
- Rhodesia Beach
- Seahaven (historical)
- Seaport (historical)
- Seaview
- City of South Bend
- Stringtown
- Sutico
- Swem
- Tokeland
- Upper Salmon Junction
- Venice
- Willapa
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2026-09-27