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Astoria Column
Astoria Column Astoria Column, Astoria, Oregon.

Astoria

Oregon, United States
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Article History

Astoria, city, seat (1844) of Clatsop county, northwestern Oregon, U.S., on the south bank of the Columbia River (there bridged to Megler, Washington) near its mouth on the Pacific Ocean. It is near the site of Oregon’s first military establishment, Fort Clatsop, built by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which wintered there (1805–06); the reconstructed fort, 4.5 miles (7.5 km) southwest, is a national memorial. In 1810–11 John Jacob Astor sent an expedition to establish a Pacific Fur Company trading post (Fort Astoria); this was later sold to the North West Company. A British man-of-war took possession in 1813 and renamed it Fort George. It was restored to U.S. control in 1818 and was resettled in the 1840s. The area’s natural resources attracted immigrants, mostly from Finland and China, who developed fishing and lumber industries. A disastrous fire in 1922 temporarily reversed the city’s economic growth.

Possessing deepwater port facilities, Astoria still has some salmon and tuna canneries, though nothing like the number it had in the 1880s, when the industry was at its peak; flour, lumber, aluminum, and dairy foods are also produced. In addition, the tourism industry is economically important. The city is a base for hunting and fishing and has seashore recreational facilities. Astoria Column (1926, restored 1995), 125 feet (38 metres) high on Coxcomb Hill, 700 feet (213 metres) above the river, commemorates the settlement of the Pacific Northwest with a 535-foot- (163-metre-) long spiral sgrafitto frieze modeled on Trajan’s Column in Rome. Fort Astoria has been restored, and the Columbia River Maritime Museum (1962) has been designated the official maritime museum of the state of Oregon. Fort Stevens, the site of a U.S. military base from the Civil War to World War II, is now a state park. The Astoria riverfront district has been restored and is a popular attraction. Clatsop Community College (1958) is affiliated with the Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station (1996) and offers maritime training programs and courses. Inc. 1856. Pop. (2000) 9,813; (2010) 9,477.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.