HISTORIC NAMES

Names along the Fort-to-Sea Trail

The origins of the following place names associated with the Fort-to-Sea Trail are described in "Oregon Geographic Names" by Lewis A. McArthur (Fifth Edition revised by Lewis L. McArthur), published the Press of the Oregon Historical Society (1982).

Camp Rilea: Founded in 1927 as Camp Clatsop, summer training area for the Oregon National Guard, the site was renamed in 1959 for Maj. Gen. Thomas E. Rilea, Adjutant General of Oregon.

Clatsop: The name of the Indian tribe living on the south side of the Columbia River between Tongue Point and Tillamook Head on the Oregon Coast. The Clatsops were part of the Chinook Indian group. Early forms of the name were Tlatsap, Tschlahtsoptchs and Clatstops. Lewis and Clark used the names Clat Sops and Clatsops.

Cullaby Lake: Named after a local Indian who lived on Clatsop Plains. He was the son of a red-haired Indian with a light complexion, whom Lewis and Clark met on the final day of 1805. Author Silas B. Smith is quoted as saying the Indian name for the lake is Ya-se-ya-ma-na-lat-tslas-tie. Neacoxie Creek originally drained Cullaby but the lake now drains into the Skipanon River.

Lewis and Clark River: The stream where Fort Clatsop is located was called the Netul River by Lewis and Clark, which may have been a place on the riverbank rather than the river's name.

Neacoxie Creek: The course of the stream on Clatsop Plains has changed since pioneering days because of shifting dunes. The original creek flowed north from Cullaby Lake and then turned south near Camp Rilea. The southern portion of the creek drains Neacoxie Lake and flows south to the Necanicum River estuary. The Clatsop Indians used the word Neahcoxie as the name of a small village at the mouth of the creek. The Indian word Ni-a-kok-si is said to refer to the small pine trees near the mouth. Neacoxie Lake also is known as Sunset Lake, a realtor's term for the area.

Skipanon River: The Clatsop Indians used the word Skippernauwin to refer to a point at the mouth of the river, but not the river itself. In their map-making, Lewis and Clark named the river Skipanarwin Creek. Later, others called it Skeppernawin Creek. Locals simplified it, calling it Skipanon. It was officially named Skipanon River in the 1920s.