Drive time, without stops: 2 1/2 to 3 hours
Since 1986, 18 Pacific County walls have become canvases for colorful and historical murals. The murals, which are the work of 14 artists, string from Tokeland to Chinook to Ocean Park and were painted to commemorate the Washington State Centennial in 1989, Each of the artists contributed a great deal toward helping recreate a glimpse into Pacific County’s rich and colorful past.
[1] We start our tour in Tokeland, North Pacific County, where a rendition of the old Warrenton Clam Cannery (located in North Cove) was painted by Robin Barnes on the Minit Market. Robin Barnes lives in North Cove and is well known as an industrial artist. This mural represents a very important county industry: fishing.
[2] Heading inland on Hwy 105 to Raymond, we find an Early Day Logging Scene painted on the Dennis company building by Robert and Douglas Dafford. This painting depicts the early logging days in the then bustling town of Raymond. Robert Dafford and his brother, Douglas, work together and have painted murals for years. They are the creators of three of the murals in this series.
[3] Driving a few miles south of Raymond you will find yourself in South Bend, the Pacific County seat. On the Pacific County Historical Museum (on Hwy 101), Robert McCausland’s depiction of South Bend and the waterfront is set in 1911 right after the construction of the Pacific County Courthouse and was based on a photograph in the museum collection. Robert McCausland is retired as a cartoonist from the Seattle P-I and lives in Tokeland. He has painted murals in South Bend, Westport and Aberdeen.
[4] Following Hwy 101 south to Chinook (about an hour), you will find a creation of Dan Sawatsky Ions located on the side of the Telephone Utilities Building, which is just west of the Chinook Post Office on Hwy 101. This mural gives the viewer a peek into the past to see what “old time” telephone utility workers and vehicles looked like. Dan Sawatsky painted one of the original murals in his hometown of Chemainus, B.C. where he lives and has a gallery.
[5] Backtracking slightly to go NW on Hwy 101 for about 7 miles, you will find yourself in Ilwaco, home to five of our Centennial Murals, all within walking distance of one another. The first, painted by Thomas J. Teitge, on the north side of the Doupe building at the main intersection of Spruce and First Ave. (traffic light) downtown. It shows the narrow gouge railroad, coming from the river, down the main street of Ilwaco in the early 1920′s and proceeding up the Peninsula. Mr. Teitge, who makes his home in Hailey, Idaho, was the first artist to paint a mural in Pacific County.
[6] Continuing west on Spruce, through the traffic light, look for the Ilwaco Market directly on your right. On the west wall of the building artist Eric Grohe has depicted the historic mode of transportation to Pacific County: The steamer, T.J. Potter arriving at the Ilwaco docks. M. Grohe is a Seattle Artist.
[7] William Garnett of Portland, Oregon, produced three murals, two in Ilwaco. His first can be found just 1 block south of the traffic light on the east side of the street at First Ave. and Lake Street. Presenting the Chinook Indians and the types of building used for drying food, the upturned hand indicates bounteous flow from land to sea and man. Mr. Garnett’s third mural was painted on a market in Ocean Park, but has been erased through remodeling of the building.
[8] On the west side of First Ave., on the Key Bank Building, at First and Spruce, Jennifer Joyce, an Oregon artist living in Estacada, has recreated the inside of the old bank building, bordered by a traditional Northwest motif.
[9] A second William Garnett mural, picturing horse-drawn seiners (a type of fishing vessel), is located on the north side of the Pacific Printing Building, just north of the traffic light. Mr. Garnett has taught art in the Portland area for many years and has done quite a few murals as well as theater backdrops.
[10] Leaving Ilwaco and heading just one mile north up the Peninsula, you will find our next mural in the village of Seaview, on the side of the Pacific Transit maintenance facility, depicting early public transportation – horse drawn stagecoaches driven on the beach. This scene, painted by Ned Mueller of Renton Washington, shows visitors meeting a group of Chinook Indians who have been gathering clams and wood from the beach. Measuring two stories high and 64 feet across, this is one of the largest of our murals.
[11] Continuing north the road becomes SR 103, the main north-south road on the Long Beach Peninsula. Between 46th & 47th Streets in Seaview on the side of the Pacific Coast Antique Mall Building, you will find Roger Cooke’s lumber rendition. This beautiful mural signifies the importance of the logging industry in Pacific County.
[12] Continuing north to the traffic light then turning east on Bolstad St., the second mural can be seen on the north wall of the Peninsula Pharmacy building. Painted by Dorothy Danielson, the three panels present a reproduction of recreations still very important in the county: clam digging and beachcombing. Ms. Danielson previously lived and did extensive art work in Pacific County. She now lives in Astoria, Oregon.
[13] Just east of this mural, on the side of Boardwalk Quilts, Lanny Little of Portland, Oregon, has created another logging scene, but with a twist. This painting of a pristine forest shows a photographer taking pictures of loggers next to gigantic tree stumps.
[14] One block north of the traffic light, on SR 103, painted by Colin Williams on the north side of the Elks Building, is a depiction of people salvaging material from an actual shipwreck at Cape Disappointment in 1903. Mr. Williamson is a Canadian artist who has also done murals in Chemainus, B.C.
[15] Just west of this shipwreck mural, on the south side of the Dennis Company, the Dafford Brothers show the colorful local cranberry fields during a harvest time (circa 1920). This mural was completely restored during 2000. We hope you have enjoyed our Centennial Mural Tour!
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