The Great Fire of 1845

The Willamette Valley had become quite the settlement by the mid 1800's.  There were fertile farm land, plentiful game, and plenty of rain for crops.  Legend has it that one of the new immigrants was burning brush from his newly homesteaded land as the fire got out of hand. Fanned by an unusually high easterly wind, it raced west into the Coast Mountain Range. It consumed everything in it's path including old growth timber that had stood for hundreds of years.

As the monstrous fire neared the coast, the local Indian population became under siege.  It is said the Nestugga Indian Tribe was camping on what is now the Big Nestucca River near what is now called Woods. They were forced to paddle their dugouts downstream in a panic, leaving all their possessions behind to find refuge on the sand spit, now called Bob Straub Park.  The fire desecrated the land and the wildlife.  For centuries the Indians had relied on the large herds of elk, deer, and bear for sustenance.  After the catastrophe, their main staple became the fish from the rivers as the game in the area was virtually eradicated.