This sign about shipping is one of a group of six signs beneath the south end of the Yaquina Bay Bridge.
Marker Name: Shipping News
Marker Text: In 1861 word about beds of a rare rock oyster on Yauina Bay spread to San Francisco. Ships came for the oysters which were served at top restaurants on the west and east coasts. Local Indians, in particular women, were hired to harvest the oysters. Legal disputes erupted about whether companies could take the oysters without compensating members of the reservation, but by 1869 the native oyster beds were depleted. Capt. James J. Winant was among those who stayed and made Yaquina Bay their home.
When the railroad came west to Yaquina City in 1886, the owners hoped to make the Bay a major port for those traveling the west coast, but dfforts met with minimal success. The Army’s construction of a major spruce mill during WW II [this is an error, should be WW I] triggered the largest shipping boom. C.D. Johnson purchased the mill, and by 1924 almost 465,000 tons of commerce was being shipped through Yaquina Bay.
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