Seal Rock is an unincorporated coastal community in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States, between Newport and Waldport on U.S. Route 101.
Seal Rock, Oregon | |
|---|---|
 Fire department and water district buildings | |
  Seal Rock  Seal Rock | |
| Coordinates: 44°29′57″N 124°04′58″W / 44.49917°N 124.08278°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Lincoln |
| Elevation | 3 ft (0.9 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 97376 |
| Area code | 541 |
| Elevation from United States Geological Survey[1] | |
The community of Seal Rock is named for the Seal Rocks, a ledge of partially submerged rocks that parallel the shore for about 2.5 miles (4.0 km).[2] In Chinook Jargon the area was called Seal Illahe, meaning "seal place" or "seal home", while "Seal Rocks" is what the locality was called in pioneer times, when it was an early resort community.[2] The name "Seal Rock" appears to refer to the one large rock, about 20 feet (6.1 m) above water, that was formerly where hundreds of common seals and Steller sea lions would rest.[2]
Seal Rock was the terminus of the Corvallis & Yaquina Bay Wagon Road, which was the first road to reach the Oregon Coast from the Willamette Valley.[3] The town of Seal Rock was platted in 1887 and three blocks of hotels were built, but development lagged and the assets of the road company were transferred to the promoter of the Oregon Pacific Railway, T. Egenton Hogg.[3][4] Seal Rock post office was established in 1890.[2]
Seal Rock is also the name of an address-restricted archaeological site in the vicinity that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Seal Rock". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
- ^ a b M. Constance Guardino, III & Rev. Marilyn A. Riedel (January 2006). "Sovereigns of Themselves: A Liberating History of Oregon and Its Coast, Volume III". Archived from the original on August 13, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
- ^ "A Lincoln County Road Trip Into The Past". Oregon Coast History Center. Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
- ^ "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). July 16, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.