Artifacts Tell Stories at Columbia River Maritime Museum

As a former boating writer and avid sailor, I loved visiting the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon. I have heard many tales about how rough the river can get and how salts through the ages have navigated this mighty waterway.
The Columbia River Maritime Museum specializes in collecting and exhibiting maritime artifacts from the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest. The Museum’s collection, made up of artifacts collected since its opening, has grown to more than 30,000 objects, 20,000 photographs, and a 10,000-volume research library. Combined, these resources make the Columbia River Maritime Museum one of the foremost repositories of Pacific Northwest maritime artifacts in the country.
The Columbia River Maritime Museum accepts the donation of artifacts to the collection on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the object’s relevance to the mission of the Museum, its space and preservation requirements and other factors. Find out more about donating an item.
Look for the following special pieces during your visit:

• a National Historic Landmark vessel, the Lightship Columbia, which was the last active-duty floating lighthouse on the West Coast when it was retired
• the U.S. Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat 44300, the first in a long line of surf rescue vessels developed for use on the treacherous Columbia River Bar
• the Pilot Boat Peacock, arguably one of the vessels most significant to the development of commerce in the Columbia basin, second only to the Columbia Rediviva, for which the river was named
• a model-1841 U.S. Navy officer’s sword and scabbard found buried on Clatsop Spit, and believed to be from the shipwrecked USS Shark that foundered on the Columbia River Bar in 1846
• the bridge from WWII-era Fletcher-class destroyer USS Knapp, DD-653 that served in both WWII and Korea

Researchers, scholars and authors from around the world have tapped the informational resources of the Columbia River Maritime Museum. It has also served as a knowledge source for National Geographic, The Sea Hunters, The History Detectives (PBS), Oregon State Parks and Recreation, Oregon Public Broadcasting and the National Park Service.
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*Note that admission to the 3D film is $5 per person in addition to Museum admission. The film is free to Museum members.
792 Marine Drive | Astoria, OR 97103 | 503.325.2323