KLIPSAN BEACH

A resort community on Highway 103 south of Ocean Park.

Klipsan is a spelling variation of the Chinook Jargon word "klip sun," meaning "sunset." The name was chosen by retired sea captain A.T. Stream in 1912. Stream was promoting a unique all-year resort development on the Pacific Ocean with "absolutely no saloons" and featuring a confined retail business block, quiet neighborhood streets lined with cottages and bungalows, a commodious hotel, and public buildings.

A post office was established Jan. 13, 1912, and continued in operation until April 30, 1919.

The resort was next to the Ilwaco Beach Lifesaving Station commanded by station keeper Captain Theodore Conick (1902-13). Theodore, who was married to Amelia Conick, the Postmaster at Klipsan Beach, submitted a petition to the lifesaving service to change the station name to conform with the surrounding community and avoid confusion with the town of Ilwaco, thirteen miles south. The change was finally approved June 11, 1912.

The U.S. Lifesaving Station (Coast Guard station after 1915) was in operation at Klipsan from 1889 until closure in the mid-1940s.