The SS Catala was brought up from California to become a 'boatel' and charter fleet office. The mall, 100 motel units, three restaurants and an airstrip sprang up from the sandy ground, with the marina opening in 1963. In fact, on its opening night, chartered planes flew up a whole contingent of Hollywood stars, and 11,000 people turned out at Bowerman Basin to see the celebrities.īy December 1960, 25 miles (40 km) of canals were planned, a six-hole golf course was drawing players, and the mall shopping area was ready for the 1961 Ocean Shores Estates construction boom.

In the first year 25 homes were constructed and their owners had charter membership certificates in the Ocean Shores Community Club.Īs the development grew, the Ginny Simms Restaurant and Nightclub brought in the Hollywood set. Even though the first roads were only 20 miles (32 km) in length, the downtown area had mercury vapor lights to show that this was a booming city. Property lots were staked and numbered only as the road construction crews began to lay out the massive road system.

As the numbers of lots sold rose, the prices rose. Lots began at $595 and were sold sight unseen from the first plat maps. Soon the word spread about the California-style development of the place called Ocean Shores. In expectation of a huge casino development, the Ocean Shores Development Corporation opened their sale of lots in a travel trailer parked in the dunes. Damon took over the entire peninsula from McGee, and the land was passed along to his grandson, Ralph Minard, who used the area as a cattle ranch from 1929 until he sold to the Ocean Shores Development Corporation in 1960 for $1,000,000.Īt the time the Washington State legislature was considering legalizing some forms of gambling. Damon in 1878 for a trading supply center whose dock extended into the Oyehut channel. He sold the southern portion of the peninsula to A.O. The first established white settler on the Point was Matthew McGee, who settled in the early 1860s. Later, Captain George Vancouver renamed the area Grays Harbor after Captain Gray. On May 7, 1792, Captain Robert Gray sailed into the bay and named the area Bullfinch Harbor. The Chinook, Chehalis, and Quinault tribes used the area, as well as others that now make up the Quinault Indian Nation.

Long before the arrival of European explorers and settlers, the peninsula was used by the various local tribes for trading and other purposes. The City of Ocean Shores occupies the Point Brown peninsula on the Washington coast. History Digging for razor clams on the beach

The population was 6,715 at the 2020 census. Ocean Shores is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States.

Ocean shores casino restaurant