By Kenn Oberrecht Newport looks out across the ocean from the hills along the north shore of Yaquina Bay. It's billed as the friendliest city on the Oregon coast, and that's not just public relations hype. The protected harbor, full-service marina with fuel dock and Coast Guard facilities are only a mile and a half from the sea buoy. Newport has been welcoming visitors for longer than any other port town on the Oregon coast. Tourism's integral role in the area's economy is evident in the many amenities and features packed into the mile or so of land and water immediately upstream from the Yaquina Bay Bridge.
Boaters are always just a short walk, ride or drive from the area's major attractions.
While homesteaders and entrepreneurs were claiming land, laying out cities and building mills along the upper reaches of Yaquina Bay and River to exploit the area's abundant natural resources, Sam Case was eyeing the lower bay as a potential tourist attraction. Case was a former soldier who had served in the area and laid claim to land along the north shore, near the mouth of the bay. His original land claim encompassed what is now Newport's Historic Bayfront, and his original idea has grown into one of Oregon's friendliest ports. Settlers were first drawn to this area in the early 1860s by vast beds of tiny, tasty Yaquina Bay oysters, which were harvested in great numbers and then shipped by schooner to San Francisco. Overharvesting eventually led to depletion of the beds, so all oyster beds are now privately owned and off-limits to the public.