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Bay Ocean

 

While hunting and sightseeing, T.I. Potter discovered the area that would become Bay Ocean.  He purchased the land with his father/business partner, Thomas Benton Potter.  

 

Bay Ocean was founded in 1906.  A post office was established in 1909.  In 1914, the population was 2000.  Tourism fueled its economy.  The town had a diesel power plant, a telephone system, a 1000-seat theater, a shooting range, a Texaco gas station, a dance hall, and a natatorium with a wave-making machine and an orchestra to entertain the swimmers.

 

There was no overland access to Bay Ocean.  Both building materials and people were brought in by boat.  A small narrow-gauge railroad was built on the beach to haul materials.  The track was slid over the sand as needed.

 

Bay Ocean's residents wanted a jetty to smooth out the ocean's waves.  The Army Corp of Engineers recommended two jetties, which would cost $2.2 million.  Thinking this cost too much, the town had had only the north jetty built at a cost of $800,000 with Bay Ocean's citizens paying half.  This decision doomed Bay Ocean.  From 1932 through 1971, the Pacific Ocean reclaimed the land.  There is no longer any trace of what was once Bay Ocean.

 

Bungalow City, Bay Ocean, Oregon