Aberdeen

History

Samuel Benn, a New York City native, established a homestead on the Chehalis River in 1859. He later platted a town at the site named Aberdeen. According to accounts collected by historian Edmond S. Meany, the name has two possible origins: from the Ilwaco-based Aberdeen Packing Company, which opened a cannery on the homestead in 1873; Like the Scottish city, Aberdeen is a port settlement situated at the mouth of two rivers—the Chehalis and the Wishkah. Hoquiam and Aberdeen citizens together built a spur; in 1895, the line connected Northern Pacific tracks to Aberdeen. By 1900, Aberdeen had become home to many saloons, brothels, and gambling establishments. It was nicknamed both "The Hellhole of the Pacific" and "The Port of Missing Men" due to its high murder rate. One notable resident was Billy Gohl, known locally as Billy "Ghoul", who was rumored to have killed at least 140 men; he disposed of the bodies in the Wishkah River. Gohl was ultimately convicted of two murders. Aberdeen was hit hard during the Great Depression, with the number of major local sawmills reduced from 37 to 9. By the late 1970s, most of the area had been logged and the remaining mills closed during the next decade. By the early 1990s, the industry was decimated due to resource reduction. Local political and business leaders ignored this fact and did not pursue economic diversification.

Geography

Aberdeen is at the eastern end of Grays Harbor, near the mouth of the Chehalis River and southwest of the Olympic Mountains. Grays Harbor is notable as the northernmost ria on North America's Pacific Coast because it has remained free of glaciers throughout the Quaternary due to unfavorable topography and warm temperatures. It is thought that, during glacial periods of the Quaternary, the Chehalis River was a major refugium for aquatic species, as was the west coast from the Olympic Peninsula southward for plants that later formed the northern part of the Pacific temperate rainforest in formerly glaciated areas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  4,266
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,523
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,394
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  3,260
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,206
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,114
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,572
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,523

Most recent

• M 4.15 — 2026-09-29
  6 km WNW of Wauna, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2026-05-27
  4 km W of Wauna, Washington
• M 2.86 — 2026-03-11
  2 km W of Home, Washington
• M 2.82 — 2025-12-25
  5 km W of Gorst, Washington
• M 2.65 — 2025-12-19
  5 km WSW of Pe Ell, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2025-10-09
  21 km NW of Hoodsport, Washington