Altoona

History

Altoona was one of six fish-buying stations and canneries located within a six-mile stretch on the lower Columbia River. 39 canneries operated in the Gray's Bay area, before the decline of the Columbia River salmon industry in the 1940s. Altoona was named after Altona, a city in Germany and a major fish-processing city on the Elbe River, by a Danish immigrant named Hans Petersen. In 1903, Petersen purchased 830 acres of land and founded the Altoona Mercantile and Fish Company Cannery. By 1910, the Altoona cannery was the fourth largest salmon cannery on the Columbia. Altoona became a major stop for steamers and fishing boats traveling between Astoria and Portland. Altoona was accessible only by boat; there was no direct road to the town until the early 1950s. In 1935, the Columbia River Packers Association (known today as Bumble Bee Foods) purchased the cannery and moved their headquarters to Altoona from Cottardi Station, located about 1/2 mile downstream. The town prospered until the decline of the entire Columbia River salmon industry which resulted in the closing of the Altoona cannery in 1947. After the cannery closed, the population of Altoona began to dwindle and today has around 50 residents. The derelict cannery remained vacant and deteriorated until it collapsed and fell into the Columbia River during a windstorm in the late 1990s.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Altoona CDP has a total area of , all of which is land, while none of it is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  7,587
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  7,208
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,538
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,967
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,706
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,485
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,990
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,930

Most recent

• M 2.65 — 2025-12-19
  5 km WSW of Pe Ell, Washington
• M 2.66 — 2025-06-16
  7 km ESE of Mossyrock, Washington
• M 2.74 — 2024-12-31
  7 km NNW of Montesano, Washington
• M 2.93 — 2024-04-02
  3 km N of Onalaska, Washington
• M 3.09 — 2023-11-24
  4 km WSW of Deer Island, Oregon
• M 2.58 — 2023-10-02
  8 km NW of Hoquiam, Washington