Moclips

History

Although settled earlier by homesteaders such as Steve Grover in 1862, Moclips was not incorporated until 1905 with the completion of the Northern Pacific Railway and the first Moclips Beach Hotel built by Dr. Edward Lycan. The hotel was a two-story, 150-room beachside resort. It burned down in 1905, just months after it was completed. Dr. Lycan then had a new, larger hotel built on the same site. It was three stories high, a block long, and loomed from the dunes. This Moclips Beach Hotel was completed in 1907 and advertised as having 270 "outside" rooms, with of covered veranda, and a perfect view of the Pacific Ocean, reported to be just from the hotel grounds. Moclips grew into a sizable town with restaurants, hotels, a candy store, theater, canneries, and the M.R. Smith Lumber and Shingle Mill. Many hotels, schools, canneries and shingle mills were quickly built. Four schools once taught children from Taholah to Ocean Shores. Class schedules for the local schools were based on the clamming tides. Two of these buildings exist today. In 1911 Moclips was struck by a series of fatal storms, eventually washing much of the town away. The Moclips Beach Hotel stood in pieces. By the end of 1913, there was nothing left of the hotel. Fires destroyed much of Moclips along the beach. In 1948 a hilltop welding accident destroyed many homes and businesses. The U.S. Navy and Air Force made the neighboring town of Pacific Beach their home during World War II. The Navy still occupies property along the bluff in Pacific Beach - now a recreational use center for the military.

Geography

Moclips is located in western Grays County, around 5 miles south of the major headland Point Grenville, called Point Haynisisoos by the local Quinault. The CDP includes the community of Moclips, plus the residential area of Sunset Beach. The CDP is bordered to the south by Pacific Beach, to the north by the Quinault Indian Reservation, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Washington State Route 109 passes through Moclips, leading north along the Pacific coast to its terminus at Taholah and southeast to Hoquiam. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.48%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  923
• Western Gull

  Larus occidentalis Audubon, 1839 · Aves
  523
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  477
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  444
• Sanderling

  Calidris alba (Pallas, 1764) · Aves
  434
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  430
• Semipalmated Plover

  Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte, 1825 · Aves
  401
• Western Sandpiper

  Calidris mauri (Cabanis, 1857) · Aves
  396

Most recent

• 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
• M 2.84 — 2025-05-13
  25 km WNW of Hoodsport, Washington
• M 2.5 — 2025-03-28
  16 km NNE of Amanda Park, Washington
• M 2.74 — 2024-12-31
  7 km NNW of Montesano, Washington
• M 2.65 — 2024-09-12
  15 km NNW of Amanda Park, Washington