ASTORIA

city, seat (1844) of Clatsop county, northwestern Oregon, U.S., on the south bank of the Columbia River (there bridged to Megler, Wash.) near its mouth on the Pacific. It is near the site of Oregon's first military establishment, Fort Clatsop, built by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which wintered there (180506); the reconstructed fort, 4 1/2 miles (7.5 km) southwest, is a national memorial. In 181011 John Jacob Astor sent an expedition to establish a Pacific Fur Company trading post (Fort Astoria); this was later sold to the North West Company. A British man-of-war took possession (1813) and renamed it Fort George. It was restored to U.S. control in 1818 and was resettled in the 1840s. The area's natural resources attracted immigrants who developed fishing and lumber industries. A disastrous fire in 1922 temporarily reversed the city's economic growth. Possessing deepwater port facilities, Astoria has important salmon and tuna canneries; flour, lumber, aluminum, and dairy foods are also produced. It is a base for hunting and fishing and has seashore recreational facilities. Astor Column (1926), 125 feet (38 m) high on Coxcomb Hill, 700 feet above the river, commemorates the settlement of the Pacific Northwest. Fort Astoria has been restored, and a maritime museum was opened in 1963. Clatsop Community College was established in 1958. Inc. 1865. Pop. (1990) 10,069.