Welcome!
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service welcomed 11 new U.S. Citizens on Sept. 16, 2016 at Knappton Cove. They were from Korea, Thailand, South Africa, Canada, El Salvador, and Mexico. Click here for video.
Knappton Cove Heritage Center
The Historic Columbia River Quarantine Station
Photos from Past Events
OCEAN PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VISITS THE QUARANTINE STATION
Inspector Marcia: "I found a rat on your ship!
You are now in quarantine!
Students took a 100 year trip back in time to learn about immigrants coming from many different countries to the United States. All incoming ships and their passengers and crew had to pass a health inspection before setting foot on American soul. Public Health inspectors looked for rats on the ships and for anyone with an infectious disease.
Students making bottle rubbings from old medical bottles.
Photos from the Archives
Above: Agnes Oswald ship moored at Knappton Cove for quarantine procedures, 1903.
Above: U.S. Columbia River Quarantine Station, 1899-1938.
Above: Columbia River Quarantine Station Personnel, 1906.
Above: U.S. Marine Hospital Service office in Astoria, OR.
Contact Us Today!
Nancy Anderson &
Heather Henry, Directors
E-mail: knapptoncove@gmail.com
Free Admission During
Regular Open Hours--2024
Saturday Afternoons
July and August
1-4 pm
Guided Tour @ 2 pm
Please Email for Appointment Availability Outside of
Regular Hours
$5/person | $25 Minimum
Donation
Address:
521 WA State Rte 401
(See 'How to Find Us' page for detailed information)
Exhibits
- Diggin' into the Past at Knappton Cove (Archaeological Finds)
- Immigrant Room (Donation Land Claim)
- Cannery Days*
- Quarantined! (U.S. Columbia River Quarantine Station)
- Fishin' in the 50's* (Knappton Cove Camp)
*Click links for
short video exhibit
Check out Nancy's interview on Coast Radio's ARTS - Live & Local with Carol Newman. She
talks about Women's History in the Public Health Service at Knappton Cove. The interview starts about 5 minutes in to the podcast.
Read more details about the history of Knappton Cove in Nancy's Book, The Columbia River's "Ellis"
Island. Available for purchase on Amazon--$5 of every book goes toward the preservation of this historic site.
Listen to a longer discussion of the book and history of the Public Health Service at Knappton Cove with Sean
from PHS Proud.
New Book!
Board Member Friedrich E. Schuler has a new book out, Pestered by Plague: The U. S. Public Health Service Station in Astoria, OR and Knappton Cove, WA, from Cannery to Quarantine Station 1899-1901. It explores how the Plague scare in 1899 hastened the opening of the Columbia River Quarantine Station. Hear an excerpt from the book at our Open House on May 20.
By Board Member Friedrich E. Schuler, Professor of History at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Read his interview in the PSU News!
Book Cover
A Shield for the Columbia offers the stories behind the founding of the quarantine station of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) at Knappton Cove, Washington and Astoria, Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River. It is a compelling account of unlikely political and economic alliances featuring the United States Marine Hospital Service (USMHS), transpacific shipping lines, Astoria's business community, and members of the U.S. Congress.
Print 