A storm and serendipity unveiled one of the richest archeological sites in North America. In the mid-1960s, archeologists from Washington State University began excavating 12-foot thick deposits on the sheltered side of Cape Alava. Bone, shell and stone artifacts told of a sea mammal hunting culture dating back at least 2000 years. In 1970, a storm surge battered the upper beach and began to erode the bank. Hidden in the clay banks was the story of Ozette life, told by thousands of perfectly preserved artifacts.

Teams of archeologists and students excavated 300-year old longhouses, which had been buried by massive mudslides. Three of five longhouses were fully unearthed and over 50,000 artifacts recovered, many not represented in museum collections. They revealed the details of everyday life in a stable, highly organized hunting and gathering society. The discovery of many whale and seal hunting artifacts illuminated the villagers' dependence on the sea. The village lay close to migratory routes of whales, fur seals, and other sea mammals.

Immigrants, most of whom were Scandinavian, attempted to establish an agricultural community around Ozette Lake in the late 1880s. As many as 130 homestead families called Lake Ozette home in the early 1890s. Schools, a post office, stores and a church sustained the farming community.

The inclusion of much of their land in the 1897 Olympic Forest Reserve served to discourage further settlement because inclusion in the reserve meant that no roads or other elements of commercial infrastructure could be developed without the approval of the federal government. When this land was removed from the Forest Reserve in 1900, a second attempt to settle the area was made. However, most of the settlers had to rely on outside work to maintain a sufficient income level to survive.

Credits and Sources:

National Park Service. "Administrative History 1992." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/olym/olym_adhi.pdf (retrieved June 12, 2015).

National Park Service. "Lake Ozette Area." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID= 96997 (accessed June 12, 2015.).