At the time of the last census in 2010, the population of Ilwaco, WA, stood at 936, meaning the Port of Ilwaco has a boat slip for just about every man, woman and child in town. As with any port town, it’s the kind of place that’s always been used to either drop something off or pick something up. It’s a crossroads of sorts, nestled in a well-sheltered cove a mile from the Pacific Ocean just leeward of the Columbia River’s mouth of shifting sandbars. Over the years, timber, cranberries, explorers, vacationers and pioneers have all made their way through, often on their way somewhere else. These days the hot commodity is fish. Ilwaco is a tuna town.
