ning between Astoria and lower river points, and a regular steamer service was maintained between Portland and Astoria and between Portland and San Francisco. At this time it was customary for the ocean steamers to make the trip from Portland to Astoria during the day, and to tie up at Astoria for the night, and to cross the bar the next morning. Steamer day was the event of the week and was a source of considerable revenue to the merchants of the town.
The Pioneer and Historical Society was organized in this city in 1871, and, as the name implies, its membership is limited to the pioneers of Oregon, and its object is to prepare and keep a record of the events in which the pioneers figured during the founding and development of the State. Many records were collected by the society, but for the most part have been scattered and lost, as have the books of its once valuable library. For several years past the society has had merely a nominal existence, but recently a movement has been started to reorganize the society, and to carry out the purposes for which it was founded, especially in the way of collecting local history.
The Astorian, the successor to Astoria's first newspaper, The Marine Gazette, published during the sixties, was first published in 1873, and has been issued continuously since that time. Its influence in the upbuilding of the town can not be estimated. The early files of the paper are filled with articles encouraging new enterprises, setting forth the advantages of the town, and recording every new step in its advancement.
The question of title to the water frontage became a troublesome one when the town began to grow and buildings were being erected along the water front. The original settlers thought they had title to this land by virtue of their patent from the United States; but later it was
