Pier 39
Astoria, Oregon’s Pier 39 is home to a brewery, a coffee shop, a museum, and a ghost or two
Paranormal Reports
at Pier 39
- Ghostly laughter has been heard
- Lights will turn on and off by themselves
- Cold spots have been noted around the pier
- Disembodied voices have been heard at times
Pure, Canned History at Pier 39
Most people’s idea of an ‘ominous number’ would likely be 13. But in Astoria, Oregon, the most ominous number is probably 39.
Jutting out into the Columbia River from the end of 39th Street, Astoria’s Pier 39 has been a central hub for shoreside commerce and industry for generations.
Once home to a prosperous fish cannery, Pier 39’s collection of white walls and red roofs are now home to numerous different businesses.
But as you traverse the boardwalk, between cafes and bars, you may find Pier 39 has as many spirits as it does shops. Popular Astoria lore counts the old cannery pier as one of the community’s most haunted places.
Timeline of Pier 39's History
Swipe or use timeline points to see Pier 39 through the years
1875
Pier 39’s life began in 1875 as the Hanthorn Cannery, opened by local Astoria businessman J.O. Hanthorn. Before getting into fish canning, Hanthorn found success as a tinsmith, which made him a keen canner with a dedication to quality. Hanthorn’s business was not without loss, though. Local legend tells of a tragic tale in 1891 when Hanthorn’s daughter, Hazel, fell through a trapdoor in the pier boat shop and drowned in the river below.
1908
By 1908, Pier 39 consisted of eight expansive cannery and warehouse buildings. The operation continued to expand throughout the 1900s, but not under the Hanthorn name. As the 20th century dawned, Hanthorn Cannery came under new ownership and went on operating as Bumble Bee Seafoods. Under the Bumble Bee name, the pier’s operations added cold storage units in 1932 and redeveloped buildings on the pier’s western side in 1943.
1981
Bumble Bee Seafoods closed up Astoria operations in 1981, leaving the pier’s future uncertain. The cannery pier was not the first to show up in Astoria, but by the 1980s it was one of the last still standing. As the 1900s became the 2000s, the old pier saw sparser and sparser use. But, in the early 2000s, Astoria local Floyd Holcomb bought the old structure and set about preserving it. He soon got help managing the project from the newly formed Hanthorn Cannery Foundation.
2006
The Hanthorn Cannery Foundation set up a museum in the historic cannery spaces. Along with that, the foundation redeveloped other areas to lease out. One of the first tenants, Rogue Brewing, started up in the cannery in 2006. Since then, the old pier has been fully revitalized as Pier 39, still dedicating much of its space to the cannery museum and tenant businesses. And though the fishery days are long gone, paranormal remnants purportedly linger on Pier 39.
Is Pier 39 Haunted?
Across all the businesses and spaces on Pier 39, the place best known as the pier’s haunted hotspot is the Rogue Public House brewery. The brew pub is said to be home to a little girl’s ghost, who gets into all kinds of phantasmic mischief.
The little girl ghost of Rogue Public House is said to be the little girl who died at the cannery back in 1891. While some tales say this spirit is Hazel Hanthorne, other reports aren’t so sure. Some ghost stories say the little girl isn’t the daughter of the old cannery owner, but rather a child laborer who simply misstepped one day and fell into the dark waters below the pier.
Rogue Public House’s Ghost Girl
Regardless of the ghost girl’s uncertain identity, visitors to Pier 39 report the sight of her white, misty apparition, most often around the Rogue Public House.
When the ghostly girl doesn’t appear, visitors might still get an opportunity to hear her. The little girl can supposedly be heard quite often around the brewery, laughing and playing by herself. Given that the Rogue Public House is often alive with the sounds and happenings of a popular Oregon bar, the little girl’s noises are best heard either early in the morning or late at night.
Ghostly Lights at Rogue Public House
Another report from the Rogue Public House area of Pier 39 stems from those quiet hours at the brewery’s opening and closing. Workers have reported additional strange activity at these quiet points around the pub.
In particular, the little girl’s ghost will purportedly get into some practical joking at Rogue Public House. Her favorite prank is said to be flipping the lights on and off as workers open up or close down for the day.
Phantoms on the Pier
While Pier 39’s Rogue Public House is the undeniable haunted hotspot, plenty of other ghostly reports extend to every inch of the old cannery facility.
In the cannery museum, the coffee shop, and the nearby wine bar, visitors and workers have noted unexplainable events.
All across Pier 39, people have encountered disembodied voices and whispers.
Along with that, some spaces inside the museum have become known for odd, exceptionally chilly, cold spots. Like the cannery’s old cold storage rooms suddenly roared back to life.
Does Pier 39 Have 39 Ghost Stories?
Today, the preserved structures of Pier 39 make it the oldest cannery pier still in existence on the Columbia River. The mix of museums, eateries, and shoreside sight-seeing spots makes Pier 39, in many ways, a condensed version of the full Astoria experience.
A little bit of Oregon in a can, if you will.
Ghost stories aren’t often the main attraction of Pier 39. But for many workers and visitors, the paranormal happenings are tough to ignore. While you won’t find many formal ghost tours or ghost hunts around the pier, there are still plenty of chances to encounter something unexplained.
The historic Astoria pier hasn’t been a fish cannery for over four decades, but the paranormal entities that linger the boardwalks make sure that there will always be something fishy about Pier 39.
