Tokeland, WA

Tokeland is a census-designated place in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The 2020 census counted 158 residents. Tokeland is located on the north side of Willapa Bay near the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation. The town was named after Chief Toke, an chief of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe during the 19th century. Tokeland is home to the Tokeland Hotel, recognized as the oldest such venue in the state. Built in 1899 as an addition to an existing farmhouse, the hotel began as the Kindred Inn and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The through line in Tokeland is the way its history and present-day settings remain visible on the same map.

Tokeland makes the most sense through those concrete details, with its history still visible in the settings people use today. Tokeland is named after Chief Toke of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe. Toke made the area a summer home for himself and his family, and his presence was first documented there by Lieutenant John Meares after Toke approached Meares' ship in his canoe at the mouth of Willapa Bay in 1788. Tokeland is located in Willapa Bay, by the mouth of the Cedar River.