The European Era of Expansion and Discovery of Indigenous Societies:

Among the most significant interactions in the history of the Shoalwater-Willapa Bay happened in the late 1700s. In 1788, Captain John Mears was greeted by an Indigenous canoe just off shore of the Namscac village. The meeting would prove to be very significant because it ushered in a wave of expansion by the competing powers of the time. As the European discovery and expansion increased the area’s name changed from Atsmitl to Shoalwater Bay and finally to the current name Willapa Bay.