Word Nerd: Gearhart

Published 4:00 am Thursday, May 5, 2016

Gearhart [gɪər•härt]

noun

1. A quaint city of 1,462 located on the Clatsop Plains three miles north of Seaside on U.S. Highway 101. First developed as a resort following the completion of the railroad between Astoria and Seaside in the late 19th century, Gearhart Park, as it is sometimes known, has many restaurants, hotels, the Pacific Northwest’s oldest golf course and plenty of beachfront homes along the dunes

Origin:

First appeared as a variant of the Old German surname Gerhard in 1629, which means “spear-brave” and was most likely given to a fierce Prussian warrior.

Gearhart, Oregon is named for Phillip Gearhart, a pioneer from Missouri who began buying the land that the current city would come to occupy in 1848.

“‘Gearhart by the Sea’ is the way the hotels there tell of its location. It is more than ‘by the sea.’ It is also by the forest and by the mountain. Indeed, almost every charm that can be desired by a Summer resort is possessed by Gearhart. No wonder it is a popular place.”

—“Gearhart is Mecca of Large Summer Colony,” The Sunday Oregonian, June 11, 1911, P. 7

“Gearhart park is a high class resort and has already been selected by more than 200 families of the northwest for the beach home. The many beautiful cottages and bungalows are the scene of many week-end parties in the summer months and during the winter time Portland people often spend weeks at Gearhart.”

—“Hotel Gearhart ‘By-the-Sea,’” La Grande Evening Observer, April 19, 1911, P. 6