Astoria's oldest surviving Columbia River cannery pier (1875), now a mixed-use complex where Rogue Public House staff and Hanthorn Cannery Museum visitors report the ghost of cannery founder J.O. Hanthorn's daughter Hazel, said to have drowned in 1891.
100 39th St, Astoria, OR 97103
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Hanthorn Cannery Museum admission is free (donations accepted). Rogue Public House and Coffee Girl are individually priced.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic working pier over the Columbia River; mostly level deck and accessible interior spaces, with some uneven boards in older sections.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1875 · Oldest Surviving Columbia River Cannery Pier · Hanthorn Cannery Heritage · Bumble Bee Seafoods Industrial History · Pacific Northwest Salmon-Canning Industry
J.O. Hanthorn was a tinsmith who pivoted into Columbia River salmon canning in the 1870s, when the Astoria fishery was rapidly industrializing. Hanthorn opened his cannery in 1875 on a pier at the foot of 39th Street, and the operation grew rapidly through the 1880s and 1890s, becoming one of the larger Columbia River salmon-canning facilities of its era.
The Hanthorn Cannery was later absorbed into the consolidated Columbia River Packers Association and the Bumble Bee Seafoods operation that dominated Astoria's cannery industry through the early-to-mid 20th century. The pier and its associated buildings remained in active cannery use longer than any other on the river, with portions operating into the late 20th century.
When the cannery economy collapsed, the 150-year-old, 84,800-square-foot pier — Astoria's largest and oldest waterfront building — was repurposed as a mixed-use complex. Today Pier 39 houses the Hanthorn Cannery Museum (a free public museum with intact canning-line equipment), the Rogue Pier 39 Public House operated by Oregon's Rogue Ales, the Coffee Girl coffee shop, the Vineside wine bar, Athena's Mediterranean Kitchen, the Fisherman's Suites lodging, and a series of executive office rentals and artist studios.
The pier is featured in Travel Oregon, Central Oregon Daily, and Oregon Coast Visitors Association coverage as a heritage destination at the eastern edge of downtown Astoria.
Sources
The signature Pier 39 lore is the child ghost identified by local tradition as Hazel Hanthorn. According to the HauntedUS and Paranormal Road Trippers narratives, J.O. Hanthorn's daughter Hazel fell through a trapdoor in the cannery's boat shop in 1891 and drowned in the Columbia River below. Some sources note the identification is folk tradition — Hazel's death itself is the lore, and other accounts simply refer to her as 'the little girl ghost.'
The most consistently described phenomenon is at Rogue Pier 39 Public House: staff describe lights flipping on and off, often at opening or closing, attributed to the child spirit. Visitors at the Hanthorn Cannery Museum, the Coffee Girl coffee shop, and the on-pier wine bar report disembodied laughter, unexplained whispers, and cold spots — particularly in interior cannery spaces where 19th-century canning equipment remains.
Beyond Hazel, broader pier lore connects to the maritime fatality history of Astoria's industrial waterfront — cannery accidents, drowning deaths, and the working-class transient population that historically passed through the cannery district.
The lore is family-appropriate in tone and is featured in regional ghost-tour roundups including The Paranormal Road Trippers' overview of haunted Astoria.
Notable Entities
Walk through the free Hanthorn Cannery Museum housed in the original 1875 cannery pier, with exhibits on Columbia River salmon canning, the Bumble Bee Seafoods era, and Astoria's industrial waterfront. Staff and visitors most frequently report the ghost of a young girl — local lore identifies her as Hazel Hanthorn — flipping lights, laughing, and creating cold spots.
Eat and drink at the on-pier Rogue Ale Public House, where staff at open and close most often describe the resident child ghost flipping lights on and off in the brewery.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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