One of the area’s early pioneers was J.A. Morehead. Morehead married the Oysterville postmistress Lizzie Brown in 1885 and then moved family and work south a few miles to the Nahcotta area in 1889, the same year he began a retail store business. His interests grew as the north end of the peninsula grew. Serving as a Pacific County Commissioner, an organizer of the Pacific State Bank in South Bend, President of the Pacific County Pioneer Association and as a community booster, Morehead was also a farmer, raising cattle, peas and daffodils. He established Morehead Park, which is still operating as a youth camp on the Willapa Bay in Nahcotta and donated the land that was to become the right away for Port of Peninsula. Looking for a tree that could stand up to aphids, he brought in many of the still thriving Monterey Cypress trees seen in Nahcotta and Oysterville.
In 2018, Tom Downer of Jack’s Country Store brought an idea to Village Club, a community group dedicated to improving the quality of life in the villages of the north end. His idea was an ode to Morehead via the planting of thousands of daffodil bulbs. Other groups stepped in to help with man power and donations, many local residents donated bulbs and the Port of Peninsula lent storage space and transportation. In 2018 approximately 10,000 bulbs were planted, in 2019 another 3000…and so it continues. Homeowners and businesses have added bulbs to their properties, schools, fire houses, the library and more have added thousands to the numbers. By late February to mid-March, roadways, stop signs, bus stops, fields, beach approaches and more are home to dazzlingly bright yellow blooms. All in all a very welcome touch after weeks of winter’s gloom.