Mount Coffin Destroyed by Fire in 1841

November 26, 2025Heritage

Source: Signs of Lost Civilization in Pacific Northwest United States by DeDunking

Site mentioned

📍 Mount Coffin

Mount Coffin near Longview, WA held thousands of burial canoes. In 1841, Lt. Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Exploring Expedition visited the site and conducted observations atop the 700-foot basalt mound. Epidemics killed an estimated 90% of lower Columbia River Native Americans. The site was used by the Scalutes people who practiced cranial modification. Historical accounts indicate the crew's campfires caused significant damage to the burial site.

Key facts

Mount Coffin was a basalt mound near Longview, Washington covered in burial canoes
In 1792, explorers reported approximately 3,000 burials at the site
The site was used by the Scalutes. people who practiced cranial modification
In 1841, Lieutenant Charles Wilks conducted astronomical observations on the site
Wilks and his men left campfires that consumed almost the entire site
Approximately 3,000 burial canoes and remains vanished
Anthropologists estimate 90% of lower Columbia River Native Americans died from epidemics around this time