Some of the items on this timeline are not necessarily directly related to specific items in this book, though may have some historic significance with regard to several other events. I will keep most unnecessary items to a minimum. However, most dates on this list directly correspond with events mentioned directly in either a particular section or related items.
All locations are within the state of Oregon unless otherwise noted. These items are highlighted blue.
Staff listings and deaths of people will be recorded here only when directly related to the legendary tails above, unless already noted in other notes categories.
Some of the events listed on this timeline are there purely to give context to certain events, such as the world wars or other important time periods. These are highlighted in green for convenience. Some dates are not exact.
| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION | ARTICLES | NOTES / TRIVIA |
| March 3, 1775 | Don Bruno de Heceta sets sail on a mission to locate Russian colonies along the northwest shoreline and to claim land for Spain along the way. | San Blas, New Spain (Mexico) | ||
| 1775 (Between March and August) |
Don Bruno de Heceta discovers the mouth of the Columbia River. | Columbia River | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | No exact date is currently recorded for event. |
| 1775 (Between March and August) |
Don Bruno de Heceta discovers what is now known as Heceta Head. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | No exact date is currently recorded for event. |
| August 29, 1775 | Don Bruno de Heceta anchors at Monterey, California. | Monterey, California | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | Heceta's men were sick with scurvy when they came into port. |
| September 8, 1775 | Don Bruno de Heceta begins return to San Blas. | Monterey, California | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| March 3, 1778 | Captain James Cook discovers Cape Foulweather. | Cape Foulweather | Coming Soon | There is some debate as to whether Cook discovered what is today known as Cape Foulweather or Yaquina Head. |
| December, 1805 | William Clark explores the area that would later become Cannon Beach, finding a beached whale there that helped get the Lewis and Clark Expedition get through the winter at Fort Clatsop. | Cannon Beach | Coming Soon | This was important to the survival of the Lewis and Clark expedition. |
| 1846 | City of Lafayette founded by pioneer Joel Perkins | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| 1853 | Community along the Calapooia River becomes a town, named after early resident Hugh Brown. | Brownsville | Coming Soon | |
| February 14, 1859 | Oregon becomes a state. | |||
| 1868 | Newport establishes its first post office. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1871 | Construction begins on the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| September 1, 1871 | Construction begins on the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. | Newport | Coming Soon | At the time, the lighthouse was referred to as Cape Foulweather Lighthouse. |
| November 3, 1871 | Yaquina Bay Lighthouse lit for the first time. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| August 20, 1973 | Yaquina Head Lighthouse lit for the first time. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| December, 1873 | Captain Evan MacClure stops in Hawaii and gets into a fight with his first mate over a woman. | Hawaii | Coming Soon | No records show Evan MacClure ever existed. |
| January, 1874 | A lifeboat washes ashore near Otter Rock, and a man (presumably Evan MacClure) is washed out to sea immediately afterwards. | Newport | Coming Soon | No records show Evan MacClure ever existed. |
| October 1, 1874 | Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is decommissioned. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1875? | Unnamed girl is raped and murdered in an area that today is known as Lithia Park. | Ashland | Coming Soon | Exact date (including year) is unknown. Very possibly a rumor. |
| 1877 | Commercial vessel Alexander Duncan stops at Florence. | Florence | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | Notes importance of Florence as a potential commercial stop. |
| February 9, 1886 | Captain Shadrack L. Wass, Keeper of Yaquina Head Lighthouse, dies at the light station. | Newport | Coming Soon | At the time, Yaquina Head Lighthouse was known as Cape Foulweather Lighthouse. |
| November 1, 1886 | David I. Corker murdered by Richard Marple, with Anna Marple as an accomplice. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | The guilty parties in this case are based on the supposed confession by Marple to cellmate William Henry Hess. This is the accepted course of events by most, though Anna Marple was never charged. |
| November 16, 1886 | Franceis S. Wells, Virst Assistant Keeper at yaquina Head Lighthouse, dies at the station. | Newport | Coming Soon | Unconfirmed as to whether or not Wells died at the station itself. |
| April, 1887 | The trial of Richard Marple. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| November 11, 1887 | Richard Marple executed by hanging. Anna Marple curses Lafayette to burn town three times. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | Records of Anna Marple's curse don't appear until 1904. Whether or not she actually did curse the town is unknown. |
| 1888 | Welcome E. Warren files claim for 164 acres at and around Heceta Head. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| 1888 - 1896 | The Army Corps of Engineers uses the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse for the housing of workers that were constructing the north and south jetties leading into Yaquina Bay. | Newport. | Coming Soon | |
| February 25, 1889 | Bill to construct a light a Heceta Head approved by Oregon Senate. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| May 19, 1891 | Department of Interior sets aside239.2 acres of government owned land for Heceta Head Lighthouse construction. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| May 19, 1891 | Department of Interior sets aside239.2 acres of government owned land for Heceta Head Lighthouse construction. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| July 18, 1891 | Benjamin Harrison signs presidential order to reserve 19 acres of Welcome E. Warren’s land claim to build Heceta Head Lighthouse. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| April 12, 1892 | Wagon road to Heceta Head completed. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| April 13, 1892 | Mattey’s Barn/Powell home fire. | Lafayette | Comming Soon | |
| May, 1892 | Construction of Heceta Head Lighthouse and additional buildings begins. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| October, 1892 | First-order Fresnel lens installed at Heceta Head. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| August 31, 1893 | Heceta Head Lighthouse tower and additional buildings completed. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| February, 1894 | Lamp arrives and begins installation at Heceta Head. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| March 30, 1894 | Heceta Head Lighthouse lit for first time, Head Keeper Andrew P. C. Hald takes charge of the light, backed up by assistant keepers Eugene M. Walters and John M. Cowan. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| June 6, 1895 | Githel's buildings fire. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| May 5, 1897 | Candy Store Fire. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| 1898 | A cannon from the 1846 shipwreck of the U. S. Navy schooner Shark is discovered just south of a small coastal community of Elk Creek, inspiring the citizens to change the name of their little town to Cannon Beach. | Cannon Beach | Coming Soon | |
| August 17, 1898 | Mill Fire. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| May 1899 - October 1899 | A story about the Yaquina Head Lighthouse appears in Pacific Monthly Vol. II titled “The Haunted Light at Newport by the Sea.” | Pacific Northwest | Coming Soon | |
| August 4, 1904 | Anna Marple's "curse" appears in the Heppner Gazette. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| 1906 - 1915 | U. S. Coast Guard uses Yaquina Bay Lighthouse as an outpost, constructs a radio tower onsite. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1908 | Wife of Keeper H. E. Wilson, Jennie Wilson, dies of a “long illness” at Yaquina Head Lighthouse. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1908 | Wife of Keeper H. E. Wilson, Jennie Wilson, dies of a “long illness” at Yaquina Head Lighthouse. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| June 2, 1914 - June 16, 1914 | Four arson fires break out over the course of two weeks. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| July 28, 1914 | World War I begins. | |||
| October, 1914 | Farmer James Fullerton begins efforts to bring dead whale to Eugene. | Florence | Coming Soon | |
| January, 1915 | Dead whale arrives in Eugene. It is rejected by both the University of Oregon and the city of Eugene. | Eugene. | Coming Soon | |
| November 11, 1918 | World War I ends. | |||
| March 19, 1919 | Fullerton convicted of libel and sentenced to 1 year in prison. He would only serve 30 days. | Eugene. | Coming Soon | |
| July 12, 1919 | Fire burns down most of Brownsville, only a few buildings left standing. | Brownsville | Coming Soon | |
| 1920 | Kirk Avenue house constructed on top of area destroyed in Brownsville fire. | Brownsville | Coming Soon | |
| November, 1920 - December, 1920 | Cannery arson. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| March 22, 1921 | Second Assistant Keeper Jacob Ericson dies of a stroke at the top of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. | Newport | Coming Soon | People often hear that it was actually Assistant Keeper Herbert Higgins that passed away at the top of the lighthouse, but that is untrue, a rumor possibly started by John L. Zenor. |
| 1926 | "Dog-faced Boy" disappears, presumed murdered. | Ashland | Coming Soon | |
| 1928 | Possible fire at Lafayette. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | Rumored fire, few records exist, no date available. |
| 1930s | Yaquina Head Lighthouse converted to electricity. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1934 | Yaquina Bay Lighthouse slated for demolition. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| October, 1934 | Electricity introduced at Heceta Head Lighthouse. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| 1939 | United States Lighthouse Service closes up shop and transfers control from the Department of Commerce to the U. S. Coast Guard. | |||
| September 1, 1939 | Beginning or World War II | |||
| December 7, 1941 | Pearl Harbor, U. S. enters World War II | |||
| December, 1941 | U. S. Coast Guard installs barracks at Heceta Head, becomes a lookout station for Japanese activity. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| September 2, 1945 | End or World War II | |||
| 1946 | Possible fire at Lafayette. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | Rumored fire, few records exist, no date available. |
| 1946 | The "hanging tree" used to hang Richard Marple was cut down. | Lafayette | Coming Soon | |
| 1946 | Yaquina Bay Lighthouse slated for demolition, again. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| April 2, 1948 | The Lincoln County Historical Society meets for the first time, one of the items on their agenda being saving the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1950s | A gravel company claims the exclusive rights to mine for minerals at Yaquina Head, resulting in what is known today as Quarry Cove. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1950s | Claims of early ghost encounters at Heceta Head. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | Records about these encounters are rumored, but currently not accessable. |
| 1950s - 1960s? | Stories of a “Bandage Man” attacking cars and trucks along a stretch of Highway 101. | Cannon Beach | The Bandage Man | |
| November 8, 1950 | Logger and World War I veteran Hector Feuerstein was killed in a logging accident near Cannon Beach. | Cannon Beach | The Bandage Man | Possible inspiration for the "Bandage Man" legend. |
| 1956 | Yaquina Bay Lighthouse opens as a museum. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1960s? | Spirit of “Dog-faced Boy” emerges. | Newport | Coming Soon | Exact dates of first appearances unknown, no records available to back up claims. |
| April 17, 1962 | Logger and World War II veteran Sonoal "Sonnie" Everett Redmond was killed in a logging accident involving a haul back line. | Cannon Beach | The Bandage Man | Possilbe inspiration for additional flourishes to the "Bandage Man" legend. |
| July 20, 1963 | Heceta Head Lighthouse automated. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| 1966 | Yaquina Head Lighthouse automated. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| 1970 | Lane Community College leases the Keeper’s House as a satellite campus, remodeling the structure. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| November 9, 1970 | A dead whale becomes beached just south of Florence. | Florence | Coming Soon | |
| November 12, 1970 | The dead whale at is blown up, sending large chunks of rotting whale bits everywhere, damaging a vehicle parked a quarter of a mile away. | Florence | Coming Soon | |
| 1970s? | College students drive through “ghostly cloud” near Lithia Park, experience unnatural cold spot. | Ashland | Coming Soon | Exact date unknown, unsubstantiated. |
| 1973 | Harry and Anne Tammen take over caretaker duties in the Keeper's House. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| 1970s? | College students drive through “ghostly cloud” near Lithia Park, experience unnatural cold spot. | Ashland | Coming Soon | Exact date unknown, unsubstantiated. |
| 1974 | Yaquina Bay Lighthouse added to the National Register of Historic Places. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| November 26, 1975 | Ghosts of Heceta Head make headlines for the first time at Heceta Head in The Siuslaw News. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| November, 1978 | Heceta Head added to National Register of Historic Places. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| 1980 | The Bureau of Land Management established Yaquina Head as an outstanding natural area. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| November, 1981 | Polybius supposedly appears in several Portland area arcades, it disappears about a month later. | Hillsboro, Beaverton, Portland | Coming Soon | Completely unsubstantiated. No evidence exists that Polybius was ever real. |
| November 28, 1981 | Brian Mauro and Michael Lopez both get sick on the same day in the same arcade, both while playing video games. They were playing Asteroids and Tempest, respectively. | Beaverton | Coming Soon | |
| April 3, 1982 | Peter Bukowski dies attempting to get the top score in the arcade game Berzerk. | Calumet City, Illinois | Coming Soon | |
| 1995 | Lease for using the Keeper’s House ends for Lane Community College, Mike and Carol Korgan win bid to open a bed and breakfast at Heceta Head. | Heceta Head | The Gray Lady and Other Spirits of Heceta Head | |
| December 6, 1996 | The light atop the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is relit for the first time in over 100 years. | Newport | Coming Soon | |
| August 5, 2005 | Seungseob Lee (or Lee Seung Seop) dies after he went into cardiac arrest after playing StarCraft for 50 yours straight. | Taegu, South Korea | Coming Soon | |
| September, 2017 | Three women have their GPS bring them to a rear entrance of Lithia Park, hear voices and strange footsteps. The next day the GPS would no longer send them to the same spot. | Ashland | Coming Soon | Unsubstantiated, variations on multiple websites. |
| December 10, 2017 | Deputy responds to reports of suspicious activity in Mill City, finds someone trying to perform witchcraft in order to break a curse. | Mill City | Coming Soon |
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