Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Standing beneath Proposal Rock, you just can’t help but fall in love.

Found on the beach at Neskowin, a small community on the north-central Oregon coast, Proposal Rock has long held a romantic allure for all who visit – especially those who pop the question in its midst.

The tall, domed rock is capped by a tiny forest with tide pools at its base. A “ghost forest” emerges beside it at low tide: stumps of an ancient forest that are buried in the sand. It’s a place that seems to radiate a sense of magic.

READ MORE: Ghost forest emerges from the sand on the Oregon coast

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Stumps emerge during low tide at the ghost forest of Neskowin, with Proposal Rock rising through the mist just beyond.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

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That magic may have helped inspire the marriage proposal that supposedly gave the rock its modern name.

According to the Tillamook County Pioneer Museum, the proposal was from Charley Gage to Della Page, as the two stood at the summit of the rock sometime around 1900. There are no further details about the proposal, allowing the imagination to conjure a beautiful sunset, the ocean gently lapping the shore.



Inspired, Della’s mother, Sarah, then dubbed it Proposal Rock to mark the occasion. One can imagine the tears in her eyes, her cheeks flushing with motherly joy.

Reference book Oregon Geographic Names backs up the story, attributing it to Alexandria L. Rock, who settled in the area in the 1880s, and later gave her account to the Oregon Historical Society.

Rock also said Proposal Rock was originally called “Schlock” by the Native Americans who first lived there.

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Oregonian File Photo

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Dave Killen

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Dave Killen

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The story is romantic enough, though the mind can’t help but grasp for details. Who were these young lovers? What became of their marriage? Did they make it down safely from the rock?

We may never know.

Regardless of its name and past, Proposal Rock remains an inherently romantic place. The towering rock commands a certain presence in the surf, and is easily one of the most iconic landmarks on the Oregon coast.



Walking down the beach at Neskowin, it feels like there are many memories drifting, like ghosts left to wander in the wind: those of Charley and Della, of the Native Americans who originally inhabited the land, and of all the people who have visited since – whether to get engaged or simply sit on the sand and watch as waves lap the sides of a beautiful ocean rock.

Proposal Rock is romance in the purest sense of the word.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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