Rocky Pointe Marina - History

Rocky Pointe Landing, as it was known in the 1870’s, was the eastern terminus of a road that meandered through the hills between Hillsboro and Sauvie Island.

A ferry made regular trips between Sauvie Island and Rocky Pointe Landing. At that time, Rocky Pointe Landing consisted of a store, a post office, a school and sawmill. The settlement disappeared in the early 1900’s.

By the mid-1880’s the road known as “Old Lower Rocky Pointe Road” (now our main access road off Hwy 30) was deeded to Multnomah County because owners apparently could not afford to continue the high cost of maintaining the log paved road.

In the late 1920’s a rock quarry was developed by Porter-Yett Co. The Porter-Yett Co. quarried nearly all the rock for the St John’s Bridge construction site from the Rocky Pointe Landing quarry. Falling upon hard times the quarry shut down in the 1930’s. The area was used for removal of cattle during the fall and spring flooding on Sauvie Island by Rocky Point Livestock Co.

The late 1940’s saw the beginning of Rocky Pointe Marina as it currently exists. If you look under the ramp in the Upper Marina you will see narrow concrete stairs. These stairs led to a rickety log walk that connected what is now the marina office. There are still axe marks in the floor of the marina office next to where the woodstove was, caused from cutting kindling. Pilings were added in the 1950’s to 1980’s by owners Al Pruitt and Sig Stubbs to complete the upper section of Rocky Pointe Moorage.

In the 1970’s, the Middle Marina was developed by a maverick company known as Neptune Marine Construction Co.

The first generation of Tonneson’s acquired both the Upper and Middle Marinas in 1991. They also acquired the Kendal Lumber Co. property on the north side of the Middle Marina which was built into marina the Lower Marina. In 2002, the final unoccupied adjacent waterfront property just south of Rocky Pointe was purchased for future expansion. During the development in the 1990’s, a 5 acre lake was built as a dedicated Wildlife Sanctuary and named Lake Stanley for the owner’s father, Stanley C. Tonneson, who was a well known boater in the area prior to his passing in 1994.

In 2000, the boatyard was completed which included railways over the water, a dedicated wash down pit with built in filtering, the addition of a  new 35ton Marine Travelift, a 3500 sq ft shop/office and about an acre of asphalt to accommodate 30 boats on land for service.

In 2006, the entire operations of the marina and boatyard were purchased by Stan and Jen Tonneson from Stan’s father Richard Tonneson.  Andrew Brown, of A&D Yacht Service, moved his operation to Rocky Pointe boatyard, allowing Stan and Jen the time to manage the marina and make plans for future expansion. Current plans and applications to the County are to extend the existing upper marina dock another 500 feet to the south over the undeveloped property and adding an additional 36 floating home spaces on the outside and boat slips on the inside. Expansion plans submitted also include adding an additional 1.2 acres to the boatyard.