Ogden Point was named after Peter Skene Ogden (1790–1854), who was a prominent trader and explorer for the Hudson's Bay Company. The piers at Ogden Point were built in the early 20th century by the city of Victoria in anticipation of a growth in shipping due the opening of the Panama Canal. In 1916 the US Hydrographic Office published a Coast Pilots guide that referred to the piers as the "Ocean Docks". That edition of Coast Pilots also mentioned that the breakwater south of Pier A was under construction in 1915 which was completed in 1916 and the piers were completed in 1918.