The story of Tahkenitch Lake begins over 8,000 + years ago. As one of the most studied archaeological sites on the Central Oregon coast, this lake tells a very fascinating story of human forest management. Native American Indian villages and activity site artifacts, date back over 8,000 years. These natives actively used fire around the lake and surrounding area as a management tool. It is thought this type of forest management was used to keep the areas around the lake open and grass-covered to promote deer and elk grazing, within easy access to their encampments along the shore.
While Tahkenitch is now a lake, it is believed to have actually been an ocean estuary about 3000 - 4000 years ago. Due to large earthquakes at this time, sudden dunal activity shifted, cutting it off from the Pacific Ocean, now about 1.6 miles away. There is a tremendous amount of evidence to support this.