At various times the area was also known as "Todd Bay" and "Centerville".

The U.S. "Coast Survey" of 1909 states:

"... Between Astoria and Portland there are numerous landings and settlements, dependent either on the fisheries or acting in some cases as shipping points for the country immediately behind them; these are ports of call for the regular river steamers. Deep-draft vessels do not as a rule stop between Astoria and Portland, except for lumber cargoes at Rainier, Goble, Westport, Knappton, and some small mills. ..."

The U.S. "Coast Pilot" of 1942 states:

"... There is a lumber wharf at Knappton 675 feet long, with a depth alongside of 33 feet at the lower end and 17 feet at the upper end. Vessels drawing up to 30 feet come to this dock. There is ferry service with Astoria. ..."

From Larry J. Weathers in The Sou'wester (1989, Pacific County Historical Society and Museum):

"... KNAPPTON: Abandoned sawmill town overlooking the Columbia River, south of Naselle, on Highway 401. In 1868, Portland businessman Jabez Burrell Knapp, found suitable rocks for the manufacture of cement near the Columbia River home of Job Lamely. Knapp and partners purchased the waterfront site from Francis Hopkinson, a music teacher, and in 1868-69 built a large kiln and a barrel factory to package the cement. Knapp called his manufacturing settlement Cementville. The raw material for making cement proved limited however, and the venture failed after two years. Knapp next organized the Columbia River Manufacturing Company and went into the sawmill business. He continued to make cement and barrels but those works were scaled down. In 1870 Knapp quit his Portland business and moved permanently to the settlement he now called Knappton (contraction of Knapp Town). The name was confirmed when a post office was established April 13, 1871; it was discontinued November 15, 1943. In 1876, the mill was sold to Captain Asa M. Simpson, who eventually sold his interest to the Brix brothers Grays Bay Logging Company in 1909. The onset of the depression crippled the Knappton mill but a mill fire in 1936 closed it for good and destroyed most of the homes on the adjoining hillside as well. ..."

"... COLUMBIA RIVER QUARANTINE STATION: Abandoned United States quarantine station at Knappton Cove / Columbia River on Highway 401. The site was part of the Job Lamley Donation Land Claim 1853 to 1876. The Hume brothers, who brought salmon canning to the Columbia River in 1867, had a cannery on the site from 1876 to 1899. The Federal Government bought the site for $8,000 and opened a quarantine station May 1899. The station caretakers and medical personnel were the only inhabitants of the station but there were several families living near the station and Knappton was just over the hill to the east of the site. Ships with infestation or disease went to Knappton for fumigation. Hundreds of Chinese, Japanese, and European laborers went through the station until it was closed in 1938. The Clarence Bell family bought the property at auction in August 1950 and operated a fishing resort on the site until 1956. The old station hospital, mess hall, caretakers / medical personnel quarters and repair shop are still used by the Bell family. The wharf was dismantled due to the danger posed by rotting pilings. ..."