In the native Salishan languages, Nehalem means "place where people live"[7] Early variations of the name include "Naalem" and "Ne-ay-lem.

"[8] The city of Nehalem was established by European Americans in the latter portion of the nineteenth century, rapidly thriving with logging, fishing, and shipping.

[9] As the Northwestern logging industry slowed during the twentieth century, the city's economy also cooled.

Wood pilings that held up this track can be found in the North Fork Nehalem River.

center run by the North County Recreation District which hosts a number of classes including those for Tillamook Bay Community College.

According to the October 1977 of La Posta Postal History Journal, Nehalem's post office was established in August 1870.

Because Alley's home was considerably north of the original Nehalem town site, Alley requested a name change to "Onion Peak," a nearby mountain and prominent geographic feature of the area.

When the plans for this change began to take shape in the late 1960s the community backlash from the two towns was so intense that officials decided to leave the highway in its existing layout.

[15] In November 2006, heavy rains caused flooding in Nehalem, resulting in $1 million in damage.

The Portland-based band Everclear has a song, "Nehalem", about life in the town, on its Sparkle and Fade album.

Portland-based Leatherman Tool Group named one of its stainless steel knives the "Nehalem."

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.24 square miles (0.62 km2), all of it land.

Due to its proximity to the coast, the area receives significant annual precipitation, particularly in the fall and winter months.

While summers are generally dry and sunny, winters tend to be cool and wet with occasional snowfall, especially in the coast mountain range.

According to data from 2021, the largest industries in Nehalem are Accommodation & Food Services, Health Care & Social Assistance, and Construction.

The most common job groups include Construction & Extraction, Building & Grounds/Cleaning & Maintenance, and Sales & Related occupations.

The Port owns one dock on the Nehalem waterfront which is primarily used by its tug and transient boats for channel maintenance and navigation activities.

The Performing Arts Center is home to the Riverbend Players, a nonprofit 501(c) (3) community theater group based in Nehalem.