 Tokeland is named after Chief Toke of the Shoalwater Bay Tribe.Toke made the area a summer home for himself and his family, and his presence was first documented there by Lieutenant John Meares after Toke approached Meares' ship in his canoe at the mouth of Willapa Bay in 1788.In 1854, J. F. Barrows settled on Toke Point, but left only a few years later.