Lincoln City, OR

According to a plaque on the base of the statue, Joe first appeared at this very spot in March 1936, in what was then the village of Nelscott. He quickly became a local celebrity, and made the front page of the Oregonian newspaper. Thousands came to visit Joe, who liked to go into houses along the waterfront, be splashed with a hose, and have his back scratched with a broom. But according to the plaque, "envious" residents of "a neighboring town" complained to a game warden, who forced Joe back into the ocean and made him swim away. Years later, a dead sea lion with the same markings as Joe was found in the Sea Lion Caves at Florence. The statue was unveiled August 20, 2014, a gift from long-time local resident Suzanne Allen, who never forgot Joe.