08/28/2026
Let’s talk about my favorite piece of Aberdeen Lore…
If you’re from Aberdeen, you’ve probably heard the name Billy Gohl, but most people don’t actually know the full story behind it.
His real name was William Gohl, and he was living in Aberdeen in the early 1900s when the town literally had the nickname “Port of Missing Men,” which already tells you the vibe of what was going on back then.
He worked as a union official for sailors coming through Grays Harbor, so he was constantly around people who were just passing through. Guys with cash, no family nearby, and no one who would really notice if they didn’t make it to their next stop.
He was convicted in 1910 for the murder of two men, but people at the time suspected him in a lot more cases. Around that same time, bodies were being found in the water pretty regularly, which only added to the rumors and fear surrounding him.
The version of the story that stuck is that he would target sailors, rob them, and dump their bodies into the Wishkah River or the harbor. That’s the story most people know.
But what a lot of people don’t talk about is that some believe he may have been blamed for more than he actually did. He was outspoken, involved in labor disputes, and not exactly a well liked figure, which made him an easy person to point fingers at when things were already going wrong in a pretty dangerous port town.
He was ultimately convicted, sentenced to life in prison, and died in 1927.
Also side note, one of my favorite spots, Billy’s Bar & Grill, is named after him. People say it’s haunted too, which honestly just fits the whole story a little too well.
So what do you think… was he actually responsible for way more than what he was convicted of, or was he just the easiest person to blame for everything happening at the time?
