Drain–Coos Bay stage line | |
---|---|
![]() Advertisement for Drain–Coos Bay stage line, July 24, 1890. | |
Major junctions | |
From | Drain, Oregon |
To | Coos Bay, Oregon |
Highway system | |
Stagecoach Lines |
The Drain–Coos Bay stage line was a stagecoach line that operated an overland and marine transportation line that connected the interior of southern Oregon with Coos Bay from 1876 to 1916.
The Drain–Coos Bay Stage Company had been organized by Capt. N. J. Cornwall, W. P. Jewett, and O. B. Hinsdale. [1]
A stage coach road was established In 1876 between Drain and Scottsburg. [2] Horse-drawn coaches were in use on the route as late as February 27, 1907. [2] The stage left Drain, then went along Elk Creek and across Hancock Mountain to Elkton. [2]
At Elkton, there was a stop for a meal, a change of drivers and possibly a new team of horses. [2] The stage then went on into Scottsburg. [2] Although the trip was made in one day, mud during the frequent times of rainy weather made it a difficult one. [2] After Elkton, the route ran along the north side of the Umpqua River to Scottsburg. [2]
Once at Scottsburg, travellers after 1884 could rest at a hotel, the Palmer House, which also served as a depot for the stage. [3]
The Drain–Coos Bay Coach Line ran a free shuttle coach to carry passengers from the hotel to the Scottsburg steamboat landing. [3] Travellers would then board a river steamer which ran downstream, stopping at Gardiner, on the north side of the river, or, for travellers going to Coos Bay, at the beach on the south side of the river, near the present town of Winchester Bay. [2]
Once at the south beach, travellers disembarked and were picked up by another set of stages. Freight was also transhipped from boat to wagon. Ahead of them was a sandy beach, approximately 20 miles long running south toward Coos Bay. [2] The beach vehicles had purpose-built wide wheels so they would not sink into the sand. [2]
Approximately half-way along the 20 mile route, Tenmile Creek flows into the ocean. [4] High tide at Tenmile Creek could make it impossible to cross. [5]
On October 23, 1907 (or September 20, 1907 [6] ) just north of Tenmile Creek, the schooner Novelty came ashore. [7] The wreck was largely intact, and this and its location near Tenmile Creek made a popular rest stop along the beach route. [7]
The route then proceeded another 10 miles further south and then cut inland along a boardwalk about one mile long to Jarvis Landing [8] on Coos Bay. [5] Jarvis Landing was across the bay from Empire City on the east side of the north spit at the entrance to the bay. Once at Jarvis Landing, travellers could proceed by water transport to Empire City, by rowboat at first or later by steamboat or gasoline launch, to North Bend or Marshfield. [5]
By March 27, 1915, automobiles were being used along the beach route. [9]
On December 9, 1907, the stage left Jarvis Landing at about 6:20, and, upon reaching the beach, encountered water covering the beach from inches to three feet deep. [8] A large wave came in, carrying a log with it; the log then struck the coach. [8] A second wave then came, and rolled over the top of the coach, pushing over the coach, and trapping two passengers. [8] They were rescued by other travellers and, although it was a dangerous situation, no one was seriously harmed. [8]
On July 25, 1913, a traveller at Jarvis Landing, Rev. Father Hughes, while transferring from the stage to stage boat, was hurt when he stepped on a rotted plank at the dock at Jarvis Landing. He fell through and, in so doing, struck his face on a protruding spike, suffering a severe gash near his eye. [10]
Stage service on the beach run between Winchester and Jarvis Landing ended in April 1916, when a railroad was completed linking Reedsport and Coos Bay. [1]
Douglas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 census, the population was 107,667. The county seat is Roseburg. The county is named after Stephen A. Douglas, an American politician who supported Oregon statehood. Douglas County comprises the Roseburg, OR Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Umpqua people are an umbrella group of several distinct tribal entities of Native Americans of the Umpqua Basin in present-day south central Oregon in the United States. The area south of Roseburg is now known as the Umpqua Valley.
The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately 111 miles (179 km) long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley, from which it is separated by the Calapooya Mountains. From its source northeast of Roseburg, the Umpqua flows northwest through the Oregon Coast Range and empties into the Pacific at Winchester Bay. The river and its tributaries flow almost entirely within Douglas County, which encompasses most of the watershed of the river from the Cascades to the coast. The "Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua" form the heart of the timber industry of southern Oregon, generally centered on Roseburg.
Oregon Route 38 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the city of Reedsport, on the Oregon Coast, and an interchange with Interstate 5 near the communities of Curtin and Anlauf. It is also known as most of the Umpqua Highway No. 45, as the western portions of the highway run alongside the Umpqua River. The highway lies entirely within Douglas County.
Scottsburg is an unincorporated community in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. It is along the Umpqua River and Oregon Route 38, and is about 20 miles (32 km) from the Pacific Ocean. It was once a growing town but after a large flood in December 1861 the town declined. Scottsburg was named for pioneer Levi Scott.
The history of steamboats on the Oregon Coast begins in the late 19th century. Before the development of modern road and rail networks, transportation on the coast of Oregon was largely water-borne. This article focuses on inland steamboats and similar craft operating in, from south to north on the coast: Rogue River, Coquille River, Coos Bay, Umpqua River, Siuslaw Bay, Yaquina Bay, Siletz River, and Tillamook Bay. The boats were all very small, nothing like the big sternwheelers and propeller boats that ran on the Columbia River or Puget Sound. There were many of them, however, and they came to be known as the "mosquito fleet."
The Coos Bay Mosquito Fleet comprised numerous small steamboats and motor vessels which operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries on Coos Bay, a large and mostly shallow harbor on the southwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon, to the north of the Coquille River valley. Coos Bay is the major harbor on the west coast of the United States between San Francisco and the mouth of the Columbia River.
Washington was an early steamboat operated in the states of California and Oregon. Washington was built in California and was initially operated on the Sacramento River. In 1851, the steamer was purchased and brought on a ship to the Oregon Territory, where it was operated on the Willamette River until the summer of 1853. Washington was sold again, and then transferred to the Oregon coast, where it operated on the Umpqua River, on the Coquille River and on Coos Bay. Washington was able to operate for shorter distances over the open ocean along the Oregon coast. The steamer was wrecked by a boiler explosion in December 1857, near Scottsburg, O.T., on the Umpqua river.
Tenmile Lake is the largest and southernmost of a chain of lakes along the Oregon Coast south of the Umpqua River in the United States. The chain includes North Tenmile, Eel, Clear, and smaller lakes, which drain into the Pacific Ocean via Tenmile Creek. The lake is 8 miles (13 km) south of Reedsport and 0.5 miles (0.80 km) east of U.S. Route 101 near the community of Lakeside.
North Tenmile Lake is one of a chain of lakes along the Oregon Coast south of the Umpqua River in the United States. The chain includes Tenmile, Eel, Clear, and smaller lakes, which drain into the Pacific Ocean via Tenmile Creek. The lake is 8 miles (13 km) south of Reedsport and 1 mile (1.6 km) east of U.S. Route 101 near the community of Lakeside. North Tenmile Lake is connected to Tenmile Lake by a navigable 0.5-mile (0.80 km) channel.
Tenmile Creek is the outlet for a chain of lakes ending at Tenmile Lake near Lakeside in Coos County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The creek flows generally west for about 3 miles (5 km) from the lake to the Pacific Ocean. The stream's name stems from its approximate distance from Winchester Bay, the earliest pioneer village along this part of the coast.
Rainbow was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated in the Coos Bay region of Oregon from 1912 to 1923. Rainbow is sometimes referred to as a "launch", meaning a small steamboat. This vessel's name is sometimes seen as Rain-Bow.
Liberty was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Coquille River and then on Coos Bay from 1903 to 1918. Liberty was notable for having its ownership entangled in various legal claims in the early 1910s, including some involving a colorful North Bend, Oregon business promoter Lorenzo Dow "Major" Kinney (1855-1920).
Dispatch was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Coquille River on the southern Oregon coast from 1903 to 1920. The name of this vessel is sometimes seen spelled Despatch. This sternwheeler should not be confused with an earlier and somewhat smaller sternwheeler, also named Dispatch, that was built at Bandon, Oregon, in 1890, for which the 1903 Dispatch was a replacement.
Jarvis Landing was a landing place on the north side of the entrance to Coos Bay in Oregon, United States.
Eva was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated on the Umpqua River on the Oregon coast in the early part of the 1900s. Eva was notable for long service on a short route of about 20 miles. Eva was also notable for having been used by one of its owners to illegally transport dynamite on a passenger-carrying vessel, by the ruse of labeling the dynamite boxes as "bacon."
Wolverine was a launch powered by a gasoline engine that operated on the Coquille River on the southern coast of Oregon, United States, from 1908 to the 1920s. Later the boat operated on Coos Bay, and, in the mid-1930s, was transferred to Eureka, California. Wolverine is principally known for its early service as a high-speed passenger vessel.
Montesano was a steamboat that was operated from 1882 to about 1903 in the coastal regions of Oregon and southwest Washington, including Astoria, Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor, the Chehalis River, Yaquina Bay and Coos Bay. The Montesano of 1882, built in Astoria, should not be confused with another, larger sternwheeler, also named Montesano, built-in Cosmopolis, Washington in 1889.
Klamath was the first and only vessel larger than a launch to operate on Lower Klamath Lake, which straddled the border between the U.S. states of Oregon and California. This vessel is chiefly known for having been hauled overland by rail from Lake Ewauna to Upper Klamath Lake. It was also one of only two licensed merchant vessels ever to operate on lower Klamath Lake. During 1905 to 1909, Klamath was an essential link in a transportation line to Klamath Falls which involved rail, stage coach, and steamer travel. The late arrival of railroads to the Klamath lakes region made riverine and lake transport more important to the area.
Gazelle was a gasoline powered launch that operated on the Willamette and Columbia river from 1905 to 1911. For short periods of time Gazelle was operated on the Oregon Coast, on Yaquina Bay and also as an off-shore fishing vessel, in the Coos Bay area.