Douglas County Museum

Musical Get together. These nine musicians are holding up advertisements for the Musicians Picnic in Fisher’s Cove at the Kellogg Grange Hall held on August 1, 1937. A few of the men pictured are W.E. “Billy” Ott of Ott’s Music Store in Roseburg, Charles A. Hartley of Sutherlin, Lee Kennedy of Reedsport, and Eldon Fisher of Kellogg.

Sawyers’ Ferry. Before bridges were constructed people were forced to either ford waterways or cross with ferries such as this one. 40 ft. timbers from sawmill located on the South bank of the Umpqua River on their way to the new Weatherly Creek bridge. In this c.1919 photo are left to right: Henry Munson, Edwin "Ed" Grubbe, Jake Sawyers and Alex Sawyers.

Hops Pickers. Hand harvesting of crops was an activity that brought whole communities out to gather produce during often narrow periods of time. More than just work, it was an opportunity to socialize with friends and perhaps even do a little flirting like these young men and women at the Stearns’ hop yard near Oakland around 1910.

Rock Creek Steam Donkey c.1914. In the 1890’s steam engines revolutionized logging. The steam donkey replaced ox teams to get logs out of the woods and accessible for transport to the mills. The donkeys were equipped with large wood fired boilers. It would take a crew of five or more men to get one log to the landing, using long cables to pull the logs through the timber on roads made of small logs; these roads were commonly called “skid roads.”

Musical Family. The Timothy Lockwood family was well known in Gardiner and as far up the Umpqua River as Scottsburg where they were invited to play at Christmas, New Year’s, and Fourth of July balls held at the Lyons Hotel. There were five family members each playing a different instrument. Timothy’s wife, Elizabeth, ran one of the four early Gardiner hotels.

Tioga Falls. William Harvey and Lilley Weber of Roseburg are pictured standing on the edge of Tioga Falls, now more commonly referred to as the “Narrows” on the North Umpqua River, in 1899. During the fall spawning runs, salmon and steelhead ascended the stream to lay eggs in the river gravel below the falls. Fish were frequently so crowded in the pools below the falls that it was a simple task to catch a barrelful.

Bad Dog. Clyde Kelso, at left, and Jack Hartley relax on a grassy hillside in the Yoncalla Valley in the 1920’s. Gus Peret posed them inspecting ammunition. Gus’s dog was the only one who didn’t cooperate, with his movement caught on camera due to the slower film speeds in use at the time.

Bathing Beauties. This group of young women and children are enjoying a swim in the surf. Bathing caps made of rubber and fabric protect their hair. In the water the 2nd woman from the left is Narcissa Jewett, and behind her and her group of friends the town of Gardiner can be seen.

Propeller Steamer. A crowd of people is gathered near the propeller steamer “Juno”. Built in 1906 in Marshfield (now known as Coos Bay), “Juno” was part of the “mosquito fleet,” an assembly of inland steamboats that operated along Oregon’s coast. Coos Bay and the Coquille River were the last areas to convey passengers, operating up until the 1930s. Near Bandon, a few steamers can still be seen in the same place where they were beached decades ago.

Ferris Wheel Binder. The open valley floor became an excellent area to grow grain crops such as in this 1924 photograph of Glen Cox on his 60 acre farm in Garden Valley. The late 19th and early 20th centuries was an era of constant innovation in farming techniques and technology as can be seen in Mr. Cox’s Ferris wheel type grain binder.

Gleaner Tug. The tug “Gleaner” is on the Umpqua River in about 1900. The bar tugs played a vital role in Umpqua navigation, towing sailing vessels in and out over the bar at the mouth of the river. Without the tugs, the sailing vessels involved in the Umpqua trade found the bar crossings exceeding risky and several were lost in attempting to navigate the entrance before bar tugs were placed in service.

Up In the Air. An attraction of the 1913 Strawberry Carnival was a tethered balloon that gave rides to thrilled visitors. The balloon rose from the corner of Cass and Stephens streets on 1,000 feet of cable to give a rare aerial view of Roseburg. A Roseburg Review reporter who made the trip wrote rapturously, “What a rare schooling, what a priceless privilege, how broadening, how helpful!” The same balloon carried three intrepid local men on a free flight lasting more than a day. They drifted over Glide and the Bohemia area, finally landing in Hoaglin (Idleyld Park).

Pause That Refreshes. Even the hardworking children of the early 20th century found time to take a break and relax. This group of children is enjoying a soda pop together at Weber Camp located at Rock Creek. Left to right, they are Maude Weber, Elza Weber, Phillis Ann Bolter, Kathleen Bonebreak, Iris Rice, and Henry Weber.

Hunting Party. Gathered for the photographer is a hunting party on the Moser ranch located down river from Umpqua, Oregon in about 1908. Different styles of hats were worn and members of the group proudly displayed their firearms, deer antlers and a hide.

Hats Galore. In this late 19th century photograph you see a profusion of hats on both the young women and men. Millenary shops and haberdashers supplied fashionable headwear to women and men respectively. During the Victorian and Edwardian Eras ladies hats became elaborate with ribbons, flowers and feathers.

Umpqua Lighthouse & Life Saving Crew. Umpqua Lighthouse from the southwest showing the large wooden homes of the keeper and staff. Today only the lighthouse proper still exists. The Heceta Head Lighthouse, Umpqua’s sister, still retains an identical keepers house to the one pictured. Turn of the century image of the completed lighthouse. Today it is managed by Douglas County as both an aid to navigation and as a museum. The truly unique clear and crimson 1st order Fresnel lenses draw thousands of visitors each year. Even before the construction of the second Umpqua Lighthouse the need to aid distressed ships was addressed. In this 1889 photograph is shown the United States Life Saving Crew in front of the keeper’s house at the Umpqua River Station. Here is shown Captain John Bergman at the steering oar and Umpqua Life Saving Crew with the steamer “Eva” behind them. The United States Life-Saving Service was a United States government agency that grew out of private and local humanitarian efforts to save the lives of shipwrecked mariners and passengers. It began in 1848 and ultimately merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard in 1915.

Party Goers. An H.D. Graves photo shows the scene of a children’s party in the 1890s. Five or six adults look out over the porch and eighteen children sit and stand outside of a house in Roseburg. The boy at the far left is carrying a drum in this group of Victoria Era children of various ages.