History

Douglas County History

Roseburg, Douglas County's largest city, was first visited by settlers and gold seekers in the 1840's,and was originally plotted as the townsite of Deer Creek by Aaron Rose in 1851. Three years later the town was officially platted, renamed Roseburg, and became the county seat.

A terminal on the stagecoach line between Sacramento and Portland, the community of less than 500 grew rapidly with the advent of the telegraph and the Oregon & California Railroad.

From its founding to the present day, the area's greatest wealth has been its forests, which continue to provide rich harvests. At the timber industry's height, following World War lI, there were 278 mills operating in the county.

The lush valleys of the Umpqua River have long yielded a variety of crops and livestock, making agriculture the area's second largest industry.