Scottsburg

Scottsburg had one of the most colorful histories among Oregon communities. It was named for Levi Scott, a pioneer of 1844 who homesteaded here and founded the town in 1850. A lower town at the head of tidewater on the Umpqua River became the site of business houses and mills, while an upper town a mile upstream served as the distributing and shipping point for the mining regions and communities of southern Oregon. As many as 500 pack animals could be seen loading here at one time. The community declined after ports nearer the market points in southern Oregon and northern California opened and the railroad was built further inland. In December 1861 a great flood wiped out the lower town. In April 1854, the first newspaper in southern Oregon, The Umpqua Weekly Gazette, was published here.

Oregon · United States