Historic Resources in the City of Roseburg, OR
Over the past 150 years, time has seen many great buildings rise and fall. Welcome to the City of Roseburg's story.
Early History
The rich history and resources of Roseburg would not be complete without an acknowledgement of the first people who have called this place home from time immemorial.
The City acknowledges and respects the indigenous people of this region that are a part of the tribes and bands of the Umpqua Valley, on whose ancestral lands Roseburg is built. These include the Nahánkhuotana (Cow Creek Takelma), the Upper Umpqua, the Yoncalla Kalapuya, and the Southern Molalla. These tribes signed treaties under threat of genocide by settlers, ceded their lands and were forced either into hiding or to relocate to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation in 1856. The descendants of these tribes are now members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
Today the Umpqua Valley is made up of many diverse communities that include indigenous people who continue to live and thrive in these lands. The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians continue to uphold a Tribal Government within this region that protects and preserves the sovereignity, history, culture and general welfare of its members while also developing and maintaining strong cooperative relationships, and operating various business enterprises for the economic development of the Cow Creek Tribe and the communities in which they live. The Cow Creek Foundation has awarded more than $20 million dollars in grants to community non-profit organizations in the seven county homeland territory.
To hear more about the history of the Umpqua Valley and the people of the Cow Creek Band in their own words, visit the link below:
The ancestral territory of the Cow Creek tribe covers a vast area including parts of Lane, Douglas, Coos, Curry, Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties.
Map courtesy of Native-land.ca and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians
The City of Roseburg was officially incorporated in 1872. At this time, local farming and timber industries began to take shape as the Oregon-California Railroad brought jobs and economic resources to the settlers.
Inventory Overview
The City of Roseburg has four official historic districts, hundreds of historic resources inventoried in the State's Historic Preservation Database, and over a dozen buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A full-screen version of the Historic Resources Map is available at the link below.
If you want to search for a specific building or address, click here to open the map in a new tab.
Continue to scroll if you would like to view a guided tour of Roseburg's historic districts.
Downtown District
The Roseburg Historic Downtown District as a whole is listed in the National Historic Register of Places, effective June 18, 2003. At the time of its adoption, the District consisted of 122 contributing resources, 77 non-contributing resources, and 6 individually recognized buildings on the National Register.
Since then, a handful of resources have been demolished, or moved- mainly those buildings which were removed to make room for the new Public Safety Center building in 2009. In some cases, these older buildings were preserved, such as the Caley House, which was moved from 326 SE Rose St to 847 SE Rose St in 2008.
Today the Roseburg Downtown Historic District comprises all of the original City of Roseburg Plat. One of the most significant spatial aspects of an early City of Roseburg Plat was the one hundred foot block width between Jackson Street and Main Street. This north/south strip of narrow blocks represented the heart of the city's original retail district and its north/south transportation corridor. A bridge at the northern city limit extended Jackson Street beyond the constraints of Deer Creek. To the west, the South Umpqua River provided another natural boundary.
Properties southeast of the original plat have also been incorporated in the newly created district to include the train depot. Moving the north/south transportation corridor west to Stephens Street in 1922 effectively bypassed the central business district.
Construction dates for buildings downtown range from the late 1860's into the 1950's. A variety of architectural styles and building functions were included in this eighty year period. The earliest commercial buildings located on SE Jackson Street and adjacent side streets are one or two-story buildings with narrow storefronts.
By 1905 larger brick buildings became the favored style. The subsequent building era from 1910 through the early 1930's saw the implementation of a new building material, building style and use. Roseburg saw the addition of professional office buildings to its downtown.
"Paving Jackson Street in Roseburg, Oregon, for the first time in 1909" (Courtesy of Douglas County Museum)
Another interesting aspect of this era's building was the use of a building material new to Roseburg - cast stone. F. F. "Pat" Patterson opened a cast stone factory and approximately ten cast stone buildings were constructed. The largest cast concrete stone building constructed was the Douglas County Courthouse at 1036 SE Douglas Avenue.
By 1930 construction within Roseburg came to a near standstill thus ending the first primary period of historic significance.
The Roseburg Historic District area had a resurgence of growth in the late 1940's built upon the post-war era's economic vitality. The local timber industry prospered. Three large automobile dealerships built lots and showrooms. Concrete block was the building material of choice in these one-story structures. Two of the showrooms included large curved glass display windows representative of the Art Moderne architectural style.
By the early 1950's, the 700 block of SE Jackson experienced a substantial retail building boom. Window fenestration and massing define the majority of the structures on this block representative of the modern architectural period of the 1930's through the 1950's.
A great number of buildings in downtown were destroyed or damaged by the Blast incident in 1959. This is reflected by the lack of older structures in the northwest corner of the District. Some buildings in downtown which are still standing show evidence of this event. Many structures have new metal siding or stuccoed façades in order to hide the damage caused by debris from the explosion.
To learn more about the history and legacy of the Blast, visit the bonus section at the end of this story map.
Mill-Pine District
The Mill-Pine Neighborhood District is a predominantly residential area southwest of the central business district of Roseburg. The District was first listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 20th, 1985. In 2011, the boundary of the District was ammended to remove a section of out-of-period or vacant industrial development. Presently, there are 126 contributing resources and 25 non-contributing resources within the District.
Most of the individual properties within the neighborhood contain one house and some accomodation for an automobile. The exceptions to this are a handful of boarding houses/apartments and a few commercial operations. As a whole the neighborhood has a homogeneous quality resulting from the consistently modest scale of its residential architecture. Most of the houses are small cottages. Individually, they are of minor significance, but as a group they form an integrated collection of late 19th/early 20th Century workers' homes.
An example of a home within the Mill-Pine District (Martha Strader House, 1526 SE Mill)
There are four early styles of residential architecture represented in the Mill-Pine Neighborhood: Rural Gothic, Italianate, Queen Anne, and Bungalow. In almost all cases the houses of the neighborhood are "scaled down" versions of the large and elaborate dwellings usually thought of as examples of these styles. In these smaller houses, however, distinct characteristics of the particular styles can be seen to persist even as the square footage decreases.
Laurelwood District
The Laurelwood Historic District is a residential neighborhood that was listed in the National Register of Places on October 16, 1990. This District contains 83 contributing resources and 39 non-contributing resources.
The Laurelwood neighborhood is a cohesive, early 1920s suburb, originally developed as a middle-class enclave and designed to appeal to the up-and-coming businessman of that particularly optimistic era. It is approximately 30 acres in size and contains a block square park, influenced by the City Beautiful movement.
As the first river and site-oriented plat plan in Roseburg, 18 of its 90 lots have river frontage on an outside curve of the South Umpqua River as it flows through Roseburg in a north and northwesterly direction. Curving streets break with the traditional straightforward grid plan used elsewhere in the city. 47% of the houses built in Laurelwood were constructed between 1920 and 1930, an era that was rich in diversity of styles and enthusiastic about the unusual in housing.
The present houses are the original structures built here; few have been modified to any degree, giving the area an unmistakable integrity. Styles range from the straightforward Bungalow and Colonial to the more exotic and glamourous Mediterranean and English Cottage to the ranch house of the 1950s.
An example of Mediterranean style within the Laurelwood District (Fred and Alice Chapman House, 375 W Riverside Dr)
Laurelwood has two periods of significance; the first from 1920 when it was platted to 1932 when building stopped because of economic conditions and the City of Roseburg acquired 40 lots in lieu of back taxes. The second period begins in 1933 with the construction of one house with construction slowly picking up to another small surge in the late 1930s and early 40s, ending with the beginning of World War II in 1941.
Laurelwood houses were all constructed between 1921 and 1958, with almost one-half constructed in the 1920s when period styles were popular and distinctiveness a sought-after quality.
VA District
The Roseburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center, referred to here as the VA District, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Because this district sits entirely within a singular property owned by the United States federal government, individual resources have not been made available as point data within the map. However, there are 24 contributing and 19 non-contributing resources within this District.
Facade of the Convalescent Building constructed in 1933, view looking to the northeast.
To locate more information on specific individual resources within the VA District, please view the full Nomination form provided below:
The current Veterans Hospital is actually the second of its kind built in Roseburg. The first veteran's hospital was the Oregon State Soldiers Home Hospital at 1624 W Harvard Ave, a building now home to the Umpqua Valley Arts Center. It is listed individually on the National Historic Register of Places.
Historic photo of the Old Soldiers Home Hospital.
Other Historic Resources
There are numerous other historical resources listed within Roseburg, but outside of an established historic district. The inventory forms of these resources were last updated in the 1980s, and may not reflect the current conditions of each building.
See all the historic resources within the full-screen version of the map:
To learn more about Roseburg's history, present, and future, visit the following resources:
BONUS: History of "The Blast"
In the early hours of the morning on August 7th, 1959, a small fire of unknown origin broke out at Dent-Gerretson Building Supply Company in downtown Roseburg...
What happened next would permanently alter the small town and the lives of many who lived there forever.
Fire the night of the Blast, August 7th, 1959
On the street next to the fire, an inconspicuous truck was parked, unoticed by firefighting crews and curious onlookers. The truck was carrying a two ton load of dynamite and four and one-half tons of ammonium nitrate.
Before anyone was able to react, heat from the blaze ingnited the the explosives. The subsequent explosion leveled eight city blocks. It created a crater fifty-two feet in diameter and twelve feet deep.
Three hundred businesses within a thirty block radius were damaged by the blast. Of those, seventy-two were declared structurally unsafe resulting in major repairs and renovation. Twelve buildings beyond the eight block perimeter were condemned.
The face of Roseburg changed forever in an instant.
The explosion eventually became commonly know as "The Blast."
Historical photographs cited courtesy of the Douglas County Museum Photographic Archives
Mr. Pat Sullivan, a bystander very near the Blast site that night related the following story:
I was about twenty feet from the intersection on Pine and Oak and I could see Don De Sues in his Centennial police uniform outlined against the truck. Bill Unrath and somebody else, I don't know who it was, were standing by the Coke building. Assistant Fire Chief McFarland and another fireman were standing down by the fire truck. A real good heavy blaze was going at that time. It was reaching well up. As I was running down, I started to see the sides of the truck starting to bulge and I hit the dirt. Thank God for Korea. And that was the last time I saw Don De Sues... l got hit in the chest with a piece of metal. I started to get up and the suction of the Blast knocked me down again. The piece of metal went through the pack of cigarettes I had just bought and lodged in my chest. At that time there were no lights whatsoever. Everything was completely dark except for the electrical cords that were bouncing around on the streets that had been blown down from the deal...
Fourteen people died in the Blast. Many Roseburg citizens were injured. Countless stories have been recorded of heroic acts performed at the time of the Blast and of the rescue and cleanup that continued for weeks following the destruction.
Breaking down the damage...
Ruins (Zone 1)
Comprising about 12 blocks including the block with the crater, there was practically total destruction and an estimated loss of about $5,560,000 in 1959 (or roughly $54,743,912 when adjusted for inflation in today's money.)
Heavy Damage (Zone II)
Zone II comprises of about 40 blocks around Zone I and includes most of the central business district, minor business districts, and some residential areas.
Damage in this zone was described as heavy, totaling an estimated $3,180,000 in 1959 (or $31,310,367 when adjusted for inflation in today's money). Of this loss, about 81% was from retail buildings and 19% was from residential dwellings. There were 1041 property losses recorded in this zone.
The major losses consisted of two hotels, a motel, garage, church, bank, a mercantile group, and the old Junior High School.
Light Damage (Zone III)
Zone III is where damage was light, includes the area within a 1-mile radius of the crater. This area mainly consists of single-family homes with an occasional store, church, school or industrial building. The total damage in this zone was about $560,000 in 1959 (or $5.5 million when adjusted for inflation in today's money) mainly between home dwellings (79%) and storefronts (21%).
Outside of Zone III were scattered cases of damage, mainly broken windows and cracked plaster, one or two being as far away as 9 miles. There were about 4,895 counted property loses in Zone III according to the General Adjustment Bureau.
A shattered window display at a shoe store on Jackson St.
Now, long after those acts have been recorded and archived in news files and long after many of the participants in this catastrophe have passed on, the testament to their perseverance is the surviving rebuilt environment. The human penchant that necessitates a return to normalcy - to fix what is broken - that exhibits an eternal optimism of spirit - was not destroyed by an explosion.
Replacement of almost all the windows in downtown commercial buildings was necessary after the Blast. The August 17, 1959 issue of the News Review (Roseburg's local newspaper) reported,
There was no radiation fall-out. Glass powder, glass particles, glass splinters are everywhere...A great deal of merchandise has been discarded and destroyed because of damage from glass particles.
Many windows were replaced with metal frame windows rather than the original wood frame sash windows. Many of the old brick buildings were inspected and deemed sound but had obvious aesthetic scarring. In keeping with the times, a façade spruce-up included coverings of metal, stucco, or plywood. Signage was updated. Awnings were replaced.
The Caro Building in 2012.
Some structures downtown received vast reconstruction. The Caro Building, 506 SE Jackson, was such a building. New walls were constructed for the front facade and corner. A stucco finish with board and batten now stands as a replacement to what was once a highly embellished two-story structure with cast iron columns and pilasters, an arched, centered doorway and arched windows on both the first and second floors.
Transportation routes through Roseburg were also altered. The Oak Street bridge received considerable damage from the Blast putting added pressure on the alternate north and southbound route of Stephens Street (Highway 99). In December of 1959, to reduce traffic, the Roseburg Planning Commission proposed that Pine Street would support southbound traffic through the city.
A view of Oak & Washington bridges over the South Umpqua River
At the same time the Planning Commission proposed a riverfront park area following the river for 900 feet. Approximately 200 feet wide, it separated the new industrial area from the river. An overpass bridge would be constructed on Washington Avenue that would span above much of the new industrial area ending at a parking facility. The downtown would become a pedestrian centered area.
The plans were grand but the Urban Renewal money that would have made it possible did not materialize.
To view the Disaster Recovery Plan that was prepared by the City, click here .
To view the Roseburg, Oregon Fire, Explosion and Conflagration, a report made by the National Board of Fire Underwriters about the incident on August 7, 1959, click here .
View these historic maps that show the conditions from before and after the blast in the area immediate to the crater. Swipe/click & drag the arrows at the bottom of the screen to see the full versions of each map.
Three years after the Blast, the Washington bridge was completed. In-fill development in the Blast core area became primarily commercial. Several blocks adjacent to the river were designated public reserve and a riverfront park developed.
The peaceful face of the City of Roseburg today belies the tragedy of 1959. The rebuilding did not take on the magnificent characteristics envisioned by some in the aftermath of the Blast but remained true to the City's roots in tone of character and purpose.
The reality of community development seldom proceeds smoothly or slowly. Most communities face continual challenges trying to stay abreast of the dynamic leaps and stalemates of growth. Occasionally something happens that is so catastrophic it challenges even these acknowledged ups and downs. Such an event occurred in Roseburg, Oregon, on August 7, 1959.
For more first-person accounts and other resources:
- "Roseburg Blast" by Jeff LaLande, Oregon Encyclopedia
- " The blast that ripped apart Roseburg, Oregon, and the psyche of a man who was held responsible " by Brent Walth, the Oregonian
- VIDEO: " Roseburg Blast, A Catastrophe & Its Heroes " by Southern Oregon PBS, narrated by Barry Serafin.
- VIDEO: " News From America (1959) " old news reel from British Pathé, a foreign press which shows panning shots of the wreckage.
- VIDEO: "Roseburg Blast" by LandofUmpqua on YouTube.
- VIDEO: Home movie footage of the aftermath , recorded in the week following the incident
- PODCAST: " An Atomic Bomb in Oregon - The Roseburg Blast " by Obscure History, also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcasting platforms.
