Pass River Covered Bridge Statehood Centenial Covered wagon replica Christmas lights 2019 on Highway 38’s eastern approach to town this just a small taste of the many lights adorning Drain this holiday season Charles Drains House now apart of the local school district This group of tall pine caught my eye on the eastern approach to town off of Highway 38 Wild turkesy abound in the southern Willamette Valley I think it neat that humans can mix however, they are a nuisance to local home owners
Soutwest of Cottage Grove, Oregon along highway 38 is the community of Drain one day last week I spent some time here. Platted in 1872 by Charles Drain, in 1876 Drain was the jumping off point for the Drain to Coos Bay stage line the only means of public transportation between the interior valleys and the coast which terminated in Scottsburg were passengers disembark and loaded onto a paddlewheel steamer for a continuous adventure to the Pacific Coast and Coos Bay.
Timber from the surrounding mountains was harvested swelling the population then homes, stores, and public buildings the Southern Pacific Railroad tried and failed to construct a rail line to the coast it instead went from Eugene running west to the coast. Like so many other wooden towns fire in 1906 and 1913 destroys a good portion of Drain.
Today an approximate population of 1000 enjoy rural living, cool wet winters and dry, sometime, hot summers with the Umpqua River nearby.
The End