East of the Oregon Highway 38 bridge over the Umpqua River, 20 west of Elkton, Oregon, the town of Scottsburg, Oregon with population of around 308 enjoy a quiet life. Many times I have driven pass this town the feeling of something big happening here once could not I escape so with time to spend I stop in front of an Oregon Historical Marker.
Scottsburg was born in 1850 by Levi Scott after doing a bit a wagon train leading in the mid-1840’s, the stagecoach that ran from Drain through Elkton terminated in Scottsburg were ladies and gentlemen from all walks of life boarded a paddlewheel steamer plying westward to the Pacific Ocean. Passenger and mercantile trade from inland quickly build the town and it may have turned into a major metropolis had it not been for a cataclysmic flood in 1861.
Today a sprinkling of homes and business survive and most traveling along Highway 38 wiz by with barely a nod to the history they pass through. Next time I have the time more exploration will done.
The End
Oregon Historical Marker Main St and Highway 38, downtown Oregon Highway 38 Bridge The wide Umpqua River Picturesque Umpqua River