ROSEBURG, 89.6 m. (478 alt., 4,362 pop.), seat of Douglas County is built along a gentle curve of the Umpqua River at its confluence with Deer Creek. In spite of round houses and car shops, fruit and vegetable canning factories, sawmills and wood-working plants, the little city maintains a domestic, settled air among the steep green hills that surround it on all sides. Homes stand on broad tree-shaded lawns and the citizens are prouder of their gardens than they are of the businesses on which their prosperity depends. Roses are the topic dearest to the householders' hearts. Having established an annual Rose Festival
(May), the citizens lavish much labor and thought on their gardens, each trying to outdo the other in profusion and variety of blooms. But the town, first called Deer Creek, was not named for the popular flower; the title honors Aaron Rose (1813-89) a settler of 1851 in this then remote valley. The practical nature of the Roseburger is shown in the fact that the annual festival also celebrates the strawberry, an important crop of the environs. The fruit matures so early in this sheltered valley that the combination is practical.
Roseburg city fathers in 1882 were concerned over the laundry
problem and decreed that : "Any woman who had been lawfullymarried
and had a legitimate child or children to support may operate a hand laundry upon recommendation of the committee on health, and police."
On January 14, 1889 an ordinance was passed to prevent the use of
bells on cows and other domestic animals between the hours of 8 P. M. and 6 A. M. Previous to the ordinance one citizen frequently detached the bells from cows and threw them in the gutter when on his way home in the evening, thus hoping to get a good night's sleep.
Roseburg was the home of Oregon's first Territorial Governor,
Joseph Lane, who became a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the
United States in 1860. His grave is in the MASONIC CEMETERY.
Today, Roseburg is still an active city, although the community has suffered greatly from a dying timber industry, which was its top industry for many decades. The fact that the city is located along Interstate-5 has helped keep the community reasonably healthy and on the map.
Roseburg's downtown area suffered from a terrible explosion in 1959 that damaged or destroyed many buildings and killed 14 people. It was known as 'The Blast' and a marker memorializes that unfortunate day.
**NOTE** All pictures uploaded to the picture gallery are of buildings that existed when the WPA Guide for Oregon was written.