Coquille Valley
Pioneers
February 2010
The information in this pathfinder will help you locate Internet
resources as well as local publications on the Coquille Valley
pioneers – those hardy souls who emigrated to Oregon between
1840 and 1875 and then settled in the Coquille Valley. Most of the
families that settled in the valley during this period came to the
Oregon territory in search of gold or land ownership. A significant
number of them came on the Oregon Trail, but there are other very
old families that came by way of ships to San Francisco.
Key Resources at a Glance:

Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties by Orvil
Dodge, historian (1898).
A collection of biographies and personal letters collected
and published for the Pioneer Association in 1898 by Orvil
Dodge documenting the history of Coos and Curry
Counties. The index to the narrative and biographies is
available in print and the biographies may be requested to
be transcribed online. An online version is available on
Google books here.
Library Holdings:
Bndn CBay Coq Dora MP NB Powers SWOCC
Coos Hist Society Coquille Valley Museum
Note: This book available online from ProQuest with a
valid Coos County library card.
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Pioneers and Incidents of the Upper Coquille Valley, 1890 1940 by Alice Wooldridge (1971).
A collection of obituaries and anecdotes as printed in the
early Myrtle Point newspapers that referred to the original
pioneers of the upper Coquille Valley (Myrtle Point, Arago,
the Forks, Stringtown, Bridge, Rowland’s Prairie and
Broadbent)
Library Holdings:
Bndn CBay Coq Dora MP NB Powers SWOCC
Coos Hist Society Coquille Valley Museum
Search Terms
(Use for computer searches)
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Coos County Pioneers
Coquille Valley Settlers
Overland Emigration
Pioneer Diaries Oregon
Subject Headings
(Use in card catalogs and print indexes)
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Coos County (Or.) -- Biography
Coos County (Or.) -- History
Frontier and Pioneer Life -Oregon
Call Number
979.523 Coos County (Dewey
Decimal)
978 Frontier & Pioneer Life
910.92 Pioneers
F 884.C (Library of
Congress)
Key to Library Holdings*
Bndn – Bandon Public Library
CBay – Coos Bay Public
Library
Coq – Coquille Public Library
Dora – Dora Public Library
MP – Myrtle Point Public
Library
NB – North Bend Public Library
Powers – Powers Public Library
SWOCC – SW Oregon
Community College Library
Coos Hist Soc – Coos
Maritime and Historical
Society
Coquille Valley Museum
* Names in bold type have
copies to check out. Regular
type indicates library use
only.
Census | Oregon Trail | Local Oregon Trail Settlers | Marriage Records | OR Vital
Records | Indexes
Ancestry.com | Genealogy.com | Worldconnect | LDS | ORGenweb Lists | ORROOTS Listserv | SSDI
Resources
Web Pages and Web Portals
 1860 and 1870 Coos County Census
Jennifer Shank's Census listing for Coos County (part of the Oregon GenWeb Project)
 The Oregon Territory and Its Pioneers
This site is an ongoing project that focuses on the pioneers of the Oregon Territory up to and
including 1855.
 Coquillevalley.org
The Coquille Valley website includes links to other Coos County organizations, as well as a
wealth of local information. Newly transcribed material is added on a regular basis. Consult
the Site Map for a summary of material on the site as well as an up-to-date list of new material.
 Genealogytrails.com
The goal of Genealogytrials.com is to help researchers track your ancestors through time by
transcribing genealogical and historical data for the free use of all researchers.
 1st-Hand-History.org
“The documents (41 publications and indexes February 2008) in this archive are presented as
graphic images of the original pages. Although the images take longer to load, they give the
viewer a more complete impression of the document, while appearing more authentic and
accurately displaying the text.”
Locating where people lived
When the Coquille Valley was settled, families either too out new claims, or purchased existing
claims from settlers that decided to try their luck elsewhere. Claims were legally identified by their
Township, Range and Section number. Each township is a six mile square block, and is counted from a
point just outside Portland. Most of the Coquille Valley is located in Townships 26-30 south and Range
11-15 west – or roughly 156 miles south and 66 miles west of Portland.
 Graphical display of the federal Township and Range system
The simplest description I’ve located for understanding Townships, Range and Sections.
 University of Oregon Digital Map collection
Digital Copies of the Survey Maps for Oregon, produced by the General Land Office from about
1855 through 1910. These are large JPEG images in .zip files (1-2.5MB), but these maps not only
show property boundaries, but often list the land owner’s name and occasionally even show the
location of the house on the claim. Second location:
http://www.blm.gov/or/landrecords/survey/ySrvy1.php
 Land Patent Search - BLM GLO Records
Image access to more than two million Federal land title records for Eastern Public Land States,
issued between 1820 and 1908. These records include only the ‘proved’ land claims. Once you
have located the patent information, you can request copies of the application from the National
Archives. For ‘unproved’ or sold claims, you can request lookups from the tract books also held in
the National Archives using the same link.
Additional Books
 History of southern Oregon : comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties
by A.G. Waling (1884)
Information on the settling of the southern Oregon area, origins and principal development of communities and short
biographies of prominent families in the counties listed in the title .
Library Holdings: Bndn CBay COQ MP
Note: This book available online
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NB SWOCC
The Baltimore Colony and pioneer recollections : taken from the original notes of the Honorable
Binger Hermann, by Baltimore Colony Centennial Committee (1959).
Recollections of early Coos County as recorded by one of the Baltimore Colony members. Hon. Binger Hermann was
the first school teacher in the Coquille Valley and had the first store in what would become Myrtle Point. He went on
to become a lawyer and the only Congressional Representative to have lived in the Coquille Valley.
Library Holdings: Bndn
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CBay
Dora Lakeside
MP NB Powers
After the covered wagons : recollections of Russell C. and Ellis S. Dement, by E.R. Jackman
(1962).
“In 1934, at the age of eighty-three, Russell [C. Dement]...record[ed] some of his early day experiences...this is his
story. It is in his exact words, except for some explanatory material, so indicated, supplied by his son Ellis.... Two
years later Russell gave some other details to the Myrtle Point Herald. These are added to the original." -- Foreword,
E.R. Jackman.
Library Holdings: MP
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Destination, West! : A pioneer woman on the Oregon Trail, by Agnes Ruth Sengstacken (1942)
“This is my mother's true life story. It is the record of a long and eventful life lived in the remote
and primitive Coos country of Oregon territory” – Agnes Sengstacken
Library Holdings: Bndn
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CBay
Coq
MP NB Powers
Some cemetery records of Coos and Curry counties Oregon : the Alice Hoover Wooldridge
collection, by The Genealogical Forum of Portland (1982).
List of cemeteries indexed in this book:
Allegany, Bandon Catholic, Bandon IOOF, Bandon Knights of Pythias, Bandon Pioneer, Bear Creek, Beaver Hill,
Brack, Breen, Breuer, Bullard, Catching Creek, Clarno Springs, Collver, Cook, Coos River Pioneer, Coquille IOOF,
Coquille Masonic, Coquille Pioneer, Davis, Dement, Dora, Eddy, Eden Valley, Edson, Enchanted Prairie, Fairview,
Fetter, Fox Bridge a.k.a. Lee Valley, GAR Bandon, Garrett, Gibbs, Grandma Wells, Gravelford, Green, Greene,
Haines, Hansen, Hayes, Haynes, Hermann, Hoffman, Hultin-Thrush, IOOF, Lakeside, Lampa Creek, Lett, Lowery,
Mast, Masters, McGlone, Merriman, Miller, Morris, Myrtle Creek, Myrtle Point, Neal, Norris-Barker, Norway, Old
Empire, Old Pioneer, Pallaske, Parkersburg, Pioneer, Poland, Powers, Quosanta Creek, Rackleff, Randolph, Red Barn,
Riverton, Robbins, Robison, Russell, Sacchi, Skaggs, Skookum House, Smith, South Slough, Steward, Sumner
School, Templeton, Thomas, Upper Fish Trap, Warner, Wasson, Waterman, West, Whittington, Wigent Family,
Wise, Wheeler, Yoakum Family
Library Holdings: CBay Coq
Dora MP
NB Powers
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Coos Bay Wagon Road : historical investigations and identification of interpretive origins, by
Stephen Dow Beckham (1997).
On cover: Submitted to Coos Bay District, Bureau of Land Management, North Bend, OR.;
Roseburg District, Bureau of Land Management, Roseburg, OR; U.S. Department of the Interior
"October 1997..
Library Holdings:
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CBay
Coq
Dora MP
NB Powers
Life on the plains of the Pacific. Oregon: its history, condition and prospects: containing a
description of the geography, climate and productions, with personal adventures among the
Indians during a residence of the author on the plains bordering the Pacific while connected with
the Oregon mission: embracing extended notes of a voyage around the world, by Rev. Gustavus
Hines (1851).
While this book does not describe the people living on the Coquille Valley, it is none-the-less an
excellent history of the state and of the conditions of the time. It is available online here.
Library Holdings:
CBay Coq
Dora MP
NB Powers
Journals
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Oregon Historical Quarterly (Available from most libraries)
Coos Genealogical Society (Available at the Coos Bay Library and Coos
Historical Museum)
Organizations and Special Collections
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ORCOOS-L ListServ
ORCOOS is a forum for Coos County researchers to assist each other in locating and
researching Coos County biographies, obituaries, vital records, photographs and to share
stories of Coos County ancestors.
To Subscribe: Send an email message to ORCOOS-L-request@rootsweb.com. In the message
***subject*** put either "subscribe" (for regular version--without the quotes) or "subscribe
digest" (for the digest version--without the quotes). Send your questions to ORCOOSL@rootsweb.com after you have subscribed.
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OR-ROOTS ListServ
OR-ROOTS is a list for discussion of research and writing about Oregon genealogy and family
history. OR-ROOTS is an electronic forum where genealogists can share the results of
research, assist newcomers to the field, inquire about the location of resources, debate issues,
raise questions, and learn about current events in the field.
To Subscribe: Send an email message to or-roots@sosinet.sos.state.or.us. In the message
***subject*** put either "subscribe" (for regular version--without the quotes) or "subscribe
digest" (for the digest version--without the quotes). Send your questions to the same address
after you have subscribed to have the other list members help you in your research.
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Coquille Valley Historical Society
The Coquille Valley Historical Society meets on the first and third Thursday of the month at
6:30 pm in the Coquille Valley Museum in Coquille. Meetings focus on sharing new historical
items donated to the museum and on business related to running the society and museum.
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Coquille Valley Genealogy Club
The Coquille Valley Genealogy Club meets on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00pm in
the Myrtle Point Library. Meetings include guest speakers and a chance to share historical
information about the area with others, as well as refreshments.
Multimedia Resources and Photographs
Not many photographs or multimedia materials exist for this eary time period in the Coquille
Valley. There are some family CDV and Lithographs which are preserved at the following
locations:
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Coos County Maritime and Historical Museum
The Coos County Historical Society was founded in November of 1891 and is one of the oldest
continuously operating local historical societies in the state of Oregon. The Society operated a
museum for ten years in Coquille prior to moving to our current North Bend location in 1958.
You will find the Coos Historical and Maritime Museum just off Highway 101 in North Bend,
Oregon at the north end of town near Simpson Park and the Visitor Information Center.
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Powers Wagner House
The Wagner house in Powers is a well preserved example of life in the Coquille Valley before
1900. It was built in 1872 by David Wagner and family and is situated alongside the main road
through Powers. It is said to be the oldest pioneer home in the region. There’s an adjacent railroad
museum, as well as walk-around displays on the grounds.
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1847 John D. Boon House - Oldest House in Salem, Oregon
Built in 1847, the John D. Boon House is believed to be the oldest single family residence in
Salem. Boon served as Oregon Territorial Treasurer and later as Oregon State Treasurer from
1851-1862.
Seven Alone [videorecording] / Doty-Dayton Productions (1974)
This is a story of the Sager family. Caught up in the westward migration, they left their Missouri
home in 1843 for the "black soil" of Oregon. The pursuit of their dream brings a multitude of
challenges. Based on the book "On to Oregon" by Honore Morrow.
Copyright 2006-2010 – Robyn Greenlund. Information contained in this Pathfinder is intended to assist
other researchers and may be copied and used for personal use. Permission to link to the document is
given without express permission. All other uses are prohibited without the express permission of the
originator. The Pathfinder Project was funded in part by Library Services and Technology Act money
administered through the State Library of Iowa.
Additional resources and/or corrections are welcomed.