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Walk Through History
Brochures on the Mill-Pine National Historic District and the Blast are available at Roseburg City Hall, 900 S.E. Douglas Ave., the Roseburg Area Chamber of Commerce at 410 S.E. Spruce St., and the Douglas County Museum of History & Natural History at 123 Museum Drive.
Roseburg's Historic Resource Review Committee is hoping distribution of two brochures will renew interest in the community's past.
A $3,000 grant from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office has enabled the city to reformat and reissue brochures on the Mill-Pine National Historic District and a devastating 1959 explosion called the Blast. The city provided $3,000 in matching funds to complete the project.
Sarah Mizejewski, a community planner with the city, said the brochures were previously published several years ago, but the number of available copies dwindled.
"We literally had just one," she said of the Mill-Pine brochure. "I've been guarding it very closely."
The 7,500 new brochures were produced by Creative Images Printing & Design of Roseburg.
Dan Huff, Roseburg's interim city manager, said Mill-Pine was designated a historic district in 1985. The designation and the brochure are vital to helping people understand and celebrate the working-class background of the region, he said.
The railroad arrived in Roseburg in 1872, after the Oregon and California Railroad Company began laying southbound tracks from Portland. For a decade, it was the southern terminus of the rails, bringing jobs and prosperity to town.
Roseburg founder Aaron Rose was involved in developing the neighborhood on Mill and Pine streets to provide affordable housing for railroad employees. The effort culminated in construction of at least 180 structures between 1895 and the 1930s. Some are featured in the brochure's map outlining the district.
Mary Blevens has served on Roseburg's historic commission for years and owns property in the historic district. She said 20 years ago, Mill-Pine developed a bad reputation and was nicknamed "felony flats." Because of the historic designation and tax exemptions for property owners, the area has become a real neighborhood again, she said.
"I love that part of town," she said. "I hope the brochures make people want to drive down and take a look at how it's improved."
Just blocks away from the district, catastrophe befell downtown Roseburg on Aug. 7, 1959. An explosion occurred when a trash-can fire next to Gerretsen Building Supply on Pine spread to a nearby truck filled with dynamite. The inferno left a crater 52 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep. Fourteen people died, more than 100 were injured and property damaged reached into the millions of dollars.
Huff said the glossy Blast brochure includes a walking tour map for individuals who would like to see the structures that survived the third-worst disaster in Oregon history.
After the explosion, transportation routes were altered and new ideas of how Roseburg should look were formed. Plans were made — big plans.
"The Planning Commission proposed a riverfront park area following the river for 900 feet," the brochure explains. "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."
Although the bridge was built, urban renewal money for the rest of the project never materialized.
"The community grew from that experience," said committee member Rex Price said. "I hope we'll continue to grow."
* You can reach reporter Stacy D. Stumbo at 957-4230 or by e-mail at sstumbo@newsreview.info.
A $3,000 grant from the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office has enabled the city to reformat and reissue brochures on the Mill-Pine National Historic District and a devastating 1959 explosion called the Blast. The city provided $3,000 in matching funds to complete the project.
Sarah Mizejewski, a community planner with the city, said the brochures were previously published several years ago, but the number of available copies dwindled.
"We literally had just one," she said of the Mill-Pine brochure. "I've been guarding it very closely."
The 7,500 new brochures were produced by Creative Images Printing & Design of Roseburg.
Dan Huff, Roseburg's interim city manager, said Mill-Pine was designated a historic district in 1985. The designation and the brochure are vital to helping people understand and celebrate the working-class background of the region, he said.
The railroad arrived in Roseburg in 1872, after the Oregon and California Railroad Company began laying southbound tracks from Portland. For a decade, it was the southern terminus of the rails, bringing jobs and prosperity to town.
Roseburg founder Aaron Rose was involved in developing the neighborhood on Mill and Pine streets to provide affordable housing for railroad employees. The effort culminated in construction of at least 180 structures between 1895 and the 1930s. Some are featured in the brochure's map outlining the district.
Mary Blevens has served on Roseburg's historic commission for years and owns property in the historic district. She said 20 years ago, Mill-Pine developed a bad reputation and was nicknamed "felony flats." Because of the historic designation and tax exemptions for property owners, the area has become a real neighborhood again, she said.
"I love that part of town," she said. "I hope the brochures make people want to drive down and take a look at how it's improved."
Just blocks away from the district, catastrophe befell downtown Roseburg on Aug. 7, 1959. An explosion occurred when a trash-can fire next to Gerretsen Building Supply on Pine spread to a nearby truck filled with dynamite. The inferno left a crater 52 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep. Fourteen people died, more than 100 were injured and property damaged reached into the millions of dollars.
Huff said the glossy Blast brochure includes a walking tour map for individuals who would like to see the structures that survived the third-worst disaster in Oregon history.
After the explosion, transportation routes were altered and new ideas of how Roseburg should look were formed. Plans were made — big plans.
"The Planning Commission proposed a riverfront park area following the river for 900 feet," the brochure explains. "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."
Although the bridge was built, urban renewal money for the rest of the project never materialized.
"The community grew from that experience," said committee member Rex Price said. "I hope we'll continue to grow."
* You can reach reporter Stacy D. Stumbo at 957-4230 or by e-mail at sstumbo@newsreview.info.
