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About the Oregon Collection
Visit the Coos Bay Library's Oregon Collection to learn about local history in Coos and neighboring counties. With the exception of Oral Histories (see below), materials are available for in-library use only during libraryís hours of operation. Ask for help at the Reference Desk or send research requests to bayref@cclsd.org.
Featured Resources
In the Print Collection
- Documents and other Primary Resources featuring local individuals, clubs, organizations, businesses, schools, churches, parks, government and local agencies
- Published books categorized by Local Authors, Local Interest and History
- Coos County directories and phone books dating back to 1904
- Local daily and weekly newspapers (1879 - present) on microfilm, including The World, Coos Bay Times, & their many predecessors
- Marshfield High School yearbooks dating back to 1915
- Area Historical Maps
- Large pamphlet file, includes clippings, pamphlets, and brochures on Coos history
- Coos County Oral History Project: living histories recorded on CD and cassette (AVAILABLE FOR CHECKOUT)
Local History Websites
Bandon Historical Society Museum
The Bandon Historical Society was founded in 1976 with the mission of preserving and presenting historical material and artifacts related to the history of the Bandon area. The Society's museum is on the corner of Fillmore and Highway 101 and contains bound archived newspaper copies of Bandon Western World, photographs, obituary files, cemetery records, and more.
Coos County Logging Museum is a Myrtle Point landmark. Museum is housed in a distinctive dome-shaped building built in 1910 and now listed with the National Register of Historic Places. Inside, an extensive collection of antique logging equipment and rare photographs celebrate the rich history of logging in the area.
The Coos County Pioneer and Historical Society was founded in 1891. In 1899, the Society published Orville Dodge's A Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, which is still a standard reference. In 2015, the Society built a bigger and better museum on the waterfront in Coos Bay. The museum's collection includes more than 50,000 objects and more than 250,000 images that illuminate the cultural history of the Coos region and south coastal Oregon.
Museum collection consists of roughly 10,000 artifacts reflecting the social, industrial, and domestic artifacts of the Coquille Valley, from its prehistory to the modern age. Thousands of archives, genealogical resources, photos and library books on the area and its residents make it a researcher's destination.
Includes digital copies of the following Coos County newspapers, ranging from 1879-1916: Bandon Recorder, The Coast Mail, Coos Bay Times, Daily Coast Mail, and Weekly Coast Mail. Note: Site does not archive all issues of papers, most gaps represented in library's microfilm collection.
Historically, the cemetery served as the Coos Bay region's primary burying ground in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a place where the community could pay its respects to local citizens or just enjoy the natural setting. Site includes extensive A-Z burial lists.
Marshfield Sun Printing Museum
Museum is a historic newspaper and job printing shop on the National Register of Historic Places. It features the original equipment of The Sun newspaper (1891-1944) and exhibits on printing and local history in addition to a repository of all the weekly newspapers printed in what is now the City of Coos Bay.