The Sawmill & Tribal Trail can be accessed from many points around town , so check out as much of it as you have time and energy for. We hope you will enjoy learning more about the colorful past of the Coos Bay and North Bend area. MaiN aCCeSS PoiNTS: Directions to Ferry Road Park: Go N. on Hwy 101 through North Bend - turn right on Ferry Rd. and continue 0.2 miles to park on left. Directions to Pony Village Mall: From Hwy 101 - go 0.5 mile west on Virginia Ave. to Pony Village Mall on your left. Park at the mall and walk out of the parking lot on Vermont to pick up the trail on Pony Creek Rd. Directions to John Topits Park: From Hwy 101 - go 1.9 miles west on Newmark Avenue then turn right onto Hull Street. Follow signs to John Topits Park. Directions to Empire Docks: From Hwy 101 - go 2.9 miles west on Newmark Avenue then turn left onto Arago Hwy. Take your first right onto Michigan Ave and continueto docks.

NoTiCe: The Sawmill & Tribal Trail is an urban trail utilizing existing side-walks and sometimes the shoulder of local streets. Use protected crosswalks whenever possible, stay on sidewalks or the left side of the road and always watch for traffic. Do not walk after dark and, if you can, find a walking buddy.

SalmonberryRubus spectabilis

Asa SimpsonCHMM 009-16.1

Charles MerchantCHMM

Henry H. LuseCHMM

Willow

aH

istorical Journey through

“The Bay area”

1863 Coast Survey showing trail from

Em

pire City to North Bend Saw

Mill

Empire W

aterfront 1884 - CH

MM

967-126G

Brought to you by: The Coos Historical and M

aritime M

u-seum

and the Sawm

ill & Tribal Trail A

dvisory Team.

Mem

bers of the advisory Team

: Tom G

askill, Jennifer G

roth, How

ard Graham

, Kim G

riffin, Rick Keating, Stepha-

nie Kramer, D

on Luce, David Petrie, Frank W

alsh and Wanda

Williford w

ith Tom G

reaves (Empire) &

Dick W

agner (North

Bend) co-chairs. Contributors: Coos County Cultural Coalition, Johanna D

il-lard, Kris Thurm

an, Sterling Bank, Industrial Steel & Supply,

the estate of Walter G

ranum, H

armon Construction, D

avid Petrie and anonym

ous donors. Partners in the project: Cities of Coos Bay and N

orth Bend, Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Low

er Um

pqua and Siuslaw

Indians, Coos Historical &

Maritim

e Museum

, Com-

munity Coalition of Em

pire, South Coast Striders and the N

ational Coast Trail Association. A

nnie Donnelly, A

l LePage, John Schaefer and Kirk W

icks assisted. Jennie Sperling contributed all plant draw

ings.

Coos Historical and M

aritim

e Museum

1220 Sherman a

venueN

orth Bend , Oregon 97459

Phone: 541-756-6320E-m

ail: sawm

illtribaltrail@gm

ail.com

SaW

Mill &

TRiB

al

TRa

il The Saw

mill &

Tribal Trail is 5.6 miles one w

ay and can be w

alked, bicycled or driven. Just look for the trail logo on num

bered cedar post or on streets or sidew

alks. The trail is divided into three sections... a

) North Bend B) John Topits Park C) Em

pire

BACKGRo

UN

DThe Saw

mill &

Tribal Trail honors paths developed by Coos tribal ancestors that connected their bayside villag-es and hunting grounds. Later, sett

lers also used these trails. Em

pire City, established 1853 among several tribal vil-

lages, became the population center w

ith hotels, sa-loons, courthouse, school, brew

ery, general stores, 30 houses (1855) and a post offi

ce (1861). Henry H

. Luse (Em

pire City, 1856) then Asa M

. Simpson (N

orth Bend, 1857) built saw

mills on the bay. Sim

pson created the first shipyard (1858) also near tribal village sites. In 1859 Coos County approved a N

orth Bend - Empire

City road. The route undoubtedly utilized some tribal

paths. Teetotaler Charles Merchant refused to sell alco-

hol at Simpson’s N

orth Bend store so thirsty loggers, mill

and shipyard workers w

ent to Em

pire for saloons and enter-tainm

ent. Hence the historic

“Sawm

ill Trail” - more accu-

rately titled

the Saw

mill

&

Tribal Trail.

a

Nor

th B

end

Poin

ts o

f His

tori

c Si

gnifi

canc

e *

This

sec

tion

can

be

acce

ssed

eit

her f

rom

Fer

ry R

oad

Park

or

Pon

y V

illag

e M

all a

nd w

alke

d as

eit

her

a 4.

2 m

ile o

r 4.

8 m

ile lo

op u

sing

the

gre

en re

turn

rout

es.

1. S

ite o

f Si

mps

on’s

saw

mill

and

shi

pyar

d, t

he o

rigi

nal N

orth

Be

nd c

ompa

ny to

wn.

(See

sig

ns)

2. S

ite o

f 19

22 -

36

ferr

y se

rvic

e be

twee

n N

orth

Ben

d an

d G

lasg

ow (

see

sign

.) At

low

tide

wal

k no

rth

to a

peb

ble

beac

h fo

r an

othe

r vi

ew.

3. P

laqu

e ho

nori

ng G

ahak

kich

- o

ne o

f m

any

Coos

Tri

bal v

il-la

ges

that

dott

ed th

e ba

y ar

ea fo

r th

ousa

nds

of y

ears

. 4.

Fer

ry R

oad

Park

bal

l fiel

d, s

ite o

f Nor

th B

end’

s 19

02 p

avili

on

- the

tow

n’s

com

mun

ity c

ente

r fo

r tw

o de

cade

s. 5.

Unu

sual

vie

w (

from

bel

ow)

of M

cCul

loug

h Br

idge

. Bui

lt as

Co

os B

ay B

ridg

e in

193

6, re

nam

ed in

194

7. A

t 5,8

88 fe

et lo

ng,

larg

est b

ridg

e on

the

Ore

gon

Coas

t whe

n co

nstr

ucte

d.

6. (n

o po

st) T

he C

oos

His

tori

cal a

nd M

ariti

me

Mus

eum

– b

ook

and

gift

sho

p. 7.

ore

gon’

s “M

erci

” bo

xcar

. A

fter

WW

2, t

he g

rate

ful

Fren

ch

sent

eac

h st

ate

a bo

xcar

fille

d w

ith g

ifts.

8.

Nor

th B

end’

s or

igin

al (

1903

) ba

seba

ll pa

rk.

oth

er t

owns

ea

ch fi

elde

d a

team

and

com

petiti

on w

as fi

erce

. 9.

Lan

dmar

k Ch

urch

ope

ned

in 1

910

as th

e Sw

edis

h Ev

ange

lical

Lu

ther

an C

hurc

h. T

he o

ldes

t ori

gina

l chu

rch

in N

orth

Ben

d.

10. P

ony

Slou

gh m

udfla

ts. T

wic

e da

ily u

nder

wat

er b

ut p

latt

ed

(by

1906

) as

the

Ste

ambo

at A

dditi

on t

o N

orth

Ben

d an

d so

ld

to u

nsus

pecti

ng b

uyer

s. 11

. Rem

nant

pili

ngs

from

190

7 w

oode

n br

idge

that

con

nect

ed

Nor

th B

end

to B

ango

r an

d th

e Re

ynol

ds L

umbe

r Co

mpa

ny

saw

mill

. 12

. Six

teen

th S

tree

t (P

ony

Slou

gh) B

ridg

e. N

orth

Ben

d’s

wor

st

earl

y au

to a

ccid

ent

(191

4) k

illed

5 w

hen

an a

uto,

avo

idin

g a

smal

l chi

ld, c

rash

ed t

hrou

gh t

he r

ailin

g to

the

tide

wat

er a

nd

mud

. 13

. old

cou

ntry

roa

d, e

stab

lishe

d in

185

9, u

sed

16th

Str

eet

in

wha

t is

now

Nor

th B

end

and

muc

h of

wha

t is

now

Lak

esho

re

Dri

ve in

Em

pire

. 14

. In

the

firs

t ha

lf of

the

20t

h ce

ntur

y tw

o cr

anbe

rry

bogs

w

ere

loca

ted

a sh

ort d

ista

nce

sout

hwes

t of h

ere.

Thr

ee m

ore

cran

berr

y bo

gs w

ere

situ

ated

furt

her

to t

he n

orth

and

nor

th-

wes

t.

B Jo

hn T

opits

Par

k -

a S

ampl

er o

f Nati

ve

P

lant

s &

Tre

es: C

oos,

firs

t peo

ples

’, fo

od, c

loth

ing,

etc

. Th

is se

ction

of t

rail

thro

ugh

John

Topi

ts p

ark

can

be w

alke

d se

para

tely

as

a n

atur

e w

alk

and

to l

earn

abo

ut h

ow C

oos

first

peo

ple

lived

and

uti

lized

the

reso

urce

s of

this

are

a. 15

. N

ear

Empi

re L

akes

(Ju

ne 1

914)

mas

ked

men

, ri

fles

poin

ted,

sto

pped

and

hel

d up

five

aut

os t

akin

g va

luab

les.

Ly

le C

happ

ell r

ecog

nize

d th

e vo

ices

of b

andi

ts, C

laud

e A

llen

and

Ed W

ilson

. 16

. Pac

ific

Rhod

oden

dron

- ro

ots

carv

ed in

to s

hinn

y ba

lls fo

r a

nativ

e ga

me

sim

ilar

to fi

eld

hock

ey.

17. C

attai

ls -

leav

es a

nd s

tem

s fo

r ba

sket

ry, p

ound

ed s

tem

s us

ed a

s di

aper

s. R

oots

eat

en, c

ooke

d or

raw

. 18

. o

cean

Spr

ay

- st

raig

ht,

stro

ng w

ood

for

arro

w s

haft

s an

d ot

her

tool

s, e

spec

ially

dig

ging

stic

ks. S

easo

nal b

loom

s in

dica

ted

elk

fat,

tim

e to

hun

t.

19.

Labr

ador

Tea

- L

eave

s w

ere

pick

ed a

nd u

sed,

fre

sh o

r dr

y, t

o m

ake

arom

atic

tea.

Tho

ught

goo

d fo

r ki

dney

s.

20. W

illow

– s

hoot

s fo

r ba

sket

s an

d in

ner

bark

som

etim

es

used

in w

eavi

ng. S

easo

nal fi

shin

g ai

d - w

hen

will

ow b

loom

s,

herr

ing

run.

21. S

hore

Pin

e - f

or p

itch.

Tre

e sa

p w

arm

ed, m

ixed

with

sea

l oi

l, pa

tche

d ca

noes

. Pitc

h fo

r han

dles

and

wra

ppin

gs. R

oots

tie

bun

dles

of d

ried

sal

mon

. 22

. Dou

glas

Fir

– s

pear

fish

ing,

fish

wei

rs, m

eat-

dryi

ng ra

cks,

ba

ckbo

ards

for

cra

dle

boar

ds.

Bran

ches

, w

etted

, us

ed i

n fu

nera

l cle

ansi

ng r

itual

s.

23. B

erri

es -

huck

lebe

rry

(eve

rgre

en a

nd re

d), s

alm

onbe

rry,

bl

ackb

erry

, th

imbl

eber

ry,

sala

l. A

ll be

rrie

s en

joye

d fr

esh,

m

any

drie

d an

d po

unde

d in

to c

akes

for

win

ter.

Blac

kber

ry

leav

es fo

r tea

. Eve

rgre

en h

uckl

eber

ry ro

ots

carv

ed in

to s

hin-

ny b

alls

for

nativ

e ga

me

rese

mbl

ing

field

hoc

key.

24

. W

este

rn R

ed C

edar

– v

ery

impo

rtan

t. P

rovi

ded

hous

-in

g, c

anoe

s, b

aske

ts a

nd c

loth

ing.

Who

le t

rees

car

ved

for

cano

es. P

lank

s, c

arve

d w

ith e

lk h

orn,

spl

it fr

om fa

llen

or li

ve

tree

s. (T

wo

or t

hree

pla

nks

cam

e fr

om a

mat

ure

tree

with

-ou

t kill

ing

it.)

25.

Sedg

e, s

loug

h -

grow

s al

ong

wat

er,

com

mon

at

low

el

evati

ons,

use

d fo

r sk

irts

and

ber

ry b

aske

ts.

26. W

este

rn H

emlo

ck –

bar

k m

ade

dark

dye

for c

edar

and

m

aple

. Fi

shne

ts w

ere

dyed

mak

ing

them

tou

gh f

or fi

sh

to s

ee.

Hem

lock

for

fish

wei

rs,

the

heav

y w

ood

stay

ed

put.

27. S

itka

Spru

ce –

woo

d lig

ht a

nd s

tron

g, r

oots

for

bask

ets

and

lash

ings

, occ

asio

nally

for

cano

es.

Earl

y N

orth

Ben

d W

ater

front

CH

MM

009

-16.

1803

C

Em

pire

Poi

nts

of H

isto

ric

Sign

ifica

nce

28. T

o yo

ur r

ight

is B

row

n’s

Hill

(el

evati

on 9

7 fe

et).

“Pilo

t’s

Look

out,”

like

ly u

sed

by C

apt.

Jam

es M

agee

(188

0s).

From

a

tree

, he

spie

d in

com

ing

ship

s be

yond

the

Nor

th S

pit

dune

s (s

ee a

lso

#35)

. 28

. (al

so) D

irect

ly a

head

is th

e So

uthe

rn o

rego

n Co

mpa

ny’s

w

ater

fron

t sa

wm

ill s

ite, 1

884.

The

“Bi

g M

ill”

was

400

-foo

t lo

ng,

built

on

364

Port

orf

ord

ceda

r pi

lings

. Va

cant

yea

rs

befo

re L

ouis

Sim

pson

pur

chas

ed it

(19

27).

1930

s M

enas

ha

owne

d, le

asin

g to

oth

ers.

Cap

e A

rago

Lum

ber

Co. fi

nal o

c-cu

pant

. Raz

ed 1

980.

29. C

oos

Indi

an v

illag

e –

Inte

sich

- si

te. T

hen

Hen

ry H

. Lus

e’s

saw

mill

(18

56-1

883)

site

. Lus

e do

min

ated

Em

pire

’s e

cono

-m

y ov

er 2

5 ye

ars

with

mill

, shi

pyar

d, s

tore

and

vas

t tim

ber

hold

ings

. 30

. Maj

or M

orto

n To

wer

Hou

se (1

869,

exp

ande

d 18

92).

As

cust

oms

colle

ctor

(19

02-1

4) h

e re

port

edly

use

d th

e pa

rlor

fo

r un

offici

al c

usto

mho

use.

31.

Empi

re

scho

ols

(186

6-19

59)

site

. Th

e 18

66

scho

ol

burn

ed 1

919.

Rep

lace

d by

Em

pire

Gra

de S

choo

l (re

nam

ed

Mar

ket S

tree

t Sch

ool);

torn

dow

n 19

69.

32. o

ld T

ower

Hou

se, b

uilt

1872

in G

othi

c Re

viva

l sty

le, b

y D

r. Ch

arle

s W

. Tow

er, b

roth

er o

f Maj

. Mor

ton

Tow

er. T

ower

ho

uses

are

on

Nati

onal

Reg

iste

r of

His

tori

c Pl

aces

. 33

. Leg

enda

ry s

ite o

f “H

angi

ng T

ree.

” In

dian

Pet

e, u

njus

tly

accu

sed

of m

urde

r, w

as ly

nche

d he

re o

r ne

arby

in a

larg

e ch

erry

tre

e (1

854)

; for

t an

d bl

ockh

ouse

her

e du

ring

Rog

ue

Rive

r In

dian

War

(18

56);

loca

tion

of C

oos

Coun

ty C

ourt

-ho

use

& Ja

il (1

872-

1896

). 34

. Hol

leri

ng P

lace

Way

side

- v

iew

s of

bay

and

Nor

th S

pit

sand

dun

es.

See

1852

Cap

tain

Lin

coln

shi

pwre

ck m

arke

r. Co

os In

dian

vill

age,

Han

isic

h, in

vic

inity

. Hol

leri

ng P

lace

on

Nor

th S

pit

whe

re t

riba

l mem

bers

, the

n se

ttle

rs, w

ould

yel

l ac

ross

bay

for

wat

er tr

ansp

ort.

35

. Ca

pt.

Jam

es M

agee

Hou

se

(187

3). V

icto

rian

sty

le. C

apt.

M

agee

, m

aste

r oc

ean

and

bar p

ilot,

had

obs

erva

tion

tow

er

on

bluff

be

hind

ho

use.

He’

d sp

ot a

shi

p ap

proa

chin

g Co

os B

ay

bar,

take

a t

ugbo

at a

nd

offer

ser

vice

as

pilo

t –

for

a fe

e.