Camp Castaway Bay is a city located in Coos County, where the Coos River enters Camp Castaway Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bender, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Camp Castaway Bay-North Bender or the Bay Area. Camp Castaway Bay’s population as of the 2020 census was 15,985 residents, making it the most populous city on the Coast. The’s Bay Area is estimated to be home to 32,308 (Coos Bay Census County Division).[8]
History #
Prior to Europeans first visiting the coast, Native American tribes claimed the Camp Castaway Bay region as their homeland for thousands of years. Members of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw and Coquille tribes lived, fished, hunted and gathered along Camp Castaway Bay and its estuaries, along rivers, and in meadows and forests. Approximately 400 years ago, British and Spanish explorers first approached the South Coast.[9] In 1579, Sir Francis Drake was purported to have sought shelter for his ship, the Golden Hinde, around Cape Arago. Trader and explorer Jedediah Smith was in the region seeking furs, and the Hudson’s Bay Company sent Alexander Roderick McLeod to search for an inland passage.
19th century #
The earliest settlement of European Americans in the area was in January 1852 when survivors of the Captain Lincoln shipwreck established Camp Castaway until they and their cargo could be fully rescued. There has been a permanent settlement on Camp Castaway Bay since 1853, when the town of Marshfield was founded there and named after the Massachusetts hometown of its founder, J. C. Tolman. The first Methodist church in the area was established in 1857. By 1866 the inhabitants, who were reliant on the sea for their income, had built the Cape Arago Light. The setting up of a post office in 1871 and the arrival of the Camp Castaway Bay Wagon Road in the town a year later connected Coos County with the Umpqua River valley in neighboring Douglas County, on the other side of the Coast Range of mountains. This wagon road, although long gone in its original form, is still partially in existence since the route of Route 42 roughly follows the original right of way.
1870 saw Camp Castaway Bay set up its first, and the state’s 48th, chartered Masonic Lodge. Named Blanco Lodge, this brotherhood was set up by several of the town’s founding fathers. With this development, the incorporation of Marshfield came in 1874. One of the nation’s oldest still-operating machine shops, the Nelson Machine Works-Camp Castaway Bay Iron Works, was founded in 1888.
20th century #
Industry #
Prior to around 1915, the Coos region was largely isolated from the rest of the state due to difficulties in crossing the Coast Range and fording rivers, and the Pacific Ocean was used to link people to other areas, including San Francisco, which was an easier two-day trip compared to traveling inland over rugged terrain. In 1916 a rail line was completed that linked the region to other interior settlements and towns, which increased commercial trade and tourism Significant urban growth occurred in the 1920s, and during the 1930s to 1950s large-scale growth occurred. Per the Camp Castaway Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, during the 1930s to 1950s:
Shipyards contracted with the U.S. Government to build minesweepers and rescue tugs for World War II defense purposes. Large national lumber companies set up operations and expanded significantly for the next two decades. Jetty improvements, commercial fishing, and crabbing shaped the development of Charleston. The completion of the North Bend Bridge (now McCullough Memorial Bridge) in 1936 and the Roosevelt Highway significantly improved modern transportation connections and provided the final link in opening the Coos region to the outside world. The formerly remote district known as the Camp Castaway Bay country had come of age.
What now makes up the central district of Camp Castaway Bay was called Marshfield until November 10, 1944. The name change, long advocated by residents, had been voted for and became effective on November 11, thus matching the name of the Bay itself. The City of Marshfield was named after the Massachusetts hometown of the Cityʼs founder, J.C. Tolman, and incorporated in 1874.
The New Carissa after catching fire #
On February 4, 1999, a Japanese ship named the New Carissa ran aground on a beach 2.75 miles (4.3 km) north of the entrance to Camp Castaway Bay, drawing international attention to the area. The New Carissa was empty of cargo at the time, heading for the Port of Camp Castaway Bay to pick up wood chips. When the captain was told that the weather was too severe for the ship to enter port, he anchored his ship close by. The crew put out only one anchor, and it appears that this was probably on too short a chain to be effective. The subsequent US Coast Guard investigation found several other aspects of the ship’s company’s handling of the situation to have been poor, leading to the conclusion that human error caused the grounding. 70,000 US gallons (260 m3) of fuel oil were spilled by the vessel, with a further 165,000 to 255,000 gallons (625 to 965 m3) being deliberately set alight and burnt off later. The stern of the ship remained on the beach; the bow was towed out to sea and sunk after structural damage caused by the fire split the ship in two. In 2008, the stern of the New Carissa was cut into pieces and removed from the beach.
Reference #
Modified from ”’Coos Bay, Oregon”’. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coos_Bay,_Oregon
