The Ghosts of Roseburg: A Historical Downtown Walking Tour

Roseburg is a small town filled with some big characters.

On this downtown walking tour, you’ll hear stories of its pioneers. I’ll show you classic architecture around Main Street and Jackson Street, including Roseburg City Hall and the old Opera House. You’ll see the Elk Lodge and Hebe Statue too, once an emblem of Prohibition and now a controversial symbol of immorality and hedonism. Along the way, I’ll tell you what life was like here back in the 1870s when the streets were dirt and the buildings were made of wood. You’ll hear tales from that period up until the 1950s, when this city center was bustling, prosperous and full of fun.

On the walk, nine historical characters will tell you their stories, including:

• Bethenia Owens-Adair, a single mother who worked her way from illiterate laundress, to hat shop owner, to the first female doctor in Oregon
• Mary, a brothel madam who was friends with a do-gooder mayor
• Dr. Brumfield, the dentist who attempted to fake his own death in an ambitious scheme that led to a high-profile murder mystery
• The Chinese immigrant known as “China Sam”, who earned the undying friendship of his adopted hometown
• William “Bud” Thompson, a rival newspaperman whose antagonism in print would lead to a bloody shootout at a dusty intersection
• George Rutherford, the man that instigated a freak blast that killed 14 people and decimated a 30-block radius of downtown
• A woman from the 1950s who recounts her memories of the opulent Indian Theater that went up in flames

Please allow 90 min to 2 hours to get the most out of the tour.

There are plenty of cafes, shops, restaurants and bars where you can stop along the route. We especially encourage you to visit the fine establishments of our tour sponsors: North Forty, Bell Sister Flats, Mariachi Loco, Alexander's Greek Cafe, Parrott House,Trella Vineyards, Gathering Grounds, True Restaurant and Old Soul Pizza.

We also recommend that you visit the Douglas County Museum and the Floed-Lane House to learn more about the local history.

Thank you to Kent Rochester at Big Wrench Media with his assistance in producing this tour. Thank you to Samantha Starns, Eric Andrews, Kent Rochester, Paul Bentley, Matthew Campbell, Victoria Hawks, Wendy Weikum, Dick Baltus and Ashley Claiborne for voicing the characters.

Music:

Redwood Trail
Redwood Highway
Plantation
Front-Porch Sitter

by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.