История города Норт-Бенд: от судостроения к ежегодному празднику юбилея

Amazing America: From ships to celebrations, North Bend’s story continues NORTH BEND, Ore. — Before North Bend became known for its waterfront views, downtown businesses and timber industry, it was a small company town built around the water. Where shipbuilders, mill workers and pioneers helped shape the future of the community. Today, reminders of that history can still be found throughout the city, from historic buildings downtown to the annual July Jubilee celebration that brings residents together every summer. “The oldest North Bend was a Simpson company town,” local historian Dick Wagner said. “It existed at the end of today’s Ferry Road.” That first settlement was founded by pioneer Asa Simpson along the shoreline just south of what is now downtown North Bend. The area grew around Simpson’s sawmill and shipyard, becoming an important part of the region’s early economy. Among the ships built there was one that would go on to make Oregon history, the Western Shore. “Among the ships that his shipyard built behind me here at the North Bend Visitor Center is a model of the Western Shore,” Wagner said. “She was Oregon’s only clipper ship, she was the last clipper ship built in the United States, and she set speed records in her time.” While that original settlement helped establish North Bend’s industrial roots, the city residents know today began taking shape years later. In 1890, businessman Thomas Symons purchased land in the area and envisioned creating a major city along the coast. One Wagner described as a place that could rival San Francisco in the south. But the economic depression of 1893 slowed those plans. The future of North Bend changed when Louis Simpson, Asa Simpson’s son, purchased the townsite in 1902. Simpson worked to grow the community by attracting businesses, giving waterfront property to manufacturers, donating land for churches and encouraging new development. Soon, North Bend became a center for industry. “The major employers were logging and sawmills and shipyards,” Wagner said. “But as the town developed, you needed merchants, and so we filled storefronts in on Sherman Avenue here and on Virginia and other streets.” As more people moved to the area, the city expanded beyond its industrial roots. “We built schools and so you had teachers, and soon you had bakers and barbers and beauticians, hotels,” Wagner said. “A town serves a whole range of people besides its industrial base.” While many of North Bend’s earliest structures are gone, several historic buildings continue to tell the story of the city’s past. The Hotel North Bend, built during the city’s growth period in the 1920s, still stands today. Other landmarks, including the former Odd Fellows building and historic storefronts along Sherman Avenue, offer a glimpse into the community’s earlier years. That history is celebrated every summer during North Bend’s July Jubilee, an event that began during a turning point for the city. In 1983, North Bend residents faced the possibility of consolidating with neighboring Coos Bay. Community members wanted to celebrate the city’s identity, no matter what happened with the vote. “A number of people got together because of consolidation, and the question was, since there was an election that year, would North Bend survive as a city or not?” Wagner said. The community decided to hold a celebration either way. “We decided to have a celebration,” Wagner said. “It would be a victory party if North Bend defeated consolidation, and it would be going down with our flags flying if we lost.” North Bend voters ultimately chose to remain independent, and the July Jubilee continued as an annual tradition. More than 40 years later, the celebration still honors the people, businesses and stories that built the city from its shipbuilding beginnings along the shoreline to the community that stands today. For North Bend, history isn’t just something found in old photographs or buildings. It’s something residents continue to celebrate every year.