Cottage Grove in Lane County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)
River Road
Historic Trail to Modern Highway
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 22, 2017
1. River Road Marker
Inscription.
River Road. Historic Trail to Modern Highway. Roads and rights-of-way were serious public considerations on the Oregon frontier. Market roads, territorial roads and county roads were the lifelines of commerce and communication. River Road - the road upon which you are standing - was once a Kalapuya Indian trail, and in 1846 it became part of the Applegate Trail. With the discovery of gold in 1848 the trail quickly became the "Road to California." River Road became part of the Territorial Road from Eugene to Roseburg during the 1850s, a stage route in the 1860s, and was Cottage Grove's first main street. During the 1910s it became part of the Pacific Highway, a major north-south corridor which, in time, reached from Canada to Mexico. , ...a survey...has been made, and a good and practicable route found and marked out, according to the road laws, leaving John Cochran's on the coast fork said road passed through a thickly settled country to the foot of the Calapooya Mountains. , Ascending the mountains there is no trouble in making a good road as it is a gradual ascent to the summit.... -- Joseph Latshaw, Surveyor, Eugene City, October 1855
Roads and rights-of-way were serious public considerations on the Oregon frontier. Market roads, territorial roads and county roads were the lifelines of commerce and communication. River Road - the road upon which you are standing - was once a Kalapuya Indian trail, and in 1846 it became part of the Applegate Trail. With the discovery of gold in 1848 the trail quickly became the "Road to California." River Road became part of the Territorial Road from Eugene to Roseburg during the 1850s, a stage route in the 1860s, and was Cottage Grove's first main street. During the 1910s it became part of the Pacific Highway, a major north-south corridor which, in time, reached from Canada to Mexico.
...a survey...has been made, and a good and practicable route found and marked out, according to the road laws, leaving John Cochran's on the coast fork said road passed through a thickly settled country to the foot of the Calapooya Mountains.
Ascending the mountains there is no trouble in making a good road as it is a gradual ascent to the summit.... -- Joseph Latshaw, Surveyor, Eugene City, October 1855
Location. 43° 47.856′ N, 123° 3.887′ W. Marker is in Cottage Grove, Oregon, in Lane County. It is on North River Road near West Main Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 19 North River Road, Cottage Grove OR 97424, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It is also on the American Pacific Coast, in the Pacific Northwest, and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, in the Cascade Range, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.
More about this marker. This marker is located in Veterans Park.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 18, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 18, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 553 times since then and 61 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 18, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
