Bandon Timeline

Date	Events
1700	A major earthquake and tsunami strike the coast.  Oral histories from British Columbia to norther California recall the event.  Tsunami records in Japan pinpoint the year.  The people recover and rebuild.
1700s	Trade goods from Europe and Asia enter the local economy.
1826	Villagers along the Coquille River trade furs with trappers led by Alexander McLeod from the Hudson’s Bay Company.
1828	The Na So Mah people have an unpleasant encounter with a party of Americans at the mouth of the river (as recorded by leader Jedediah Smith in his journal entry for July 3, 1828).  The Smith party has a practice of dismantling plank houses to use as rafts and of plundering Indian settlements for furs and supplies.
1848	The Coquille River Valley is claimed by the United States as part of the Oregon Territory.
1851	American soldiers from Fort Orford on an expedition to “chastise” the Indians fire cannon at the plank houses of the Na So Mah village, killing several residents.
1853	Gold is discovered at Whisky Run Creek.  At least 1,000 miners congregate at the new town named Randolph.  Indians become the target of hostilities.
1854	Forty vigilantes from the mining camps attack Coquille villages on January 28, 1854.  They kill fleeing villagers and burn the Indians’ houses.
1855	Headmen of various Coquille villages sign a treaty, ceding their land in exchange for promised government protection and benefits.  Congress never ratifies the treaty.
1856	The US government transports the Coquilles and other coastal natives to reservations.
Late 1850s and 60s	Immigrants including John Hamblock, Edmund Fahy, Adam Pershbaker, Thompson Lowe, Chris Long and Judah Parker file donation land claims and establish communities along the river.
1859	The local area becomes part of the State of Oregon on February 14, Oregon’s birthday.
1873	George Bennett from Bandon, Ireland purchases ocean front land from Thompson Lowe’s donation land claim and envisions a town he calls Bandon Beach.
1877	A Bandon Post Office is established.
1880	1880 Census: population is 175 (*source: www.population.us)
1880	Cheese-making began and Congress appropriated money for the jetty.
1884	The Army Corps of Engineers begins construction work on Bandon’s jetties.
1886	School District #54 established.
1887	William Averill and George Dyer plat a town along the bay that they name Averill.
1890	1890 Census: population is 219.*
1891	City of Bandon is incorporated February 18, 1891.
1893	Woolen Mill established.
1896	The Coquille River Lighthouse begins service.
1897-98	Jetty constructed on Coquille River.
1900	1900 Census: population is 645.*
1908	Fire destroys the Cody sawmill.  The mill is rebuilt and the company reorganizes as the Moore Mill and Lumber Company.  Moore Mill would be the community’s largest employer for several decades.
1910	1910 Census: population reaches 1,803.*
1910	Electric service begins in Bandon.
1912	Voters approve funds to buy the property for Bandon’s City Park.
1914	A fire breaks out in a restaurant kitchen and destroys three blocks of downtown buisinesses.
1916	The steam schooner Fifield  wrecks on the Coquille River bar February 29, Leap Day.  Shipwrecks are a frequent occurrence on the local coast.
1918	Locals form a home Guard to protect the town during World War 1 and federal Spruce Division troops are stationed on the Coquille River to harvest lumber for airplanes.
1920	1920 Census: population is 1140.*
1925	The Wecoma baths, an indoor, salt water swimming pool is opened on Coquille Point.
1926	A “Welcome” arch is built to greet drivers on the newly constructed Roosevelt Highway, later renamed Highway 101.
1927	Bandon’s first golf course is built and named Westmost, because it is the western most golf course in the United States at that time.
1930	1930 Census: population is 1516.*
1936	A forest fire sweeps through Bandon September 26, 1936, destroying approximately 80 percent of the town. Eleven people die in the fire.
1937	Bandon begins rebuilding.
1939	The Bandon Lighthouse is decommissioned (replaced by an automated beacon on the South Jetty) and the lighthouse keeper’s house is abandoned.
1940	1940 Census: population is 1004.*
1942	First dog patrols and the horse patrols are quartered in Bandon’s City Park as Bandon is fortified during World War 2.  “The Barn” for the horses would later become the heart of Bandon’s community building in the park.
1947	Bandon holds its first “Cranberry Festival,” an annual fall event that continues to this day.
1950	1950 Census: population is 1251.*
1950	Bandon High wins a state football championship.
1953	The lumber ship Oliver Olson goes aground on the south jetty.  Rather than attempting to refloat the 300-foot-long ship, the hull is cut to the water line and filled with rock to extend the jetty.
1954	The Bullards bridge opens, ending years of ferry service across the Coquille River.
1960	1960 Census: population is 1653.*
1961	A new section of Highway 101 opens and connects Bandon directly to Coos Bay (without traveling through Coquille).
1962	The state begins acquiring land for Bullards Beach State Park.
1960s	Trees, cheese and cranberries are the mainstays of Bandon’s economy.
1970	1970 Census: population is 1,832.*
1974	An arson fire destroys Bandon High School.
1976	Bandon Historical Society formed.
1977	Bandon Historical Museum opens in Masonic building
1980	1980 Census: population is 2,311.*
1986	The Coquille Tribe is restored as a federally recognized tribe.
1980’s	Old Town area is re-developed, new boat basin and shopping in East Bandon constructed.
1983	Museum moves to Coast Guard building.
1990	1990 Census: population is 2,267.*
1991	Bandon celebrates its centennial as an incorporated city with year-long festivities.
1996	Museum moves to current location on Fillmore Ave
1999	Bandon Dunes Golf Resort opens its first 18-hole course.
2000	2000 Census: population is 2,997.*
2000	The Sprague theater, in Bandon City Park, has a grand opening in May.
2004	A new public library building is opened in City Park.
2010	2010 Census: population is 3, 066.*
2013	Face Rock Creamery opens, bringing local cheesemaking back to the community.
2017	museum’s “History Minute” radio spots begin airing on local radio
2020	Bandon Dunes Golf Resort opens its fifth 18-hole course, Bally Bandon Sheep Ranch.
2020	Census: population is 3,321*
2020	Healthy History Hikes are developed while the museum was closed during Covid pandemic
2022	Museum notified it is the recipient of the Don Lynam estate for the purpose of building an Event Center
2023	Gravel Point development begins application process to build a 5-star resort
2026	50th anniversary of Bandon Historical Museum Society