Roseburg, Oregon was named after the first man who settled here in
September of 1851, Aaron Roseburg. He
converted his house into a tavern and it also served as the first roadside inn
in the area. He died in 1899.
Although it
may not have much history, Roseburg Oregon has some notable events which happen to be worthy of my time. J The biggest event that has taken place in
this town happened 53 years ago and left the town a mess. The event has been dubbed, “The Roseburg
Blast” and for a good reason. On August 7, 1959, some trash cans caught
fire in front of the Gerretsen Building Supply Company building. Soon the
building was burning, and before anyone had the chance to notice the truck
loaded with two tons of dynamite and four-and-a-half tons of nitro
carbo nitrate parked just outside, it caught fire. You can guess what happened
next. The massive blast destroyed buildings in an eight-block radius and severely damaged
30 more blocks. Fourteen people died in
the blast and fire and 125 were injured, which is actually a miracle,
considering the amount of space the blast affected. Eventually the town was rebuilt, along with a
new bridge that crosses the Umpqua River. If you want to know more about this happening,
or want to know why there was a truck filled with explosives, check out the
article here.
-Devin
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