The Lower Umpqua region which includes Reedsport, Gardiner, Winchester Bay and Scottsburg is proud of its rich heritage. Recorded history first mentions the river we know as the Umpqua in the year 1578 when Sir Francis Drake sailed north in the Pacific Ocean searching for the mythical Strait of Anian. 

In August 1850 the expedition of Winchester, Payne & Co. Of San Francisco entered the Umpqua River where they platted the townsites of Umpqua City, West Umpqua and Scottsburg. 

The U.S. Army established Fort Umpqua there July 28, 1956. The lighthouse was built in 1856 but washed away in the flood of 1861. It was replaced in 1892 and stands today guiding vessels entering Winchester Bay, and is the only one on the Oregon Coast that shows a red light in its beam. 

Travelers from Coos Bay started their trip in horse drawn carriages, then were transferred to a surf boat and taken around Winchester head through the surf to Gardiner. At Gardiner a river steamer would carry passengers up the Umpqua River to Scottsburg where a four or six horse stage would continue on to Drain or Roseburg.