Devoted to the Mining, Lumbering, and Farming Interests of this Community, to Good Government, and Hustling for a Grub Stake
Every trail tells a tale... T
he theme of the 59th Bohemia Mining Days celebration highlights the history of how our familiar geographical names east of town came to be. Many of the names are traced back to the second half of the 19th Century when early white settlers arrived in Western Oregon to receive free land from “Uncle Sam” in this fertile Eden-like paradise. Today’s road names reflect their proximity to nearby rivers and creeks and memorialize the names of early settlers of this area. Brice Creek: This stream originates in the Cascade foothills and flows into Row River. It was named for Frank Brass, an early prospector. He fell into the stream on a prospecting trip and a companion named the creek for him. Somewhere along the way the spelling changed to Brice. Until 1943, it was known as Frank Brice Creek. That year the U.S .Book of Geographical Names simplified it to Brice Creek. Culp Creek: The name has two noted origins. One story is its namesake was John Culp, who was born in Missouri in 1858. According to his obituary in the Cottage Grove Sentinel, Mr. Culp spent most of his early life in Cottage Grove working as a laborer, which could’ve been in the mines or the woods. He and his wife Minnie had six children. He died on June 26, 1926, at the age of 67 in Seattle, where his daughter lived. The local history book, Golden Was the Past, indicates the first settlers in the Wildwood area changed the name to Culp Creek after a clear, cold water spring nearby. Currin Covered Bridge: The bridge honors William Currin who was born in Virginia in 1818. He endured hardships along the Oregon Trail to arrive in Oregon in the fall of 1850. For the next three years he engaged in packing into the mines of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Please see TRAIL PG. 3