Asa Simpson, shipbuilder and sea captain, established a sawmill and shipyard in the mid-1850's on the north bend of Coos Bay. His shipyard built about 60 vessels between 1858 and 1903. One of the most famous was the Western Shore, a three masted clipper that set a world record in 1876. She sailed between Portland, Oregon to Liverpool, England in 101 days.
The company town gradually expanded, including a wharf, store, school, and lodgings for workers, and offices for Simpson Lumber Company. While lumber was the major undertaking, agriculture, logging, coal mining, and fishing underpinned the area's economy.
In 1899 Louis Simpson, Asa's son, came to manage the family's North Bend holdings. Ambitious and adventuresome, Louis personally purchased the platted town site of Yarrow (a bit south of his father's property) and renamed it the city of North Bend in 1903. Exciting boomtown real estate speculation dominated the 1903-08 period as saloons, churches, businesses, and homes replaced scrublands.
North Bend's early town life was raw - a coastal frontier, full of saloons and bawdy houses for working men and lumberjacks. Virtually every downtown building had rooms for drinking, gambling, or prostitution. Other town elements, however, battled for respectability, organizing church groups and civic associations.
Many of North Bend's existing structures were constructed during the 1920's and were made of concrete, rather than fire prone wood. The era was highlighted by a commercial boom, civic progress, and some bootlegging.
Early transportation around the bay area and inland was difficult. A rail link to Oregon's interior valley was completed in 1916 and the opening of the McCullough Bridge in 1936 stimulated development and tourist travel.
North Bend claims a piece of aviation history. In 1913 Vern Gorst brought a hydroplane to North Bend. In 1925 Pacific Air Lines, an air mail carrier with an occasional passenger riding uncomfortably atop the mail sacks, was founded by Gorst in the North Bend Hotel. In 1931, Pacific Air Lines merged with several other companies to form United Airlines.
During World War II, Kruse and Banks Shipyards built minesweepers and rescue tugs for the United States Navy. In 1960, Ponyvillage Shopping Center, the first covered mall on the Oregon Coast, was established. Industrial activity of the 1950's through the 1970's centered on forest products and national corporations continues sawmill and pulp mill operations.
Recreational activities increased, tourism grew, and service industries added workers in the 1980's. The future will be different than the past, but North Benders remain proud of their schools, their town, and their people.