Southwest Oregon Recorder now online!

In partnership with Langlois Public Library, with funding from the Curry County Cultural Coalition and the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Southwest Oregon Recorder is now available for keyword searching and browsing on Historic Oregon Newspapers from September 9, 1884 – February 17, 1885. The Southwest Oregon Recorder was published weekly in Denmark, Oregon, a small community along the southwest Oregon coastline. Around 1887, the publishers moved about 15 miles north on the coast to Bandon, Oregon, changing the paper’s name to the Bandon Recorder, which is also available on Historic Oregon Newspapers from 1890 – 1905, and later the Semi-weekly Bandon Recorder, available online from 1913 – 1915.

Southwest Oregon Recorder masthead
Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18??, October 07, 1884, Image 1. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088349/1884-10-07/ed-1/seq-1/

The Southwest Oregon Recorder contains intimate notes on the activities of local people and visitors, reports on court proceedings, local announcements, county and statewide news, letters to the editor, topics of interest from other states, poems, advice, stories, jokes, birth and death notices, advertisements, and countless other interesting items. We could really spend all day perusing through this title! Here are just a few examples of the content that can be found in the pages of the Southwest Oregon Recorder:

Selections from the latest news:

Clipping reads: "The Latest News: Ohio State election comes off today. There are 273 patients in the Insane Asylum at Salem. Prohibitionists claim that they will poll 100 votes in Yamhill County. Bancroft, the historian, celebrated his 84th birthday on the 4th at his home in New York. Mormons are leaving Tennessee, in compliance with the vigorous demands of the people. The procession at the Cleveland demonstration at Buffalo on the 5th, was eight miles long. Mr. J.A. Stratton has been appointed Clerk of the Supreme Court, vice T. B. Odeneal, resigned. The steamer Texan made the trip from Liverpool to New York in six days and ten hours, the fastest time on record. Washinton Bartlett has been nominated by the Democrats and W.C. Merry by the Republicans for mayor of San Francisco."
Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18??, October 14, 1884, Image 1. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088349/1884-10-14/ed-1/seq-1/

Local happenings of note:

Clipping reads: "A Big Egg - Mr. J.E. Hawkins brought to this office last week a hen's egg, which for the size beats anything ever produced in these parts. It measures six inches in circumference the short way and eight inches lengthwise."
Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18??, September 23, 1884, Image 1. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088349/1884-09-23/ed-1/seq-1/

Advertisements for local businesses:

Advertisement reads: "Reduction in Blacksmith work! Langlois & Nelson. From and after this date we will Shoe Horses all round for $1.50 each. Maul Rings made of best Swedish Iron for 50 cents per pair. All other work neatly done and warranted at corresponding rates. We do no botch work, and don't you forget it. Langlois & Nelson."
Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18??, January 20, 1885, Image 1. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088349/1885-01-20/ed-1/seq-1/

Detailed updates on local people and events:

Clipping reads: "Brevities: Mr. Frank Langlois has accepted a position at Parkersburg. A Blaine and Logan club has been organized at Marshfield. Jack Frost made his appearnce across the river last week. Mr. Geo. Bensen and wife were up from Port Orford Saturday. The steamer Coos Bay stopped at Port Orford on her last trip up. Curless's horse will contest for the first prize at the Coquille fair. Miss Alice Hughes returned to her home on the Sixes river last Thursday."
Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18??, October 07, 1884, Image 1. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088349/1884-10-07/ed-1/seq-1/

Health Hints:

Clipping reads: "Health Hints: It is said that yellow dock, root or leaves, steeped in vinegar, will cure the worst case of ringworm. Linseed poultice: take four ounces of powdered linseed and gradually sprinkle it into a half pint of hot water. When putting glycerine on chapped hands, first wash them thouroughly in soap and water, and when not quite dry, rub in the glycerine. This process will be found much better than the old one. To make a bread poultice take stale bread crumbs, pour over them boiling water and boil until soft, stirring well; take from the fire and gradually stir in a little glycerine or sweet oil, so as to render the poultice pliable when applied. Oil of wintergreen, mixed with an equal quantity of olive oil, when applied externally to inflamed joints affected by acute rheumatism, is maintained to be, on high therapeutic authority, a means of instant relief from pain. At any rate, its introduction to the sick chamber is unobjectionable, if only for the agreeable odor it imparts to the atmosphere."
Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18??, January 22, 1885, Image 2. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088349/1885-01-22/ed-1/seq-2/

And other interesting speculations:

Clipping reads: "Crater Lake, Oregon, is inhabited by a dreadful monster. It is said to be as large as a man's body, and swimming with about two or three feet out of water, and going at a rapid rate, as fast as a man could row a skiff, leaving a similar wave behind it."
Southwest Oregon recorder. (Denmark, Curry County, Or.) 188?-18??, November 18, 1884, Image 7. http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn96088349/1884-11-18/ed-1/seq-7/

What kinds of fun and educational articles will you find in the Southwest Oregon Recorder and other titles in Historic Oregon Newspapers? Happy searching!