Tiller Wigwam

Tiller Oregon is located in Douglas County, about an hours drive southeast of Roseburg. It's on the South Umpqua River, and I'm pretty sure I've been through there -- when I was significantly younger than I am now. It is definitely off the beaten path. That's why I'm delighted that Wade Rhodes shared these photos …

Wigwam Memories: Swisshome

"Daddy, Ed, and I spent an hour or two pulling slab wood off the Erskine sawmill conveyor belt leading  to their wigwam burner," writes Joe Moreland in A Place to Rest My Head, his memoir about growing up in the coast range after WWII. Needing to build a chicken coop, they drove to Swisshome one evening to …

Merlin and Murphy Wigwam Burners

My blog posts about wigwam burners have taken on a life of their own. Every now and then the post about the "hunt for wigwam burners" will get a flurry of activity and a new set of comments, and I'll know that some where out in the world of social media it got mentioned again. Several weeks ago, …

Remnants of the Past: Oregon’s Lumber Icons

Wigwam burners -- those towering structures which used to incinerated waste at our local mills -- once speckled the landscapes of timber towns throughout the Pacific Northwest. Cottage Grove had numerous wigwam burners, including one standing where the Safeway store is now and another alongside River Road, not far from the Chambers Covered Railroad Bridge. We still have one wigwam burner left. however it often …

Wigwam Burner Questions

People who have been following this blog for a while know that I have a fascination with wigwam burners as I have written about them quite a bit over the years. And, from the comments that I get, I can tell that many of you like them too! On occasion, I write freelance articles for …

The hunt for wigwam burners

For some reason, I really like wigwam burners. Maybe because they are a reminder of my childhood growing up in rural Oregon. Maybe because I see them as a symbol of our history which is quickly disappearing from our landscapes. Maybe because I just like the "hunt" of finding them. I won't tell you how …

Wigwam Burner in Sweet Home

“Wigwam burners” used to be a common feature in our Oregon landscape. They were used by the timber industry to burn wood waste before it was discovered that the “waste” could be turned into something profitable, and at a time before stricter air pollution standards. Phased out of use in the 1970s, they have quickly …

Oakland Wigwam Burner

Wigwam burners were popular in the middle of the last century as a way for the timber industry to dispose of waste wood. They replaced open-pit fires which were obvious fire hazards. Then in the mid-1970s they were phased out of use. Many were torn down; others have come down more naturally. Some people, like myself, enjoy …

Row River Trail: Beginnings

A walk along Cottage Grove’s Row River Trail can be much more than a simple stroll -- it can provide glimpses into our local history (both recent and past) as well as our local, native wildlife. The trail makes an excellent day trip excursion for people from out-of-town. And, at the same time, as a …

Chitwood, Oregon

Chitwood Oregon is an unincorporated community between Corvallis (approximately 37 miles to the east) and Newport (15 miles to the west) on Highway 20. Once a rail stop and a small, thriving town, it now consists of a few houses and not much more… with the exception of a covered bridge (which you must cross …