In the early 19th century, the river landing at the mouth of Oswego Creek was a convenient camping place for explorers, fur traders, and pioneers. In the words of one old timer, it was "a stopping place, a sort of a relay station for boats both large and small, plying up and down the river between Astoria and Champoeg."
In 1850 Albert Alonzo Durham and his wife Miranda filed a Donation Land Claim on 640 acres that included the river landing and the creek. Durham built a sawmill on the upper part of the creek and shipped lumber to San Francisco and the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) from the landing. He founded a town on the bluff above the river and named it after Oswego, New York.
The same features that attracted Durham to this spot made it an ideal location for an iron furnace. The lake provided waterpower and the landing provided access to shipping. The landing remained the town's transportation hub until the end of the steamboat era. For the next 60 years the beach was an unofficial park where people launched boats, fished, swam, and picnicked. Every spring between 75 and 250 Gypsies or Romani arrived to camp beside the river for two or three weeks.
In 1945 the City purchased the twelve-and-a-half-acre site for a municipal park. In 1952 the City named the park after City Councilman George Rogers in appreciation for
his devoted efforts to develop and maintain the grounds.
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(Timeline above text:)
1850-1858 A.A. Durham files a Donation Land Claim that includes the landing, creek, and future town site.
1858-1864 The Episcopal Church purchases most of Durham's Claim and establishes a missionary school.
1864-1877 The Oregon Iron Company purhases the riverfront site for a blast furnace.
1877-1882 The Oswego Iron Company acquires the river landing and furnace site.
1882-1945 The Oregon Iron & Steel Company purchases the river landing and furnace site.
1945-2000 The City of Oswego purchases the site for a park and names it after George Rogers in 1952.
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