Brief
History:
Coos County (/kuːs/
KOOSS) is one of the 36 counties in the
U.S. state of Oregon. The county
seat is Coquille.
The county was formed from the
western parts of Umpqua and Jackson
counties. It is named after a tribe of
Native
Americans who live in the region.
Coos Bay is the homeland of two
bands of Native people, Miluk and Hanis.
Both today are often referred to as
"Coos". Lewis and Clark noted
Cook-koo-oose for Coos Bay people. The
origin of the name "Coos" is probably
influenced both by the Lewis and
Clark reference and the name for the
region in the Hanis and Miluk languages,
kuukwis. Early maps and documents
spelled it Kowes, Cowes, Coose, Koos,
among others.
Although exploration and trapping in
the area occurred as early as 1828, the
first European-American settlement
was established at Empire City in
1853 by members of the Coos Bay Company;
this is now part of the city of Coos
Bay.
Coos County was created by the
Territorial Legislature from parts of
Umpqua, and Jackson counties on
December 22, 1853. Curry
County, Oregon, was created from the
southern part in 1855. The county seat was
originally at Empire City. In 1895
the legislature permitted the citizens of
the county to choose a new county seat.
The 1896 vote resulted in moving the
seat to Coquille.
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