Lookingglass is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in the Lookingglass Valley of Douglas County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, about southwest of Roseburg. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 855. Lookingglass is considered a suburb of Roseburg.

History

The valley was named in 1846 by surveyor Hoy Flournoy, who said the beautiful green grass of the valley reflected light almost as well as a mirror. Flournoy later returned to settle in the area. The Lookingglass Store, built in 1852, was once the terminus for the

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

to Lookingglass

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

and freight road. It was also the beginning of the

Coos Bay Wagon Road The Coos Bay Wagon Road or Coos Bay Military Wagon Road was a pioneer road in the U.S. state of Oregon that connected Douglas County to Coos Bay starting in 1872. Travelers on the road could start in either Tenmile or Lookingglass near Roseburg. ...

. Today the store continues to serve as the hub of the community and is the oldest business in Douglas County. Lookingglass also has a school, a

grange hall The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...

, a church and a fire station. Lookingglass post office closed in 1942. In the 1970s, Lookingglass, population 40 at the time, received national media attention for installing a two-horse

parking meter A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...

, a

telephone booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

, and a

fire hydrant A fire hydrant, waterplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least ...

. Lookingglass became a minor tourist attraction. When the fire hydrant was dedicated in 1971, it was accompanied by two

manhole cover A manhole cover or maintenance hole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground vault or pipe. It is designed to ...

s, which covered nothing, donated by a

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

iron company and the mayor of

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

David Brinkley David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, ''The Huntley–Brinkley Re ...

anchored his segment of the ''

NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...

'' from the steps of the Lookingglass Store in 1974, while passing through Oregon to do a series of short news stories.

Chet Huntley Chet is a masculine given name, often a nickname for Chester (given name), Chester, which means ''fortress'' or ''camp''. It is an uncommon name of England, English origin, and originated as a surname to identify people from the city of Chester, En ...

, David Brinkley's co-anchor of the '' Huntley-Brinkley Report'', was the great-grandson of the Lookingglass area's first settler, Daniel Huntley, who arrived in 1851. The James Wimer Octagonal Barn near Lookingglass was built in 1892 and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Geography

Lookingglass is located in west-central Douglas County in the valley of Lookingglass Creek, a tributary of the

South Umpqua River The South Umpqua River is a tributary of the Umpqua River, approximately long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Roseburg. The river passes through a remote canyon in its upper reaches then ...

. The community is southwest of Roseburg, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, via Lookingglass Road. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Lookingglass CDP has an area of , all of it land.

Demographics

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Lookingglass has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Lookingglass, Oregon
/ref> The USDA Plant Hardiness map lists Lookingglass as being in zone 8b.

Education

Lookingglass Elementary School is part of the Winston-Dillard School District. It was founded in 1898 and currently serves grades

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

through

six 6 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 6 or six may also refer to: * AD 6, the sixth year of the AD era * 6 BC, the sixth year before the AD era * The month of June Science * Carbon, the element with atomic number 6 * 6 Hebe, an asteroid People ...

References

External links

Historic images of Lookingglass
from Salem Public Library
Images of the James Wimer octagonal barn in Lookingglass
from

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Digital Collections {{Authority control 1870s establishments in Oregon Census-designated places in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Douglas County, Oregon Census-designated places in Douglas County, Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon