Brookings is a city in Curry County,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. It was named after John E. Brookings, president of the Brookings Lumber & Box Company, who founded the city in 1908. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,744.

History

Founding

In 1906, the Brookings Timber Company hired William James Ward, a graduate in civil engineering and forestry, to come to the southern Oregon Coast and survey its lumbering potential. After timber cruising the Chetco and Pistol River areas for several years, he recommended that the Brookings people begin extensive lumbering operations here and secure a townsite for a mill and shipping center. While John E. Brookings was responsible for the founding of Brookings as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

, it was his cousin, Robert S. Brookings, who was responsible for its actual design. The latter Brookings hired Bernard Maybeck, an architect based in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

who was later involved in the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

, to lay out the

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

of the townsite.

World War II

On September 9, 1942,

Mount Emily Mount Emily (Tolowa language, Tolowa: en-may ) is a mountain in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in southern Curry County, Oregon, Curry County in the extreme southwest corner of the state, near Bro ...

near Brookings became the only site in the mainland United States and the second in the continental territory after the bombing of Dutch Harbor to suffer aerial bombardment during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A Japanese floatplane piloted by Nobuo Fujita was launched from submarine ''I-25''. The plane was armed with two incendiary bombs on a mission intended to start massive fires in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest. Fujita was invited to Brookings in 1962 and, as a token of friendship, gifted the city his 400-year-old family

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

. Fujita later sponsored a trip to Japan for Brookings high school students and returned to the city three more times in the early 1990s. In 1997, Fujita was made an honorary citizen of Brookings by the city council.

21st century

The current marketing "

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

" for the community, through the Brookings-Harbor Chamber of Commerce, is "The Pulse of America's Wild Rivers Coast". America's Wild Rivers Coast is a regional marketing brand for Curry County, Oregon, and

Del Norte County, California Del Norte County ( Spanish for "Of The North") is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California, along the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the Oregon border. Its population was 27,743 as of the 2020 census, down from ...

2011 tsunami

The

Port of Brookings Harbor The Port of Brookings-Harbor is the port authority for the city of Brookings, Oregon, United States, and serving the neighboring community of Harbor. The district covers from the mouth of the Chetco River south to the Oregon-California border, n ...

was damaged by

tidal surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

s from a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

on March 11, 2011. The largest surge was estimated to be nearly . Boats were damaged, sunk, set adrift, and swept out to sea after many docks were torn away and pilings broken. The tsunami was caused by the 9.0 M_W Tōhoku earthquake offshore of the east coast of Honshu Island, Japan. The damage was estimated at $25 million to $30 million.

Geography

Brookings is located along the southern Oregon coast at the mouth of the

Chetco River The Chetco River is a stream located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oregon. It drainage basin, drains approximately of Curry County, Oregon, Curry County. Flowing through a rugged and isolated coastal region, it descends rapi ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

Brookings has a mild

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Csb''). According to the

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC), or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC), is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köp ...

, Brookings has a

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...

(''Cs'') since eight months are above . A weather phenomenon known as the "Chetco Effect" or the "Brookings Effect" can cause the temperature in Brookings near the

mouth to be much higher than the surrounding area. Adiabatic heating increases the temperature and reduces relative humidity as

katabatic wind A katabatic wind (named ) is a downslope wind caused by the flow of an elevated, high-density air mass into a lower-density air mass below under the force of gravity. The spelling catabatic is also used. Since air density is strongly dependent o ...

, driven by high pressure on the

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

, descend across the west slopes of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

and

Oregon Coast Range The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic region, in the United States, U.S. state of Or ...

. The heart of Brookings, with its orientation, is protected from sea breezes coming from the northwest and the warm, dry, down-sloping winds that are funneled down the Coastal Range into the deep Chetco River gorge can reach the coast uninfluenced by the effects of the Pacific. This can result in large temperature gradients; when Brookings recorded its all-time record high on July 8, 2008 of , Crescent City, around south of Brookings, recorded a high temperature of just . ;Notes:

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 6,336 people, 2,717 households, and 1,689 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 3,183 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.8% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.9% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.6% of the population. There were 2,717 households, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.8% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age in the city was 46.9 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.8% were from 25 to 44; 28% were from 45 to 64; and 24.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.

Parks and recreation

Azalea Park

Azalea Park is located at 640 Old County Road. It has picnic areas, bandshell, snackshack, gazebo, Kidtown playground, disc golf course, softball and soccer fields, and the Capella by the Sea. Several cultural events in the town are held at Azalea Park.

Harris Beach State Park

Harris Beach State Park is located on Highway 101 at the north end of Brookings. It includes of coastal access as well as RV and tent camping facilities and a rest area.

Arts and culture

Principal photography for the 2024 film Bad Fish took place in Brookings in 2022. The film featured local landmarks such as Brookings Harbor and Harris Beach State Park.

Annual cultural events

Each year, the town hosts the "Pirates of the Pacific" festival. One major event in the town is the Azalea Festival, which includes the Azalea Parade and live music. It is held every year on Memorial Day Weekend. Another very popular event in Brookings is the Nature's Coastal Holiday light display which is open each evening from

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

weekend through

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

in Azalea Park.

Soup Kitchen

After a long history of feeding the homeless, the City Council moved against St. Timothy's Episcopal Church for operating a soup kitchen. This was fueled by a feeling within the town that the soup kitchen was drawing "the wrong kind of people" to the area. After a long, drawn-out legal battle, starting in 2021 and culminating in 2024, St. Timothy's Episcopal Church was granted permission by a Federal court to continue to operate the soup kitchen.

Media

Newspaper

*'' Curry Coastal Pilot''

Radio

* KURY-FM * KSEP-FM (Brookings Seventh-day Adventist Church) * KCIW 100.7 FM Curry Coast Community Radio

Notable people

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

(1904–1993) – professional baseball player in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) * Dom Callicrate (1885–1979) –

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player *

Ray "Crash" Corrigan Ray "Crash" Corrigan (born Raymond Benitz; February 14, 1902 – August 10, 1976) was an American actor most famous for appearing in many B-Western movies (among these the '' Three Mesquiteers'' and ''The Range Busters'' film series). He ...

(1902–1976) – actor * Max Steineke (1898–1952) –

petroleum geologist A petroleum geologist is an earth scientist who works in the field of petroleum geology, which involves all aspects of oil discovery and production. Petroleum geologists are usually linked to the actual discovery of oil and the identification ...

* Elmo Williams (1913–2015) – film and television director and producer

References

External links

Entry for Brookings
in the ''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...

'' * *
The Unlikely Bond Between An Oregon Town And The Man Who Bombed It
Produced by

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...

{{authority control Cities in Oregon Populated coastal places in Oregon Company towns in Oregon Cities in Curry County, Oregon Micropolitan areas of Oregon Port cities in Oregon Populated places established in 1908 1908 establishments in Oregon