At a four-way crossroads on Hwy 42 west of Winston, Ore., stands the faded elegance of the two-story, false-fronted Brockway Store. Nothing else remains of Brockway.
The community of Civil Bend and post office had existed at the same location from 1881 to 1888. James M. Dillard was the first postmaster. At the time, frequent horse races brought crowds of people, some of whom drank and fought to excess. The community got its name from its location on a reverse bend of the Umpqua River, and from residents who viewed the activities of rowdy visitors as quite uncivil.
The Civil Bend Post Office closed in 1888. When it was to be reestablished in 1889, postal authorities rejected the two-word name, so Brockway was chosen to honor pioneer resident B. B. Brockway, also the namesake for nearby Brockway Creek. The Brockway Post Office closed in 1955.
Travelers passing by the conveniently located, but abandoned, Brockway Store, may go east to Winston and Interstate 5, south around Winston and Dillard to Interstate 5, west to Coquille and the Oregon Coast, or north to the Umpqua wine country.
Sources: Twitchell, Clive. “Take a trip into history in . . . Central Douglas County.” Print Mail Tribune 22 May 1993 [Medford, Ore.; McArthur, Lewis, and Lewis L. McArthur. Oregon Geographic Names. 7th ed. Portland, Ore.: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2003. Print.
