Near Allegany, the confluence of the east and west forks of the Millicoma River marks the location of an old steamboat landing. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, small, agile steamboats known as the “mosquito fleet” transported people, livestock, and goods up the river. This river transport served as the initial segment of the Allegany—Scottsburg Pack Trail.

The Oregon myrtle (or California laurel, as it’s also commonly known) is an enigma. It’s neither a laurel tree nor a myrtle tree, despite its common names. This broadleaf evergreen, known officially as the Umbellularia californica, grows only on a narrow strip of inland land along the Pacific Coast, ranging from northern California to Oregon’s southern coast.

During the Great Depression, the town of North Bend, Oregon, faced a severe cash shortage like many other communities. In response, local businessman Amos Meade proposed using myrtlewood, a locally abundant hardwood, to create wooden coins as a form of scrip currency. The North Bend Chamber of Commerce approved the idea, and in 1933, they began issuing myrtlewood tokens in various denominations. These unique wooden coins were accepted by local merchants and circulated throughout the community, helping to stimulate the local economy during difficult times. The use of myrtlewood currency was relatively short-lived. [OPB]

Across the river from Nesika County Park, C.A. Smith Lumber Company operated a logging camp in the early 1900s.Charles Axel Smith became, for a time, one of Oregon’s most powerful lumbermen, buying up huge tracts of forest land and developing the largest mill on Coos Bay. A native of Sweden, Smith emigrated to the U.S. to become one of Minnesota’s leading lumbermen by the late nineteenth century. With his company’s timber stands rapidly being cut over, Smith and other lumbermen in the upper Midwest began purchasing—through legal and illegal means—stands of virgin forests in the Pacific Northwest. C. A. Smith’s agents used dummy entrymen to fraudulently file claims to 160-acre tracts of timber and then transferred those titles to the Smith interests.

“Walk through the myrtle grove that shades the picnic area to cross Silver Creek on a footbridge. The trail splits at an ancient myrtle. Go right for the short trip to the base of Golden Falls. Glenn Creek flows quietly to your right, and mossy myrtles and big-leaf maples overhang the path. Pass through a sword fern/salmonberry thicket. A spur right leads to Glenn Creek and a summer paddle pool. After passing around a large boulder, you’ll see Golden Falls spilling over the cliff above. In summer, you can clamber through the boulder field for a closer view, but at all other times of year, this area becomes a running channel of Glenn Creek.” [Ref: Oregon Hikers]

This dirt path was a pack trail that was transformed into a wagon road in 1901 by four homesteaders from the upper Glenn Creek valley above Golden Falls. The road was blasted out of the cliffs, crossing Silver Falls at their base on a wooden bridge, and then hugging the cliff to the top of Golden Falls, 250 feet above the creek. An automobile stage operated this route, barely wide enough to accommodate a Model T, between 1912 and 1916, running from Allegany to Scottsburg. During World War II lumber was transported over this road from a sawmill located about two miles above Golden Falls. The road was maintained by the county until 1958. [Ref: On-site kiosk]

Go left from the parking area for Silver Falls. After walking past a white bollard, you’ll see the interpretive sign that describes the old homesteader road you’ll be hiking on. Tall old-growth Douglas-firs tower overhead, and alders, maples, and myrtles, also known as California bay laurel, shade Silver Creek.

Follow the old road track among the thimbleberry thickets. The trail negotiates a slide that has completely obscured the road track but is easily passable. When you reach a fallen Douglas-fir, you get your first look at the falls. Continue onward until you are into the spray. If lucky, you will see a giant rainbow!