Brookings

Brookings, city, Curry county, Oregon, U.S., on the Pacific Ocean coast at the mouth of the Chetco River, 6 miles (10 km) north of the California state line. Across the river to the south lies the city of Harbor. The region’s earliest known inhabitants were Athabascan-speaking Chetco (Cheti) Indians, the most numerous of some 12 West Coast bands. When the Chetco River valley was settled by whites in the mid-1800s, it was extensively farmed and logged. The city of Brookings officially came into being in 1913, when logging magnate Robert S. Brookings established a sawmill and lumberyard at the harbour. Brookings served as a company town for the Brookings Lumber and Box Company. Logging continues to dominate the economy. Known locally as the “Banana Belt of Oregon” for its mild climate, Brookings later developed into a small resort community. Harris Beach State Park fronts the ocean near the city centre. The Chetco Valley Historical Society, located in the Blacke House (1857), collects documents and artifacts relating to local history. Nearby Mount Emily was the site of one of only two Japanese attacks on the U.S. mainland during World War II, when in September 1942 an imperial navy seaplane dropped incendiary bombs with the intent of starting a forest fire. Inc. 1951. Pop. (2000) 5,447; (2010) 6,336.