Prosper is a historical community on the Coquille River, about 10 miles (16 km) west-southwest of Coquille and 3 miles (5 km) northeast and upstream of Bandon, Oregon. The name was likely chosen in the hope the locality would be prosperous.
In 1882, the first cannery on the Coquille River was started by D.H. Getchell in what came to be known as Prosper when the community was founded in the summer of 1892. Adam Pershbaker built a sawmill and a shipyard in Prosper and soon after, the Emil Heuckendorff shipyard was established. Prosper had a post office from 1893 until 1928. In 1915, Prosper’s population was 500 and it had two salmon canneries and two sawmills. Passenger boats traveled three times a day downstream to Bandon and upstream to Coquille.
The ocean tides will affect the Coquille River flow as far upstream as Myrtle Point, about 30 miles (48 km) from the river mouth. Saltwater intrusions have appeared only a few miles from the town of Coquille. This phenomenon affects industries that rely on freshwater river intakes to not rust or damage equipment. Read more here and here. Explore more of Prosper here:
