Over the decades, Deadwood has become a place of layered identity: both a former logging town and a haven for artists, naturalists, and alternative thinkers. A kind of rural détente took hold—fragile but functional. The political polarization of recent years has strained that balance mirroring recent national tensions. But residents still hold onto the idea that community is more than politics—and that shared stewardship of the land will protect our land and hold our community together.

Part 1: Land, People, and the Rise of Logging

Long before roads wound through the Coast Range or the hum of chainsaws echoed through the canyons, the area now called Deadwood was part of the traditional homelands of the Siuslaw and Kalapuya peoples. These Indigenous communities lived in seasonal harmony with the land, relying on the Deadwood and Siuslaw Rivers for salmon and other resources. Controlled burning practices helped maintain open forest landscapes, and their intimate knowledge of the environment was key to sustaining healthy ecosystems for thousands of years.

White settlers arrived in the mid-to-late 1800s, primarily drawn by Oregon’s promise of free land via the Donation Land Claim Act. The terrain around Deadwood was rugged and isolated, and families who settled there often survived on subsistence farming, trapping, and small-scale logging. With limited access to markets or infrastructure, life in Deadwood was tough and self-reliant.

World War II marked a turning point. The demand for timber to support the war effort triggered a frenzied industrial logging boom across the Pacific Northwest. Logging companies, supported by federal policy, built roads deep into previously inaccessible old-growth forests. Mills expanded rapidly in nearby Mapleton, Florence, and Eugene. Logging became the backbone of Deadwood’s economy, identity, and landscape—clearcuts replaced dense forests, and the rivers filled with sediment, affecting salmon runs that Indigenous people had depended on for centuries.

Part 2: Counterculture, Conservation, and Coexistence

By the late 1960s, a very different wave of settlers began arriving in Deadwood. Drawn by the counterculture movement, land affordability, and the dream of “living off the land,” these newcomers—often young, anti-establishment, and idealistic—established communal homes, organic gardens, and back-to-the-land projects. What some locals saw as outsiders rejecting “real work,” others saw as pioneers of a more sustainable way of life.

Tensions simmered. On one side were logging families with deep roots in the land but dependent on an extractive industry. On the other were newcomers advocating for forest protection, stream restoration, and alternative economies. In some cases, these tensions erupted into open hostility. In others, there was quiet collaboration or mutual respect as communities found ways to coexist.

One important figure in this bridging was Johnny Sundstrom, a local leader who recognized that forest and watershed health were crucial for everyone—logger, environmentalist, and landowner alike. He was instrumental in early stream restoration projects aimed at bringing back native salmon runs, long degraded by logging runoff and habitat loss. His work laid the groundwork for broader conservation efforts that would later gain traction throughout the Siuslaw Basin.

Deadwood Community – Growing stronger every day!

I am thinking of adding a write up of community efforts and work over the last 50 years from rehabilitating the iconic Deadwood Covered bridge
https://oregondiscovery.com/deadwood-covered-bridge
to the Deadwood Community Center design, development, construction including the latest playground initiative by Deadwood Creek Services DCS a  long established community group – refer to the following links (some of these links will be on this page to new tabs)
https://www.deadwoodcreekservices.org/                    
https://www.deadwoodcreekservices.org/#AboutUs
https://www.deadwoodcreekservices.org/board-meeting-documents (a lot of meeting pdfs from last two years)
https://www.deadwoodcreekservices.org/the-playground-project-2020-2023
its possible that a lot of what has been done can be found on this Deadwood Trading Post – an older but still active site
http://www.deadwoodtradingpost.com/Index.html
another major influence in our area is Alpha Farm – they are active in DCA and still deliver the mail to all of Deadwood after 50 years
https://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregon-field-guide/article/a-turning-of-seasons-at-alpha-farm/
Let’s expand on the watershed work- add at least another paragraph with mention of other Oregon groups that were involved. We can link to a “read more” page where expand on details including Sundstrom. I will start a separate review for that page and upload the related pdfs I found.

…. DCA members your feedback is needed and welcome. local images will be added as it evolves

Deadwood Historical Overview …read on