alt=Map of Douglas County|thumb|Map of Douglas County
thumb|The county, looking east from west of Roseburg
thumb|A gold "needle" from the Bohemia District in Douglas County
Douglas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 111,201. The county seat is Roseburg. The county is named after Stephen A. Douglas, an American politician who supported Oregon statehood. Douglas County comprises the Roseburg, Oregon micropolitan statistical area. In area, Douglas County is the largest county west of the Oregon Cascades.
History
The area originally was inhabited by the Umpqua Indians, a grouping of natives who spoke a variety of Penutian and Athabaskan languages. Following the Rogue River Wars in 1856, most of the remaining natives were moved by the federal government to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. However, seven families of Umpqua hid in the hills, eluding capture for many decades. They are now federally recognized as the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. The tribe manages a small reservation in Canyonville, Oregon, and operates the Seven Feathers Casino Resort, named to represent the seven families who refused forced removal to the Grand Ronde Reservation.
Douglas County was created on January 7, 1852, from the portion of Umpqua County which lay east of the Coast Range summit. In 1856 the Camas Valley was annexed to Douglas County from Coos County. In 1862, the rest of Umpqua county was absorbed into Douglas County, some say due to the loss of population following the end of the early gold boom, while others attribute the absorption to politics. Further boundary adjustments were made with Jackson and Lane Counties in 1915. The borders of Douglas County are largely defined by the Umpqua River watershed.
In 2017, after the defeat of a referendum, the Douglas County Library System ceased operations and all public libraries in the county were closed. Subsequently, ten of the cities in the county reopened their libraries to continue serving their communities.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in Oregon by area. A portion of the Umpqua National Forest is in Douglas County. Douglas County is one of two Oregon counties that extend from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade Range, the other being Lane County.
National protected areas
- Crater Lake National Park (part)
- Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest (part)
- Siuslaw National Forest (part)
- Umpqua National Forest (part)
- Willamette National Forest (part)
Adjacent counties
- Lane County (north)
- Klamath County (east)
- Jackson County (south)
- Josephine County (south)
- Curry County (southwest)
- Coos County (west)
Demographics
left|thumb|An aerial view of the county