Siltcoos, Oregon

Siltcoos (also known as Siltcoos Station) is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is about 13 miles (21 km) south of Florence on the east shore of Siltcoos Lake.

The word Siltcoos is Native American and could refer to the name of a local chief or to a family name. It is also possible that "Tsilt" and "Coos" translates to "plenty elk"[1] in the Coosan language and in reference to the coastal Roosevelt Elk herds. The spelling of the community was "Tsiltcoos" but "Siltcoos" was made the official name by a 1917, Board on Geographic Names decision.[2] 1916, marked the establishment of "Lane" station on the Coos Bay Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It also had a post office named Siltcoos.[1] Lane was the last station on the line in Lane County, Oregon. In 1921, the train station name was to match the post office, thus becoming Siltcoos Station. Siltcoos post office closed in 1963, with mail going to Gardiner.[1]

  1. ^ a b c Ramstead, David (1988). "Tsiltcoos Lake Post Offices". Lane County Historian. 33 (1): 24 – via Siuslaw Historical Society.
  2. ^ McArthur, Lewis (March 1927). "Oregon Geographic Names". Oregon Geographical Names. 28 (1): 65–110. JSTOR 20610373.