How about a little history this morning~ The Lookingglass Store, built circa 1875, was once the terminus for the Oakland to Lookingglass stage and freight road. It was also the beginning of the Coos Bay Wagon Road. Today the store continues to serve as the hub of the community. Lookingglass also has a school, a grange hall, a church and a fire station. The post office closed in 1942. The valley was named in 1846 by surveyor Hoy Flournoy, who said the beautiful green grass of the valley reflected light almost as well as a mirror. Flournoy later returned to settle in the area. In the 1970s, Lookingglass, population 40 at the time, received national media attention for installing a two-horse parking meter, a telephone booth, and a fire hydrant.[2][7] Lookingglass became a minor tourist attraction. When the fire hydrant was dedicated in 1971, it was accompanied by two manhole covers, which covered nothing, donated by a Eugene, Oregon iron company and the mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. David Brinkley anchored his segment of the NBC Nightly News from the steps of the Lookingglass Store in about 1970. Chet Huntley, David Brinkleys co-anchor of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, was the great-grandson of the Lookingglass areas first settler, Daniel Huntley, who arrived in 1851. The James Wimer Octagonal Barn near Lookingglass was built in 1892 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Information courtesy of Wikipedia.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 15:56:21 +0000