Ocean-going vessels have been visiting Winchester Bay since the 18th century, when passing Spanish and British trading ships would anchor at the mouth of the Umpqua River to trade with the local Native Americans who lived here. Although several bands of Indians frequented the area at the time, the primary residents were known as the Lower Umpqua Indians, who were closely related to the Siuslaws to the north. The river was named after the tribe by famed Scottish botanist David Douglas, who passed through the area in 1825 during his historic two-year plant-gathering exploration of the Pacific Northwest.