Our Story
Every bookstore has a story and ours began in 1996, when librarian and book lover Charlotte Cooper founded Summer Beam Books in upstate New York. What started as a carefully curated collection for the timber framing and historic preservation community soon grew into something much more, a trusted source of books celebrating craftsmanship, architecture, woodworking, history, traditional skills, and the handmade life.
Charlotte believed books could do more than inform. They could inspire curiosity, preserve knowledge, connect generations, and build community. Over the years, Summer Beam Books became known not simply for the books it carried, but for the care with which every title was chosen.
In 2023, Charlotte retired and entrusted Summer Beam Books to Autumn Peterson, beginning the bookstore's next chapter. The collection made its journey west to Oregon, where it continues to grow while honoring the values on which it was founded.
Today, Summer Beam Books is an independent bookstore serving builders, makers, readers, artists, gardeners, families, and curious minds of every kind. Our shelves include new, used, rare, and out-of-print books, thoughtfully chosen gifts, local artisan goods, puzzles, craft kits and art supplies, each selected because we believe it has something meaningful to contribute.
We believe every book should earn its place. We don't simply organize books by category—we curate experiences that help people discover, make, gather, and steward. Every display, recommendation, and event is shaped by that philosophy.
To us, stewardship means caring for books, ideas, traditions, places, and people so they can flourish for generations to come. It's the thread that connects everything we do, from the books we recommend to the conversations we share across the counter.
Whether you visit us on Main Street in historic downtown Philomath, browse our online bookstore from across the country, or soon stop by our second location in Yachats, Oregon, we hope you'll find more than a bookstore.
We hope you'll find a place to discover something new, create with your hands, gather with others, and leave inspired to care a little more deeply for the world around you.
Welcome to the next generation of Summer Beam Books!
Why "Summer Beam"?
In traditional timber framing, a summer beam is one of the most important structural timbers in a building. Running through the heart of the frame, it carries the weight of the floor above and helps support everything built upon it. Its name comes from an old word meaning "beast of burden"—a beam trusted to bear great weight with strength and grace.
We love the name Summer Beam Books because we believe books can do much the same. They carry ideas, preserve knowledge, connect generations, and provide the support we need to build meaningful lives. Like a well-crafted summer beam, we hope this bookstore becomes a place of strength, connection, and enduring purpose for our community.