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Jackson
County 1902 OREGON BETTER THAN MINNESOTA. Mr. G. H. Howland Tells His Minnesota Friends of the Good Things Which Abound Here.
From
the Blanchard, Minnesota Register.
G. H. Howland this week has a brief but interesting letter in the Register, written at Medford, Oregon, December 30. It will be perused with pleasure by Mr. Howland's many old neighbors and friends in this county. He writes: Through the columns of the Register, I will keep my promise to old friends. The first question you would ask, "Do you like Oregon?" Yes, better than Minnesota. The other day when we read a letter from back there, and knew how cold you were having it, I said to my wife, "I am glad we are not there." We have been here over one year and the climate is delightful. There has been only about twenty-five days in that time that we have not seen the sun some time during the day. Not much rain. When it does rain, it comes generally in the night. But little fog, always a little breeze, but the wind never blows hard. Have some frosty nights, but does not get colder than 20 above and very seldom hotter than 90 above. This section is called the Rogue River Valley. It is about twenty-five miles long, and from four to fifteen miles wide, with several smaller valleys leading into it. There are four towns, Ashland, Jacksonville, Central Point and Medford, the latter about the center, population 2500, eighteen years old. All kinds of cereals are raised here. Wheat on good land yields from thirty to forty bushels per acre, price 50 cents. Oats sixty to 100 bushels per acre, price always 50 cents. Barley forty to seventy-five bushels per acre, price 50 cents. Corn twenty-five to forty bushels per acre, always 50 cents. There is no grain shipped out. Hay is a paying crop. There is wheat hay, wild oat hay, there's volunteer and alfalfa--the latter cutting four to six tons per acre, brings $8.00 to $12.00. I am selling now for $10 at the barn. Fruit of almost every kind, apples, pears and prunes principally. There is one man who has 160 acres into apples and he cleared above all expenses $30,000 this year. I know of another who cleared $1000 off six acres, then sold for $2400. He paid $1500 for it a year ago. Fruit farms sell well. An "eighty" sold for $15,000. Several hundred carloads are shipped from here every season. Of timber there is a great supply in kinds and quality. There are great tracts of sugar pine in this country that will run from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 to the quarter. This is worth $40 per thousand here on track. There are mountains all around. There are a great many rich gold mines, the output being about $250,000 to the five banks in this valley, besides there is a great deal the banks do not handle. There are also copper, quicksilver, asphaltum and asbestos, and coal and oil indications are good. They are being prospected for. There are building stone and granite quarries. The stone for the United States post office at Salem is being taken from this valley. I wish if there are any Blue Earth folks that come to the coast and are dissatisfied would come to this valley before going back. For fear I will take up too much space, also tire you out, I will stop. I will be glad to answer any questions that you may care to ask. G.
H. HOWLAND.
Medford Mail, January
17, 1902, page 2
OREGON LETTER. ASHLAND, OREGON,
March 13, 1902. Editor Republican:
A few lines from the Pacific Slope may be of interest to your readers. We have most delightful weather in Southern Oregon this winter, up to the first of February. Since then we have had a great deal of rain, and much snow in the mountains. When I say "Southern Oregon," I use a sort of Oregonian speech peculiar to itself. That phrase does not correctly designate the geographical locality we mean when we speak of it. It simply means Josephine and Jackson counties. Coos and Curry counties which lie off against the coast are right-called "Southwestern Oregon." Klamath and Lake counties, which lie next to the California boundary, and west of a line dividing the eastern and western half of the state, are, in spite of the geography and the dictionary, called Southeastern Oregon. The summit of the Cascade Range of mountains being the dividing line, instead of a line halfway across the state from east to west. The same thing holds true in the northern part of the state. The Willamette Valley being known as Western Oregon, while all of that vast empire lying east of the summit of the Cascades is known as Eastern Oregon, though the line dividing "Western" from "Eastern" is not a third of the way across the state from west to east. Southern Oregon shared in the pioneer life of the state. Until 16 years ago this part of the state had no railroad, the Southern Pacific extending no farther south than Roseburg. Since then all is changed. The old stagecoach, bringing mail once a week, has given way to "overland," and the "Flyer," two superb vestibule trains each way daily. Ashland, the little hamlet on the old Oregon & California stage line, halfway between Portland and San Francisco, has become a town of 4000 people, the end of a R.R. division, where 250 employees of the Southern Pacific make their homes. It has become a town which claims the admiration of every visitor passing through this coast country. In early days Jacksonville, the county seat, was the center of Southern Oregon life. First settled in 1852 by prospectors for gold dust, it soon became a town of miners, and one of the largest gold dust shipping points in the state. In the '70s it was a crowded town of 4000 population, with all the energy and push of a mining center, but now there are scarcely 800 inhabitants. It received its death blow when the S.P. railroad was built, missing Jacksonville about 5 miles. It is thought to be a question of but a few years when the county seat will be moved, either to Ashland or Medford. In a few weeks Ashland will appear its loveliest, the peach orchards being in full bloom. The almond trees are in bloom now. Ashland is indeed a beautiful town. A beautiful mountain stream, Ashland Creek, dashes through the center of the city, not only making the town picturesque in the extreme but furnishing an abundant supply of ice-cold, sparkling water for house and irrigating purposes, as well as for power for mills and factories. The moral tone of the town, which has long been acknowledged to be superior to any other Southern Oregon town, has greatly increased during the past year, under the rule of "no license," which went into effect one year ago the 15th of last January. A rare treat is given the people of this part of the state every summer by the Chautauqua Association, which is one of the established institutions of the city. The best talent that comes to this coast is secured for Ashland. The place is well supplied with churches and schools, there being nine denominations represented here, and three large public school buildings, including the high school, beside the Southern Oregon State Normal School, which is situated at the edge of town. Southern Oregon will always, and under all conditions, be an attractive country. Its scenery is of unrivaled beauty--a succession of mountain pictures in association with lovely vales and abounding waters. It has a warmer sun and a brighter sky than the more northerly parts of Oregon. It has all the charm and beauty of California, and it has what California has not, a sun and an adequate rainfall. Its elevation of from 500 to 2000 feet in the valley, and from 2000 to 7000 feet in the mountains, gives to its atmosphere the bracing quality which goes so far toward creating and sustaining human energies, and one comes quickly and easily to understand the charm which holds the imagination and the sentiment of those whose homes are here in a bondage from which they would not willingly be free. As I write I look from my study window, and see fruit trees in bloom, green grain fields beyond the town, and lifting my eyes slightly, I see the snow-clad mountains in every direction surrounding the town--the snow in places extending down the mountainsides to within a mile of the city. My letter is already too long. People are coming to the coast this spring by the thousands. I send kind greetings to all readers of the Republican. Very truly J. T. ABBETT. The Warren Republican, Williamsport, Indiana, March 27, 1902, page 4
A BRIEF SKETCH
of the FAMOUS ROGUE RIVER VALLEY, JACKSON COUNTY, SOUTHERN OREGON Issued by the Medford Board of Trade To
homeseekers and intending settlers, the Board of Trade of the city of
Medford, Jackson County, Oregon, in brief outline presents a few of the
many inducements which are offered to those seeking a change of
residence from the cold, rigorous winters and the torrid summers, to a
climate where nature has done much toward making existence both a
profit and pleasure.
THE ROGUE RIVER VALLEY.
This valley, which takes its name
from the picturesque and historical Rogue River, is one of the most
beautiful, fruitful and healthful valleys in the state of Oregon. The
Rogue River is a sparkling, icily cold stream, rising in the Cascade
Mountains in the northeast corner of Jackson County, Oregon, flowing in
a southwesterly direction for half its distance, and thence running
nearly due west to the Pacific Ocean. Its waters are supplied by
melting snow and are always pure and cold.Properly speaking, the Rogue River Valley is not a single valley, but a series of valleys, tablelands and hills, mixed and commingled in wild, romantic confusion apt to bewilder and lead the stranger to erroneous conclusions. Many have been thus mistaken by supposing that a certain range of hills was the limit of the valley land. Under such conditions it is well for immigrants, capitalists and others to spend two or three weeks' time in Medford (the central city of the valley) and from this city visit various parts of the valley and thus form a correct idea of the topography and physical features of this famous valley. HOW TO REACH THIS FAMOUS VALLEY.
The visitor, emigrant or intending
settler arriving at Portland, Oregon, will take the train of the
Southern Pacific railroad, purchasing ticket for Medford with stopover
privileges, and will be carried southward through the Willamette
Valley. Along this entire valley the country wears one aspect peculiar
to itself. But upon crossing the Calapooia Mountains into Douglas
County the most casual observer cannot fail to note the sudden change
and deep contrast noticeable on every hand. The formation of the hills
and valleys, the trend of the mountains, the flow of the streams, the
character of the soil and its varied products are marked by differences
as great as if they occupied different continents. Passing through the
northeastern corner of Josephine County, the visitor enters the most
western portion of Jackson County. Here nature seems to have taken a
holiday, and, running wild in all manner of fanciful notions, has made
a desert here and a garden there, over there a valley, beyond a hill,
sending out from one fountain salt water, from another soda, another
sulfur, another iron, and from another the pure, sparkling waters, ever
so refreshing to man and beast. She has deposited in one mine lead, in
another iron, another copper, in another gold; forming here a bank of
coal, there a quarry of limestone; yonder marble, granite, cement,
banks of potter's clay, and graphite to write the history of all
Christendom. And, as if jealous of her jewels, she has thrown around
them ranges of lofty mountains, capping their peaks with eternal snow
and draping their sides with a magnificent forest, and spread over it
all the canopy of a mild and salubrious climate. Such is a brief
presentation of some of the varied characteristics that will greet the
stranger in this peculiarly antique land as he journeys to Medford, the
metropolis of the valley.SOIL OF THE VALLEY.
The great diversity of soils and
the admixture of the elements composing one class of soil with those of
another grade renders it exceedingly difficult, in the space at our
command, to describe it so that one not acquainted with its
peculiarities and the climatic influences can form a rational
conclusion concerning its merits. The soil of all sections of a country
seems to be adapted to the climate, or the climate to the soil. These
two conditions appear to be admirably adjusted here. There is no frost
to loosen up or pulverize the mineral elements, but this work is done
by chemical action, caused by the admixture found in nearly every grade
of soil.CLIMATE.
Possibly no subject can interest
the homeseeker more than that of climate. If such be the case, no
section will bear the scrutiny of close observation or scientific
investigation and give so favorable results as Jackson County. In its
climate this delightful region has the combined advantages of other
sections, without the accompanying drawbacks. It enjoys the warmth of
summer and the frosts of winter without extremes in either. Having
rainfall ample for all purposes, it escapes the continual rains of the
Willamette Valley. The annual rainfall ranges from 20 to 30 inches,
averaging about 25 inches. The extreme limit of the thermometer in
summer is 106º, though it seldom exceeds 90º, while in winter
it seldom sinks as low as 10º, the average for winter being about
40º and in summer 70º. Snow falls in winter to the depth of
three or four inches, and occasionally from 6 to 10 inches deep, but it
seldom remains but a short time--a few hours or a few days only. This
is in the valley at an altitude of from twelve hundred to sixteen
hundred feet. In the mountains and valleys having a greater altitude
there is more snow and ice. It rains earlier in the fall and later in
the summer [at greater altitudes], so that a person can select nearly
such conditions in climate as will suit his peculiar condition or fancy.RESOURCES.
The next important question after
climate is that of resources. To answer this question favorably two
conditions are indispensable. First: The country must possess the
latent elements of wealth; and, secondly: Those latent resources must
be available, that is, the material elements necessary for the support
of a great commonwealth but be of sufficient quantity and variety to
diversify the labor required in their development. It is also necessary
that those resources should be within the reach of the willing hand of
industry. Land is the basis of all wealth; agriculture the basis of
civilization; and diversified industries the key that retains wealth in
a community. Examine Jackson County and the country around Medford on
this hypothesis. She has 1,658,880 acres of timber, grazing, mineral
and agricultural land. From this land may be produced all that is
necessary for the support of beasts and men. Her vast forest,
comprising every variety of wood necessary for the wants of ripe
civilization, awaits the echo of the woodsman's ax, the buzz of the
saw, the mellow hum of the planer and the merry clatter of arms of iron
and fingers of steel. To aid the advance of civilization and give it
permanence there are stored large banks of potter's clay, beds of
cement, veins of coal, quarries of limestone, sandstone, marble and
granite, mountains of iron sufficient to bed a continent, and mines of
gold, capable of yielding, when developed, circulating medium for a
grand, prosperous commonwealth. These are some of the latent elements
of wealth, some of the factors of a progressive society, which only
await the magic touch of the willing hand of industry to cause them to
bud and blossom and bear rich fruits of a progressive Christian
civilization.Wheat, rye, oats and barley grow well on all soils and yield fine crops. The straw is generally bright and clean, free from rust or mildew and the grain full, plump and well-matured. Owing to this fact the wheat of Rogue River Valley is sought after and always commands the highest market price. The best lands will average 30 to 35 bushels of wheat and from 40 to 50 bushels of oats per acre. Common grade land will average 20 to 25 bushels of wheat and 35 to 40 bushels of oats per acre. Fields under the modern, thorough system of farming often produce 50 to 60 bushels of wheat per acre and a corresponding amount of oats. Tame grasses, such as timothy, clover, bluegrass, alfalfa, etc., are not a success on common uplands. But on bottom lands, where the soil is damp, or such as is generally used for meadow land, or where the land can be irrigated, all tame grasses grow in the richest profusion. The poorest sandy, gravelly soil, favored by irrigation, will produce three or four crops of alfalfa each season. It is a frequent fact for the land around Medford to produce three crops of alfalfa each year and without irrigation. Corn grows well on all good soils and yields on an average of from 40 to 60 bushels per acre. The summers being dry, less labor is required to keep the land free of weeds than in other sections. This section affords fine opportunities for the raising of hogs, and nowhere can quicker or more profitable returns be made from an industry of this character, as the mildness of climate and the absence of epidemic diseases, coupled with a ready and accessible market, ensure immediate results. There is no section where hogs can be more easily or profitably raised than in Rogue River Valley. What has been said of hogs can be said of poultry. They are remarkably healthy and profitable, and many of our people make handsome profits from this industry and our women find themselves ever supplied with needful "pin" money. STOCK RAISING.
The mildness of the climate and
the absence of any prevailing disease among stock makes this an
inviting field for stock-growers. It is a well-known fact that the
colder the climate the greater the amount of nourishing food required
to sustain animal life. Very few persons furnish shelter for their
stock in winter. Stock ranging in the interior foothills seldom require
feeding in winter. In the valley where it is more densely settled and
the native grass more exhausted, more hay for winter feeding or more
tame pasturage is required. Some of the best horses ever grown on the
Pacific Coast were the product of this country.TIMBER.
The timber forests are of fine and
grand proportions. Here we have the sugar pine, the fir, the cedar, and
the various woods needed by a progressive society, and the people from
all sections of the country are rapidly taking up "timber" claims and
syndicates purchasing large tracts of the virgin forests.FRUIT AND FRUIT CULTURE.
The success attending fruit
culture is no longer an experiment. By direct analysis the soil has
been found to contain all the elements required to produce fruits from
the semi-tropical to the hardiest varieties. Over these favorable
conditions hangs a climate coordinated and adjusted to the nature of
the soil. During the past year the yield of fruits has been enormous
and the profits large. Many fruit ranches have changed hands to
newcomers, and hundreds of thousands of trees have been set out to new
fields, while thousands of acres, heretofore given over to cereals,
have been planted to fruit and soon will be bearing. This is the "home
of the celebrated Newtown" pippin, the Spitzenberg, Ben Davis, Jonathan
and many of the other varieties. Rogue River Valley apples command the
highest prices in the markets of the world, and most of our apples are
purchased in the orchards and engaged for shipment to Europe and Asia
and other foreign ports. The pear finds the valley its natural home and
yields annually large and profitable crops. We have early and late
varieties, and all do exceedingly well and there is no more certain
income than from a well-ordered fruit ranch. We ship hundreds of
carloads of green and dried fruit during the season and seldom are we
able to have the best for home consumption, so great is the demand for
our fruit products. In the larger book, to be issued by the Board of
Trade of Medford, will be found more particular information concerning
this chief industry.IRRIGATION.
So far as all general crops are
concerned, irrigation is not practiced nor it is necessary, but with
the aid of water, timothy, alfalfa and other tame grasses may be grown
to great perfection, while the yield of other crops, such as berries
and small fruits, may be greatly increased, and several crops may be
produced. The Fish Lake Ditch Company has, under construction, for
irrigating, manufacturing and electrical purposes, a large ditch which
will supply water and power to a large section.MEDFORD.
This, the "queen" city of Rogue River Valley, is the most centrally and
naturally located of all the towns of the valley. It is situated on the
west bank of the Bear Creek, on the line of the S.P.R.R.--in the very
heart of the valley--surrounded by a country of surpassing beauty,
rivaling in picturesqueness the grandeur of the highlands of Scotland,
equaling in loveliness the beauty of the alpine valleys. It has a
population of nearly 2500 industrious, wide-awake citizens.The business houses of Medford are nearly all of large dimensions and solidly built of brick and are filled with large stocks of varied assortment and at prices differing little from those of the largest coast cities. All branches of trade, industry and professions are ably and well represented. Medford is a city of "schools and churches." All the denominations are represented and have comfortable accommodations and buildings. FACILITIES FOR ACQUIRING HOMES AND PRICES OF LANDS.
The average Oregonian who has had
his choice in selecting land will say there is no government land worth
the price and labor of entry and cultivation. There are now vacant
thousands of acres of land superior to lands settled long ago in many
of the states east of the Rocky Mountains. Rolling hill and narrow
valley land may be found situated along the waters of the various
tributaries of Rogue River on which families could find comfortable
homes, and where from 10 to 60 acres on a quarter section might be
successfully improved. In fact much of the best land that now lies in
the mountains is destined to become, when brought under cultivation by
the woodman's axe, the farmer's plow and the orchardist's skill, the
most desirable and valuable of the valley land. Improved farms range,
on or near the line of the R.R. and in and around Medford, from $35 to
$100 per acre. Land ten or twenty miles distant from Medford sells for
from $5 to $20 per acre. The railroad has large tracts of unimproved
lands, and it is purchasable at reasonable figures on the most
favorable conditions. The improved fruit ranches range from $100 to
$500 per acre. We would not advise anyone to come expecting to secure
government homesteads other than such as are mentioned above, but we
assure them if they decide to cast their lot in this land of sunny
slopes, blooming roses, gentle zephyrs, luscious fruits and where
freezing frosts and chilling blasts disturb not and where the body is
nightly refreshed with sweet slumber during the entire year and where
Nature seems to have lavished her choicest gems and scattered her
charms to woo and win, that our arms will be open wide and our welcome
will be true and our friendship a tie which bindeth fast.Any further information concerning this famous Rogue River Valley will be cheerfully given by addressing a letter to the Board of Trade of Medford, Oregon. Respectfully Submitted,
"A Few Facts Concerning the Famous Rogue River Valley, Oregon," [1902], SOHS 1963.181.4; M44 A5The Board of Trade of Medford, Jackson County, Oregon. At Portland there is a large and very fine union depot with pleasant waiting rooms supplied with all modern conveniences, including a dining and lunch room. With just time for breakfast we again take a Southern Pacific train for a ride across the state of Oregon south to our journey's end, where we arrive at one o'clock the next morning, just a week from the time we left Bolivar. A large group of friends await our arrival including three generations, and again the man in the moon witnesses the happy reunion of long separated kindred. After a few hours sleep we go out in the morning to see if five years have wrought any changes in the town of Ashland, Oregon. The same foothills surround. They are decorated with more cottages and peach orchards. The mountain peaks back of them still show their familiar heads, the canon fringed with fir and pine, deep and narrow, still echoes with the murmur of waters, fresh and clear, tumbling over the smooth boulders on their way from the snow-crowned butte ten miles away. The orchards are loaded with peaches, red and yellow, and prunes of purple hue, and the yards are decked with various-hued roses, chrysanthemums and dahlias. The population has more than doubled, and building has nearly kept pace with the increase. The climate is quite like that of California, only a little cooler and a little more moisture. The sun shines a great part of the time. The early settlers came from the Middle West, Iowa and adjoining states. It is claimed that lung troubles are benefited here, and many come on that account and so advertise the climate, etc., to others. There are more people than there are houses for at present and many live in tents, not only in the town, but in the suburbs and outside until they can build or buy homes. The fields are brown and dry, but the dried vegetation has had but little storm on it and stock thrive on it. Cattle men are prospering. Their business resembles the oil business in some respects; their stock has a cash value always and affords a fair profit. Many live in town and go out to their ranches, some spend nearly their whole time out, coming in only occasionally. Most merchandise sells higher here than in the East. Footwear is about the same, clothing some higher, hardware, paints, and paper about one third higher, sugar sells seventeen pounds for a dollar, eggs thirty-five cents per dozen, butter thirty-five cents per pound, kerosene oil thirty cents. All prices are made so that no change is given less than five cents, and even the banks make change in the same way. If a check calls for twelve cents one gets ten cents, and if it calls for thirteen cents fifteen are given. The Breeze reaches us on Wednesday and is indeed a welcome visitor. The boys can hardly wait for an opportunity to scan its columns and get the news from home. R. L. ANDRUS.
Ashland, Oregon, Oct. 29, 1902."Letter from Oregon," Bolivar Breeze, Bolivar, New York, November 13, 1902, page 2 Useless Exaggeration.
Nathan Tuttle, a timber locator, more or less known in Southern Oregon, has written a letter to the Potter Enterprise, of Coudersport,
Pa., in which he sings the praises of Southern Oregon in a manner
calculated to give people an impression of this country which is bound
to create a disappointed feeling in the minds of those coming out here
with the expectation of finding conditions as Mr. Tuttle depicts them.
Mr. Tuttle's enthusiasm for Southern Oregon has evidently caused him to
slightly exaggerate the many advantages of the country. Mr. Tuttle says
that this is the land of plenty, the greatest fruit country in the
world. This is all true, but he further states that it is the greatest
stock country in the world, which is not a fact, although stock of all
kinds are successfully raised here, but we do not lay claim to having
the greatest country in this line. Mr. Tuttle also says that fish are
so plentiful that they are caught on ripples with pitchforks, loaded
into wagons and fed to the hogs--this is not true of Southern Oregon
for three reasons, first, because the fish commissioner wouldn't stand
it; second, the fish are not so plentiful as that, and third, it is not
policy to feed fish to hogs, because bacon or lard with the slightest
taint of fish about it smells like an ancient fish market, and nobody
can eat it. In Klamath County, where the climate is as different from
that of Jackson County as it possibly can be, at certain seasons of the
year a species of mullet run up Lost River from Tule Lake in sufficient
quantities so that they may be caught by the wagonload, but that is not
in Jackson County. Mr. Tuttle speaks of seeing twelve deer hanging on
one pole, killed by one man in one day. It is safe to say the game
warden never saw that sight. In relation to the timber Mr. Tuttle
informs his friends that there is not much of it left, but that he has
a few claims upon which he is willing to locate his friends. He also
mentions that he accidentally ran across the man who helped survey this
country, and through him learned of the location of a number of good
homestead claims in the timber belt. As this country has been surveyed
on the installment plan--so to speak--and a dozen or more different men
have been in charge of the work, Mr. Tuttle has evidently been
"deceived" by some unsophisticated Oregonian. Mr. Tuttle while here has
been following the occupation of a timber locator, and has located a
number of his eastern friends on claims, not to their entire
satisfaction in some cases.
Jackson County is all right. It is the land of fruit and flowers, big game and bigger timber, but the newcomer must not expect to be able to find a sugar pine timber claim right on the line of the railroad, catch twenty-five-pound salmon with a pitchfork in every ripple on Rogue River, nor dig gold in his front yard. Medford Mail, December 26, 1902, page 2 Last revised October 2, 2021 |
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