The early pioneers of the Rogue River Valley have with singular unanimity and earnestness borne witness to the sensation with which their hearts were thrilled when they first set eyes upon the fair region of their dreams.
    Those tired and travel-worn men and women had set out for the Pacific shore as for a land of promise, and throughout the long and terribly wearying journey had traveled slowly toward the setting sun, intent only upon reaching the country so often but dimly described, and from whence such romantic and charming accounts had come. The desolate never-ending plains, the drought, the imminence of death from thirst and hunger, and the ever-present fear of hostile Indians weighed upon the souls of even the strongest, and many laid down their heavy burdens and sank to rest far from the goal they had struggled to reach. Perhaps there never lived a class of men and women of such a strong and self-reliant character as those early pioneers.
    After the straits to which a six-months land journey across the most desolate part of North America had brought them, how welcome to their vision must have been the sight of the grassy plains, the wooded slopes and tree-fringed watercourses of Southern Oregon. The country was one of primitive wildness, yet of obvious fertility and production. The wild grasses grew in profusion, covering everywhere the land as with a garment of the softest and most luxuriant verdure. The rich soil, as yet unimpaired in fertility, sent up the stalks to the height of a man or of a horse. Wild berries flourished, and the clear mountain streams, clear as glass, ran unpolluted by the dirt from mines. The wild deer and elk grazed undisturbed in the open meadow, or sought the shade of their leafy coverts and gazed out upon their quiet world. The hilltops, now mainly covered with dense thickets of manzanita, madrone and evergreen brush, were then devoid of the bushes and trees because of the Indian habit of burning over the surface to remove obstructions of their seed and acorn gathering. In the streams roved the trout, the salmon-trout and the salmon, a favorite sustenance of the Indians.
    Some scattered villages of natives formed the only fixed population of the beautiful Rogue River Valley, which were located near Table Rock, on Ashland Creek, Little Butte Creek, and a few other points, where in after years they struggled manfully against the incoming tide of white settlers.
    Such was the aspect of the lovely valley of Rogue River when first beheld by the immigrants at the close of their arduous journey. The current of emigration which, setting at first for the vale of the Willamette, had been partially diverted toward the gold fields of California, suffered a still further change by the beginning of 1852, when the gold placers of the Rogue River country were discovered and the town of Jacksonville was founded.
    In the year of its discovery, a considerable number of people entered Oregon, passing through the Rogue River Valley, the line of travel entering at the head of Bear Creek and following the old California and Oregon Trail from the Siskiyous down Bear Creek to the Rogue River.
    In 1851 began the settlement of Jackson County, or more properly speaking, it then began to be looked upon as a possible home for settlers. In the spring and summer of that year three houses or stations became occupied permanently by white men, these being the three ferries on Rogue River, namely, Long's, Evans' and Perkins'.
    Shortly after, Judge A. A. Skinner came to the valley in pursuance of his duties as Indian agent and took up his residence southeast of Table Rock, on a donation claim, supposed to have been the first taken in Rogue River Valley, for that matter. His house was the first one built on Bear Creek and was a small log structure. With Judge Skinner resided the government interpreter, Chesley Gray. Moses Hopwood came with his family and settled upon the well-known Hopwood farm on Bear Creek. Several other settlers came in at nearly the same time, and early in the year 1852 Judge Rice occupied the location next to Skinner's and brought his wife and small family, the lady probably being the second of her sex to locate permanently in the valley. Mrs. Lawless possessed the distinction of being the first white woman settler, coming sometime in 1852. In December 1851 Stone and Poyntz took up their land claim at the crossing of Wagner Creek.
    At the upper end of the valley the Mountain House claim was taken up, and here resided Barron, Russell and Gibbs. On the Tolman place were Patrick Dunn, Thomas Smith and Frederick Alberding. The following white persons were residing in the valley on New Year's Day 1852: Major Barron, John Gibbs, Russell, Thomas Smith, Patrick Dunn, Frederick Alberding (R. B. Hargadine came to Ashland in January), Samuel Colver, Judge Skinner, Chesley Gray, Sykes and two others residing at Skinner's; Moses Hopwood and two sons, N. C. Dean, Bills and son, Davis Evans and one or two others at Evans' ferry; Perkins, and probably one assistant. Total, 27 or 28 persons, all males.
    In January 1852, the placers on Jackson Creek were discovered by Sykes, Clugage, Pool and others and there began active progress and development of this county. The seat of trade and activity was Jacksonville.
    A great many land claims were taken up in the year 1852, and nearly all the bottom lands of Bear Creek and vicinity were claimed, and a large number of settlers had gathered here and found occupation. In the following year, 159 wagons came to this valley via the southern route, accompanied by 400 men, 120 women and 170 children. These pioneers brought 2600 cattle, 1300 sheep, 140 loose horses and 40 mules.
    Jackson County was organized by an act of the legislature passed January 12, 1852, and its affairs were managed by a board, and one of its first acts was the establishment of a precinct at Emery & Co.'s sawmill at Ashland.
    By 1854 two flouring mills upon Bear Creek were built, one by the Thomas Bros. and the other by Helman, Emery & Morris of Ashland, which later was owned and conducted by Jacob Wagner.
    The town of Ashland was incorporated October 13, 1874, having then a population of 300. The first officers were: Jacob Wagner, F. W. Ewing, J. R. Tozer and H. C. Hill, trustees; C. K. Klum, recorder; W. C. Daly, marshal; and J. M. McCall, treasurer.
    On the sixth of January 1852, R. B. Hargadine and Pease settled on the land recently known as the Applegate farm, but now occupied by the railway depot buildings. On the eleventh of the same month, Eber Emery, Dowd Farley, J. A. Cardwell, A. D. Helman and A. M. Rogers also came and settled nearby.
    The first house built was the dwelling of Hargadine and Pease. The second was the sawmill built by Eber Emery, J. B. Emery, J. A. Cardwell and Dowd Farley.
    It was commenced in February 1852 and finished June 16 of that year at a cost of $8,000 in money and labor, and was named the "Ashland Sawmill" in honor of Ashland, Ohio, Mr. Helman's former home, and also in honor of the home of Henry Clay, Ashland, Kentucky, the majority of the company being Whigs. The third building was the residence of A. D. Helman and the fourth that of Eber Emery.
    In 1854 the Ashland Flouring Mills were built by A. D. Helman, Eber Emery, J. B. Emery and M. B. Norris at a cost of $15,000 and were dedicated by a grand ball on the night of August 25 of that year. These mills became the nucleus of the coming city, which was now laid out with the mills occupying the south side of the plaza, around which part of the business of the town is now built, and the name of the sawmill, "Ashland," was transferred to the town. Simultaneously with the mills the first blacksmith shop was built by the mill company.
    Quite a number of other buildings were soon erected, as follows: A hotel, by J. R. Foster; a butcher shop, by Marion Westgall; carpenter and cabinet shop, by Buckingham and Williams; a wagon shop, by John Sheldon, and a store by R. B. Hargadine.
    Ashland school district number 5 was now organized, and the first school was taught near the residence of Mrs. Erb two miles east of Ashland, by the Rev. Myron Stearns. The first school of the town proper was taught in the house of Eber Emery in the year 1854-5 by Miss Lizzie Anderson, who later became the wife of Gen. McCall.
    Nothing more of special interest transpired until April 5, 1858, when Dr. Sisson was killed. This homicide is a dark page in the history of Ashland, and cast a shadow over the community which was not easily dispelled. Many theories regarding the crime were advanced, but the murderer was never apprehended nor the cause of the assassination brought to light.
    The hotel known as the "Ashland House" was built in the year 1859 by Eber Emery at a cost of $3,000, by whom it was kept for 10 years and then sold to Jasper Houck for $6000.
    The first public school house was built in 1867 on a lot donated by R. B. Hargadine. It was a substantial frame building 18 by 20 feet on a solid foundation of cut stone, at a cost of $2000.
    In this new building a school of nine months in each year was taught by the best instructors the country afforded, from whence 250 scholars in its several departments drew their educations.
    The next enterprise was the marble sawmill and shops built by James H. Russell in the years 1865 and 1869 for the purpose of utilizing the native marbles of the country. To Ashland belongs the credit of the first marble works in Oregon south of Portland. The sawing department of this mill was destroyed by fire in 1879.
    The planing mills and cabinet shops of Marsh & Company were projected and partly built by H. S. Emery in 1868. In 1874 they were purchased by Messrs. Marsh and Valley for $1,400.
    The Ashland college and normal school was inaugurated bin 1869 at a quarterly conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church held at Ashland in June of that year. Rev. C. Alderson, president of this meeting, proposed the enterprise. Plans and specifications were made out by the Rev. J. w. Kuykendall, and a contract was closed with Messrs. Blake and Emery for the erection of the building. Before its completion, however, funds failed and the enterprise was suspended. In 1872 Reverend J. H. Skidmore, by the help of many friends, completed and furnished the building and commenced the school as a private enterprise. Heavy debts so embarrassed him that he was obliged to turn the school over to his creditors, from whom it was redeemed in 1878 by its friends and placed again under the supervision of the above church as a college and normal school. Professor L. L. Rogers, A.M., was chosen president. Unforeseen complications, however, arising, it was soon in the dust of humility; patrons forsook it, friends became disheartened and Rogers resigned his position. Though the case now seemed almost hopeless, the trustees resolved to make one more trial and on August 26, 1882, Rev. M. G. Royal, A.M., was appointed to the management, and since his installation the course of the school was onward and upward, and the state made it a branch of its normal school system.
    The Ashland Woolen Mills was originally established by a joint stock company consisting of 30 members, with J. M. McCall as the leader. It was inaugurated in 1868 under the name of the Rogue River Woolen Manufacturing Company with J. M. McCall as president; C. K. Klum, secretary, and John Daly, superintendent. The mill was completed and equipped with one set of cards, one spinning jack, four looms and some machinery at a cost of $32,000. It was sold after three years to G. N. Marshall and Charles Goodchild. During the second year of this administration James Thornton became a partner in the business, and in 1878 he bought the entire stock of the concern. In the same year W. H. Atkinson, Jacob Wagner and E. K. Anderson became partners with Mr. Thornton, when the name was changed to "Ashland Woolen Manufacturing Company." In 1881 Mr. Wagner retired and Capt. J. M. McCall again became interested in the business.
    The planing mill and cabinet shop of Daly & Co. was built in 1878 at a cost of $3,000. It was situated at the junction of Mechanic and Helman streets, and the power used was the water of Ashland Creek, acting on a turbine wheel. The proprietors were W. C. Daly, J. R. Tozer and H. S. Emery.
    The extensive nursery of Orlando Coolidge was established in 1868, and was the most extensive of its kind in Southern Oregon. It contained almost all varieties of fruits, nuts, shrubs, flowers and ornamental trees to be found on the coast.
    The public library was organized in December 1879 under the name of the Ashland library and reading room, of which J. M. McCall, M. Baum, W. H. Atkinson, W. A. Wilshire, James Thornton, H. C. Hill, J. P. Walker, H. T. Chitwood, W. H. Leeds, W. Nichols and others were members.
    The Ashland Bank was incorporated Feb. 9, 1884 with a capital stock of $50,000. The incorporators were J. M. McCall, W. H. Atkinson and H. B. Carter.
    Population of the town in 1854 was 25; in 1864 was 50; in 1874 was 300 and in 1884 it was 1000, and probably no town in Oregon has evinced such refined and elevated sentiment as Ashland.
Ashland Daily Tidings, February 26, 1927, page 5


    Mrs. Elizabeth E. Ogilvie lives at Tigard. "My father, Robert B. Hargadine, was the first man to settle at Ashland," said Mrs. Ogilvie. "He took up a place there on January 6, 1852. Ed Pease went with him and for a while was my father's partner, but Father bought him out before long. My father left Wilmington, Del., in 1850, when he was 20 years old, to come West. He sailed from the Atlantic Seaboard on an English brig for San Francisco. He mined in 1850 and '51 on the Yuba and Feather rivers, but he did not care for mining, so he decided to go to Southern Oregon and take up a claim and raise stock.
    "After Father had selected his donation land claim, on which the city of Ashland was later built, he went to Oregon City to secure supplies and seed wheat. He had six horses and his riding horse, but he decided to use his riding horse as a pack horse, so he walked back from Oregon City to Ashland. While camped at Jump-off Joe Creek the Indians stampeded his horses, and, though they shot at Father they did not hit him, and he escaped. The Indians took all his supplies except the flour and wheat. They dumped the flour and wheat out by the side of the road and took the sacks. Father waited around there till some emigrants came along. They helped him gather up his flour and wheat and took it to his homestead. Next year he raised a fine garden and sold all he raised at his prices to the miners, who were going through Southern Oregon to Yreka, Scott's Bar and the other mines in Northern California. Father later ran a pack train from Ashland to Yreka. He started the first store in Ashland.
    "My mother, whose maiden name was Martha Washington Kilgore, crossed the plains from Massillon, Ohio, in 1854. They came by way of the southern trail, by Goose Lake. Joe Anderson met them in the Klamath country, with ample supplies of fresh vegetables, flour, bacon, etc. My grandfather took up a claim of 640 acres near Jacksonville, and raised hogs, which he sold to the Chinese placer miners.
    "In 1872 my grandfather had the contract for carrying the mail between Ashland and Linkville, as Klamath Falls was then called. They moved to Linkville and were there during the Modoc War. Mother's father did everything he could to oppose the match and prevent mother marrying Father, but he was unsuccessful. His objection to my father was that Father was a Democrat. Grandfather was a 'Black Republican.' Father and Mother were married February 16, 1856, at the Ashland Hotel, which was run by Mr. and Mrs. Eber Emery.
    "In 1862 my father sold his donation land claim to Lindsay B. Applegate of Yoncalla. Father had set out a large orchard and made a beautiful farm of his place. Father bought out a number of settlers on the east side of Bear Creek till he had a 6000-acre stock ranch, on which he ran cattle, horses and sheep. He had 160 acres of bottom land near Ashland. He had two sawmills, one of which was located on Ashland Creek, about where the auto camp in Lithia Park is now located. Father used to ship his freight in by way of Crescent City. Later he got his freight from Redding, Cal. John and Henry Norton had a place about where Medford is now. My father employed them to bring his freight to Ashland. Father died on January 13, 1877, at San Francisco. He was 48 years old.
    "I was born in Ashland, August 2, 1862. I was married October 17, 1883, and had two children. My daughter Mabel Musick now lives in Pasadena and Bernice Ludlam in Irvington. After the death of my first husband I married Alexander Ogilvie. We were married April 30, 1890. My first husband was a sheepman of Fossil, Or., and was born in Scotland."
    R. B. Hargadine and Ed Pease were the original settlers on the site of Ashland. They were followed in a month or less by Eber Emery, J. B. Emery, J. A. Cardwell, A. D. Helman, A. M. Rogers and Dowd Farley. The first house to be put up in Ashland was built by Mr. Hargadine and his partner, Ed Pease. The next building was a sawmill, built by Eber and J. B. Emery, J. A. Cardwell and Dowd Farley. It was started in February and completed on June 16 and was named the Ashland sawmill in honor of A. B. Helman's home at Ashland, Ohio. The third building was a house for A. B. Helman, and the fourth one for Eber Emery.
    In 1854 another flour mill was built, which cost $15,000, and the town was called Ashland Mills. John R. Foster started a hotel, Marion Westfall a butcher shop, John Sheldon a wagon shop, R. B. Hargadine a store, and, before long, a school near Ashland was started by Rev. Myron Stearns. The first school to be taught in the town of Ashland was taught in the home of Eber Emery in the winter of 1854-55 by Lizzie Anderson, who later married General McCall. In 1859 Eber Emery built a hotel called the Ashland House, at a cost of $3000. He ran it for 10 years, and then sold it to Jasper Houck. In 1860 R. B. Hargadine donated a lot on which a frame schoolhouse, 18x20 feet, was built. This was the first public school to be built in Ashland. In 1865 James H. Russell put up a marble sawmill to use the native marble in the vicinity. They shipped marble slabs and tombstones all over Southern Oregon. This was the first marble works to be operated south of Portland. In 1869 Rev. C. Alderson, of the Methodist Episcopal church, suggested the establishment of a college and normal school at Ashland. Money was raised, but the funds proving insufficient, Rev. J. H. Skidmore, in 1872, took over the school funds and completed the building and ran the Ashland academy as a private enterprise. In 1878 it became a normal school, Professor L. L. Rogers being president. The normal school did not prove successful, so it was taken over by the Methodist Church and Rev. M. G. Royal was made principal.
    In 1868 J. M. McCall, with other stockholders, started the operation of the Rogue River Woolen Manufacturing Company. John Daley was the superintendent of the mill. Later the name of the firm was changed to the Ashland Woolen Manufacturing Company, the proprietors being James Thornton, Jacob Wagner, E. K. Anderson and W. H. Atkinson. The town of Ashland was incorporated on October 13, 1874, the population at that time being 300.
Oregon Journal, Portland, May 1, 1927, page 18


    "I have seen every house or building now standing in Ashland constructed," said Henry S. Emery when I interviewed him at Ashland recently. "I was born at Ashland, Ohio, on October 22, 1846. My father's name was Abraham Shriner. He and Mother were both born near Berlin, Germany. I was the eighth child in the family. My mother died when I was three weeks old. When I was nine months old I was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Eber Emery, who helped found the town of Ashland. Naturally when they adopted me I took their name, so my  name is Henry Shriner Emery. My adopted father's name was Eber Emery and my mother's name Sophia Emery. They had no children. They were Pennsylvania Dutch.
    "Eber Emery went to California in 1850. He mined on Feather River for a while and later at Yreka. He and his partners started for Jacksonville shortly after gold had been discovered there. Hargadine & Pease built a cabin here at Ashland early in January 1851. Pease sold to Hargadine and later Applegate bought the claim. The Southern Pacific depot is located on this claim. My adopted father was a millwright. His partner, J. B. Emery, was his uncle. They agreed that if they didn't strike a good claim at Jacksonville they would come back to the creek here and build a sawmill. They found all the good claims were taken at Jacksonville. My father Eber Emery, his uncle Jake Emery, Jim Cardwell and Sol Savery started to build a sawmill. They hadn't much more than got started than A. D. Helman, who came from West Salem, Ohio near Ashland came, and they took him in as a partner.
    "My father and A. D. Helman had both left their families back in Ashland, Ohio, so they drew straws to see which would go back and get the two families. Mr. Helman was the lucky man, so he came back and we came out with him. He brought his own family and his brother John R. Helman and Mrs. Emery and myself. We came by way of the Isthmus. From San Francisco we went to Sacramento by boat. From there we went by a small boat to Red Bluffs. From Red Bluffs we went to Yreka on mules. My father met us at Yreka on horses and from there we came on horseback to Ashland.
    "Ashland wasn't much of a place when I first arrived here. There were my father and mother and myself. Uncle Jake Emery, R. B. Hargadine, Morris Howe, who had a ranch here, which he sold to Bennett Million in 1854, the Helmans and one or two others. John K. Helman, who was born here on January 7, 1854, and who still lives here in Ashland, was the first boy born in Ashland. Alice Million was the first girl born here. I think Charlie Hargadine was probably the second boy born here. He now lives in California. The first school taught here was taught in Eber Emery's cabin in 1854. The first teacher was Frank Clark, though the boys always referred to him as 'Hog Frank.'
    "In the fall of 1855 we moved to Yreka. Father had sold his interest in the sawmill to his partners. He also sold his interest in the grist mill and the hotel. We lived at Yreka for three years. My father Eber Emery built and owned the first hotel in Ashland. The cannery and foundry here are located on Father's old donation land claim. The foundry occupies the site of the hotel he built in [illegible]. My father Eber Emery was from Ashland, Ohio. His partner, J. A. Cardwell, was from Ashland, Ky. Mr. Helman came from a small place near Ashland, Ohio. They named this settlement Ashland Mills. After it was named Cardwell said it was named for his home at Ashland, Ky. My dad said, 'No, it is named for my old home in Ashland, Ohio.' They agreed to draw straws to settle the matter, and as Dad got the long straw it was agreed that it was named for Ashland, Ohio.
    "During the three years we lived at Yreka we lived on Humbug Creek. In 1858 we went back to Ashland, Ohio. We came back to Ashland, Or. the following year. When I came back here I went to school to A. H. Stone, who taught school in the log cabin just back of where the library is located. He came across the plains from Ohio in 1859. The last school I attended was in the winter of 1862-63. I was 17 years old. The schoolhouse was located where the Whitehouse grocery now stands.
    "In 1854 stages began running between Portland and Sacramento. A. D. Helman was the first postmaster. R. B. Hargadine ran the first store. It was located where the Elks building is. Sheldon ran the first wagon shop. The first blacksmith shop was located where Peil's hardware store is. The Methodists built the first church here.
    "When I was a boy the boys liked to hunt and fish, but I was never much good at either. I was a natural mechanic. From the time I was a little chap I loved tools and was always making windmills and toy wagons. In 1864 I built a cabinet shop on Main Street. I did cabinet work. You can go into lots of the old homes here and see tables, bedsteads, bureaus, bookcases and chests of drawers that I made. I followed my trade as a cabinetmaker from 1864 till 1907. At that time I went to work for the Ashland Iron Works and made patterns for them till three years ago.
    "I was married on May 1, 1873, to Alwilda Colvig. Her brother, Colonel William Colvig, is an attorney and lives at Medford. Her brother George is also an attorney and lives at Grants Pass. All six of our children are living. Nina works in a store here in Ashland. Kate married George Watson. She is a widow and also lives here. Harry has been with the Ashland National Bank for the past 21 years. Melvin S. works for a sash and door factory in Portland. Mona married Ralph Lozier, a railroad man. They live in Portland. Hazel works for a transfer company here in Ashland. My wife died in 1920. When I came to Ashland there were only three cabins here. Now Ashland has a population of over 5,000 and is growing all the time."
Oregon Journal, Portland, April 24, 1928, page 10


    While in Ashland recently I interviewed George W. Dunn, whose mother, Mary W. Hill Dunn, 94 years old, lives on East 37th Street in Portland. "I was married in 1890 to Alta E. Miller," said Mr. Dunn. "My wife's father, E. N. Miller, came to Oregon in the early '50s. Miller Station, in Linn County, is named for him. We had three children. Our daughter, Ada, now Mrs. H. M. Shaffer, lives in Sacramento. George runs the old home place, and our son Miller is here in Ashland. In 1907 I married Laura Burnett. Her father, Peter R. Burnett, crossed the plains to Oregon in 1846. Our son, Horace, is a railroad man and works for the Southern Pacific. In 1894 I was elected to the legislature. In 1904 I became county judge and for the next four years we lived in Jacksonville. In 1922 I was elected to the state senate and I have been elected ever since. I am rather expecting to be elected at the coming election, as I am a candidate of both parties."
    Senator Dunn's father, Patrick Dunn, with a party of settlers, while out searching for members of Tipsu Tyee's band of Rogue River Indians, who were suspected having killed Thomas Wills, a merchant of Jacksonville, came on the Indians, who were camped on Neil Creek. They fired on the Indians, who took refuge in the brush and returned the fire. Patrick Dunn was wounded in the left shoulder and Andrew Carter was shot through the arm. The Indian women and children were taken to Patrick Dunn's place and placed within a stockade. Later sub-chief Sambo, with his warriors, came in and surrendered and was placed in the stockade. Among the families who were staying at the fort were the families of Isaac Hill, Samuel Grubb, Asa Fordyce and others. The Indians in the stockade took their white guards by surprise, killing Hugh Smith, William Huggins and Bryce Whitmore and wounding several others.
    Senator Dunn told me of his early school days in Ashland. He started to school to the Ashland academy on its opening day, in 1872. Thirty years or more ago I used to have frequent chats with the Rev. C. Alderson in Salem. He lived at 15th and Ferry streets. In June, 1869, the Methodist Episcopal Church held a quarterly conference at Ashland. Mr. Alderson presided at this conference and proposed to his brother ministers to start a college and normal school under the auspices of the Methodist Church at Ashland. The Rev. I. W. Kuykendall and his committee raised money and signed a contract with Blake & Emery for the erection of a college building. The building was started, but many of those who subscribed were unable to meet their obligations, so the building was not completed. In 1872 the Rev. J. H. Skidmore took over the enterprise and completed the building, furnished it and started the Ashland college and normal school as a private enterprise.
    He had taken over not only the good will of the school but also its debts.  Not being able to meet the interest payments, the building was surrendered to the creditors. In 1878 funds were raised, the debts were paid and the Methodist church once more assumed control of the academy. Professor L. L. Rogers was elected president, but owing to internal dissension Mr. Rogers resigned and the school was closed. In the late summer of 1882 the trustees of the academy elected the Rev. M. G. Royal as president and it was taken over by the state as a normal school. At that time the state supported three normal schools--the one at Monmouth, one at Drain and the one at Ashland. Later the state withdrew its support from the normal schools at Ashland and Drain, so both these schools were closed. Today Ashland has a splendid normal school operated under state auspices, and its students rank high along educational lines and find no difficulty in securing positions.
    The Methodist church at Ashland was organized in July, 1864, by Presiding Elder T. M. Starr. The charter members were Mrs. Jacob Wagner, Mr. and Mrs. David Walrad, Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Rockfellow, Mrs. Mary Myer, Mr. and Mrs. M. O. Myer, Mr. and Mrs. William Jaquett, Mr. and Mrs. Heaton Fox and Mr. and Mrs. D. P. Brittain. In 1875 they built a church costing $3500. Among the early ministers of the Methodist church in Jackson County were T. F. Royal, Stephen Taylor, Alonzo Raynour, Archie Taylor, George Greer, G. C. Belknap, John Flynn, C. C. Stratton, I. D. Driver, J. W. Miller, P. M. Starr, C. Alderson, J. W. Kuykendall, G. W. Roork, George Hughbanks, Noah Starr, W. H. Hurlburt, J. T. Wolfe, J. H. McCain, W. T. Chapman, L. L. Rogers, Ladru Royal, D. J. Sharp, D. W. Crowel and J. H. Skidmore.
    Mrs. Blanch Hicks is librarian at a public library in Ashland. In point of service, though not in years, she is probably the oldest librarian in the state. "I took over this library in 1903," said Mrs. Hicks. "That was 27 years ago. At that time we had 1500 volumes and the library was located in one room downtown. Today we have this beautiful library building and we have more than 13,000 volumes on our shelves. Our present library was erected in 1912 at a cost of $17,500, of which amount Andrew Carnegie paid $15,000.
    "I was born in Florida. We moved to Oregon when I was a girl. I went to St. Mary's Academy in Portland and I also attended a high school here in Ashland. I also attended the old normal school. Because of the ever-increasing interest in Oregon history and the demand from the normal school we are trying to build up our Western history, particularly the early history of Oregon."
Oregon Journal, Portland, September 26, 1930, page 12

Editor's Note:
    At the annual pioneer reunion, being held today in this city, Professor I. E. Vining is presenting the following history of early Ashland--Ashland pioneers--Ashland development. Mr. Vining has graciously granted The Daily Tidings the privilege of publishing this interesting "history in brief" of Ashland. It will be presented in four installments.

To the Editor:
    I have been interested in the articles "Ashland in Retrospect" by Irving E. Vining, which you have published in the Daily Tidings.
    In part 4, printed Monday, Oct. 12, was a sketch of the founding of the First Presbyterian Church. Because the names of some of the charter members were omitted I would like to give the list found in the minutes of the session of the local church.
    All charter members joined the church on August 28, 1875. Those transferring membership from Jacksonville, Ore. were: Mrs. Jeannette Buck, Mrs. Mary Dunn, Mrs. Harriet Ewing, Mrs. Ellen Giddings, Mrs. Martha Gillette, Mrs. Elizabeth Grubb Sr., Samuel Grubb, Sarah J. Grubb, Mrs. May Jacobs, Mrs. A. H. Russel, Mrs. Betsy I. Taylor, Mrs. Martha Wells, Mrs. Laura I. Woodson, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Kentnor, and Mr. and Mrs. Claiborn Neil.
    The following were not recognized as charter members until October 11, 1879. The minutes of that date, signed by W. H. Atkinson, clerk of the session, state that "Evidence being furnished that H. Ralph and others whose names are not now on the roll were received into the church at its organization, the clerk was authorized to place the following names upon the roll--C. Goodchild, E. Goodchild, Mrs. Helen Ralph and Mrs. Jane S. Marshall." Mrs. Nancy E. Applegate also joined on August 28, 1875, according to the records.
        Sincerely yours,
    Hugh T. Mitchelmore
    First Presbyterian Church
Ashland Daily Tidings, October 13, 1931, page 2


    The "Mountain House" district south of Ashland was settled first, before the town started. Gen. James Clark Tolman crossed the Siskiyou [sic] Mountains into Rogue River Valley with a portion of an emigrant train in August 1852, bringing the first families to the valley from across the plains direct.
    Most of them located on large farms and took up stock raising and general farming in that mountainous district.
    Besides Tolman and Thomas Smith, early land owners there were Patrick Dunn, J. R. Russell, ------ Gibbs, H. F. Barron, Fred Alberding, John Murphy, Joshua Patterson, Claiborne and Leander Neil (on Neil Creek), W. C. Myer, R. B. Hargadine (sheep raiser), and others. A few of these fine old farms are still owned by members of their families.
    The city of Ashland on Upper Bear (Ashland) Creek had a very humble beginning as a sawmill village. A. V. Gillette erected a sawmill there in 1852. A. D. Helman settled nearby. The first building erected was the dwelling of Hargadine and Pease. The second was a sawmill for Eber Emery, J. B. Emery, D. A. Cardwell and Dowd Hurley (or Farley), costing $8,000. The third was a home for A. D. Helman, and the fourth was a home for Eber Emery.
    Four or five men argued the question of a name for the place; finally it was called Ashland Mills, after Helman's former home in Ashland, Ohio, and Henry Clay's home, Ashland, Kentucky. A. M. Rogers was also among the first to settle there.
    The first hotel was built by John R. Foster. A butcher shop was built for Marian Westfall and a carpenter shop for Buckingham and Williams. John Sheldon had the first wagon shop and the first store was opened by R. B. Hargadine. The mail, which came very irregularly, was carried by pony.
    The immigration of 1853 brought many settlers. A considerable amount of wheat was raised in the valley in 1853, so in 1854 two flour mills were erected in Ashland Mills. The first, "The Eagle Mill," was built by the Thomas Brothers and later owned by Farnham heirs, at the foot of the hill north of the town.
    The buhrstones for grinding the flour had to be freighted from Roseburg, a job contracted by Williston Hamilton and his partner (unknown).
    En route back to Ashland Mills they camped for the night near Rogue River, south of Gold Hill. Next morning, while preparing their breakfast of coffee and flapjacks, an Indian approached them. Believing him to be friendly and hungry, Hamilton flipped a warm cake towards him. Misunderstanding the action, the Indian attacked them. Hamilton was killed. His partner escaped by quickly entering some nearby brush and finally made it on foot to a settlement, where he reported the affair.
    The buhrstones were brought on to Ashland Mills later by others; the team of horses, having been taken, were never recovered from the Indians. This grist mill was used as a place of refuge for the women from nearby farms during one phase of the Indian wars.
    The second mill was called "Ashland Mill" and was erected in 1854 also, at a cost of $15,000 by Helman, Emery and Morris, and was later owned by Jacob Wagner. The mill's first blacksmith shop was built by the mill company. Siskiyou County, California, was a large consumer of Ashland's flour.
    Ashland's first school was an abandoned log cabin. Its furnishings were logs split for seats, an old fireplace for heat and one or two slates. A little later District No. 5 was organized by the Rev. Myron Stearns at Mrs. Erb's residence, two miles east of the town. The district was later divided. The first school taught in Ashland Mills proper was in the Eber Emery home in 1854-55 with Miss Lizzie Anderson, teacher.
    Bennett Million's farm covered a portion of the townsite in 1854.
    The first church was held in the dining room of the Sampson Tavern.
    Wheat crops had increased throughout the valley, flour was then 4 cents per pound and Rogue River Valley vegetables were sold in great quantities in Yreka during 1855. Jackson County was then Oregon's foremost, and as soon as the Indian wars were over the following spring, new firms were established at various points and all business was quickly resumed.
    The Ashland House was built by Eber Emery in 1859 at a cost of $3,000. It ran two years under his ownership and then sold to Jasper Houck for $6,000. The business section of the town had been moved up from the sawmill district to the plaza square.
    The first public school building in the town was a substantial frame building 18x20 feet square on a stone foundation. It cost $600 and was built in 1860 on a lot donated by R. B. Hargadine. An addition of about the same size was put on the following year.
    By 1860 the building of log cabins and even hand-hewn log houses had about ceased. Sawmills and carpenter shops were turning out enough lumber to build all new buildings of sawed, finished lumber with a smooth side for painting. The best hand-hewn log houses in the valley were being sheathed over with sawed lumber and painted.
    In the towns many small log cabins were torn down to make room for sawed-lumber ones. Within a short period of a few years many fine homes were built, some of which have survived and are still in use today. "Gingerbread" Carpenter Gothic, a fancy decorative finish of Elizabethan and Tudor English origin in architecture, was added to Ashland's better homes by the contractors and builders who erected the new homes of the later 1860s, 1870s and early 1880s.
    Many beautiful examples of those homes are to be seen yet in Ashland's residential district. The use of cemented cut stone and brick for foundation and building materials was also being steadily employed.
    The Methodist Church of Ashland was organized in July 1864 by the Rev. P. M. Starr of the Jacksonville circuit.
    A marble sawmill and shops, utilizing native marble, were built in the years 1865 and 1869 by James Russell. They were the first marble works in Oregon.
    The planing mills and cabinet shops of L. S. P. Marsh and Co. were built by H. S. Emery in 1868.
    The extensive nursery of Orlando Coolidge was established in 1868 and was the most extensive of its kind in Southern Oregon. It contained many varieties of hardy fruits, nuts, shrubs, flowers and ornamental trees. Mr. Coolidge was the fruitman, and Mrs. Coolidge was the florist.
    Sheep were being raised in the valley to a considerable extent then. In the foothills east of Ashland Mills, on property of Robert Hargadine; W. C. Daley, Steven Hamilton and J. R. Tozer, Ashland Mills carpenters, built the largest sheep barn in the county.
    In 1867 the Ashland Woolen Mills was established by a joint stock company of 30 members, with J. M. McCall, leader. The building was built by John Daley, William C. Daley, Eber Emery and Company, on a cemented cutstone foundation. Operations began in 1868 under the name of "Rogue River Woolen Mfg. Co." S. M. McCall was president; C. K. Klum, secretary, and John Daley, superintendent.
    The building cost $32,000; it was four stories high and the largest building in the county. After three years it was sold to G. N. Marshall and Chas. Goodchild, and after five years to James Thornton, associated with W. H. Atkinson, Jacob Wagner and E. K. Anderson, and changed its name to "Ashland Woolen Mfg. Co." Its capacity was 16,000 pounds of wool per month and it operated day and night, Sundays excepted. Underwear, hosiery, shawls, blankets and woolen goods were manufactured.
    The company maintained a retail store in Ashland Mills and shipped its first produce to San Francisco and later supplied Rogue River Valley, Klamath and Siskiyou Co. The mills were run by water power supplied through a ditch from Ashland Creek, acting on a 26-inch turbine, with 32 ft. pressure. When the ditch was being dug, an Indian skeleton, with a large abalone shell over its head, was unearthed.
    This mill furnished employment for many men and women, running continuously until it was destroyed by fire in 1901.
    Gillette's sawmill and a candle factory were operating along Ashland Creek at about that time. A soap factory opened also.
    Ashland College and Normal was inaugurated in 1869 at a quarterly conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, at which Rev. C. Alderson proposed the enterprise. Plans and specifications were made by Rev. J. W. Kuykendall and the building was built by Blake and Emery and finished in 1872 under direction of Rev. J. N. Skidmore.
    The Ashland Lodge, No. 45, Independent Order of Odd Fellows was organized July 23, 1873, and the Odd Fellows' Hall was constructed at a cost of $6,000.
    In 1874 the planing mills and cabinet shops of L. S. P. Marsh and Company were sold to Marsh and Valpey and additional machinery was installed to the value of $8,000.
    Ashland Mills changed its name to Ashland and was incorporated October 13, 1874. The first officers were: Jacob Wagner, F. W. Ewing, J. R. Tozer, and H. C. Hill, trustees; Chas. K. Klum, recorder; Wm. C. Daley, marshal, and J. M. McCall, treasurer.
    The Methodist church was erected in 1875 at a cost of $3,500 and was 36x56 feet square [sic].
    Ashland Lodge 23, A.F.&A. Masons, was organized June 1875. The society possessed the Masonic Hall built in 1870 at a cost of $7,600.
    The First Presbyterian Church of Ashland was organized August 12, 1875 by Rev. Thos. Frazer. The church was erected in 1878 at a cost of $3,200.
    Ashland's Baptist organization began February 1877 with the Rev. J. F. Bradford as first minister.
    The W. C. Daley, J. R. Tozer and H. S. Emery planing mill and cabinet shop was built in 1878 at a cost of $3,000, at the junction of Mechanic and Helman streets. Its power was water from Ashland Creek acting on a turbine wheel. It turned out a large amount and variety of carpentry and cabinet work annually. When the survey for the railroad was made through Ashland this mill was on the right-of-way, so that company sold to the railroad company and their business closed.
    The public library of Ashland was organized December 1879.
    In 1880 a two-story building, 36x50 feet, was erected near the school building at a cost of $2,000. This was to accommodate the increasing number of pupils.
    The Alpha Chapter of the Eastern Star was founded there on March 13, 1880 and was the earliest established in Oregon. Its meeting place was the Masonic hall.
    Ashland Lodge No. 453 Independent Order of Good Templars was organized November 9, 1883 with their meeting place in the Odd Fellows' hall.
    The Ancient Order of United Workmen, Ashland Lodge No. 66, was also organized.
    The Ashland Bank was incorporated February 9, 1884 by J. M. McCall, W. H. Atkinson and H. B. Carter.
    The population of the town in 1854 was 25; in 1864 was under 300; in 1874 was approximately 500 and in 1884 was 1,000.
    A. G. Walling (1884), historian, paid Ashland the following compliment:
    "Architecturally, Ashland is one of the finest of towns. Its situation is all that could be desired: its buildings are really creditable; its surroundings are beautiful; and its social advantages are of very high order."
    Ashland has been Southern Oregon's educational center. It has produced some fine artists as well as high business officials. Its natural park was first the camping place for visiting Indians (Klamaths) who often came to trade at Rogue River Valley stores, after the Indian wars had been forgotten. Then, with some artistic development, it became the gathering place for church conventions, Southern Oregon Chautauquas and summertime festivities.
    The natural mineral and soda springs in and near Ashland, including Helman Sulfur Baths, Jackson Hot Springs, Buckhorn Mineral Springs on Emigrant Creek, where Tolman built a tavern, Indian Camp Soda Spring on Sampson Creek, Wagner Soda Spring (old spring house and bridge still in use over Emigrant Creek), Kingsbury Soda Spring at Klamath Junction and Colestin Soda Spring (old hotel gone) on Siskiyou Summit, were patronized by Indians before the coming of the emigrants and became very popular resort places for the pioneers.
    A number of the descendants of the pioneer families are still residing in Ashland.
    Mt. Ashland Chanter of the D.A.R. shared with Crater Lake Chapter D.A.R. in erecting "The Trail Blazers' Monument"--picture shown in Part I. Their name did not appear on the monument because they were in the act of organizing when the monument was erected.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 31, 1948, page 12