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The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised


Rogue Valley Firsts

Many of these are wrong.
   
Note the contradictions below. "First
s" are treacherous. For one thing, they're usually recorded in retrospect, relying on interviewees' imperfect memories.
    For another, even those firsts reported as they happen are suspect, since they are additionally hampered by limited communication and clouded by vague definitions.



    The Laura Virginia on her way up called at Humboldt and landed passengers and cargo, then beat out, finding the two above-named vessels [J. R. Whiting and Eclipse] laying to outside. Capt. [Ottinger] gave them the bearings and put a pilot on board the J. R. Whiting, and then proceeded on to Trinity Bay, with passengers and cargo and thence to Rogue River (called by some Rogue and by others Trinity River). This river was located by Capt. O. on the 3rd of April last, and will be found to be in lat. 41 deg. 33 min. The Laura Virginia was the first vessel that passed in and out over the bar of that river, and on her return had a splendid run of only 22 hours from Cape Mendocino to San Francisco. The L.V. left at Rogue River the schr. Sierra Nevada.
"Intelligence from Trinidad," Daily Alta California, San Francisco, May 20, 1850, page 2


    A DISCOVERY!--Capt. Ottinger, on the Laura Virginia, has made a trip to the mouth of Rogue River. This schooner was the first vessel that ever entered the mouth of that river.
Illinois Daily Journal, Springfield, August 5, 1850, page 2



MARRIED.
    Near Table Rock City, in Rogue River Valley, Oct. 7th, by Rev. J. E. Benton, Henry R. Frame to Rachel S. Tait, lately of Iowa.
Daily Alta California, San Francisco, November 16, 1852, page 8


    The first Methodist conference in Oregon was held in Salem on the 17th of March, Bishop Ames presiding. Thirteen ministers present. The conference was divided into three districts, Willamette, South Oregon and North Oregon, and fifteen circuits.
Illinois State Register, Springfield Illinois, May 23, 1853, page 2


    The only house occupied [in Gardiner in 1851] was owned by George L. Snelling, a young man from Boston, an adventurer who had come out in the pilot boat Bostonian the fall previous, which said vessel was stranded upon the Umpqua bar [October 1, 1850] in trying to make the entrance.
    Snelling had a small quantity of merchandise on board which was saved from the wreck, and with the aid of small boats he removed it to Scottsburg and put up a zinc house for a store, and thus was commenced the first mercantile establishment in Southern Oregon.
Loren L. Williams, Early Reminiscences, 1853-57


   
THE FIRST BEES.--Oregon is at last favored with a fine hive of honey bees, in good working order. They were brought from the States via Panama, by John Davenport, Esq. It is really to be hoped they may flourish.
Oregon Spectator, Oregon City, August 4, 1854, page 2


FIRST STAGE TO YREKA.
    Sept. 1st 1856: The stage started today to run between here and Yreka. It is to run every other day. We can now go to San Francisco in 4½ days. I think times will be better now. The dark pall that has hung over Oregon is now rising and we can see a small streak above which betokens better times for this country, and in future years the autumn of '55 and spring of '56 will be looked back to as the dark days of this beautiful valley.
Diary of Welborn Beeson, Talent News, June 1, 1893, page 3


    SOUTHERN OREGON MINES.--A correspondent of the Trinity Journal, writing from Jacksonville, O.T., February 20th, says:
    "Hydraulics are now brought into requisition here for the first time. A few miners from your section of country, who came in here last fall, have done more to develop the richness of the mines in this vicinity than our miners have for the last two years."
Sacramento Daily Union, March 11, 1857, page 2



    The Herald (Jacksonville) says that a daughter of Wm. Justus, ten years of age, was bitten by a rattlesnake on the 21st ult., and died in twelve hours. We believe this is the first instance on record of a rattlesnake bite in Oregon.
Oregon Argus, Oregon City, June 12, 1858, page 2



    Wm. Casterlin was hung at Jacksonville on Friday last, for the murder of Samuel Mooney on the 3rd of last December. . . . It is the first legal execution ever held in Jackson County.
"Execution at Jacksonville, Oregon," Sacramento Daily Union, May 14, 1860, page 2


    STAGES.--The first stage for Sailor Diggings and Jacksonville left Crescent City on Monday morning last, and the first from those places will be in this evening. From this time passengers will find them running regularly every other day.--Crescent City Herald.
Daily Alta California, San Francisco, June 23, 1860, page 1


    The first hydraulic ram ever used in that portion of Oregon has been put in operation. It is to carry a stream of water running through their cellar to the livery stable of Messrs. Clugage & Drum. A ditch was constructed from the cellar to Third Street, where a shaft was sunk to the depth of some eighteen or twenty feet, and the ram placed therein. The water is forced from there to a large wooden tank, constructed for the purpose, to the upper story of Messrs. Clugage & Drum's building. Through the scientific and skillful engineering of Messrs. L. & B., the ram is made to work to perfection, and will undoubtedly prove a valuable and decided convenience to the owners of the stable.
Daily Alta California, San Francisco, August 17, 1860, page 1  See description in the Oregon Sentinel of August 11, 1860, page 3.


    A TREAT.--G. W. Rosencranz, of Butte Creek, last week sent us a sack of good-sized, delicious new potatoes, taken from the earth March 15th. 'They are the first, we believe, raised in the valley.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 6, 1861, page 3


    STEAM MACHINERY.--It is less than two years ago that steam power for any purpose was introduced in this valley, and the credit of its introduction is due to Messrs. Burpee & Linn, who had shipped to them from Ohio a portable steam saw mill. This was put in operation in the spring of '60, and has been kept almost constantly running in the piny woods about here ever since. McLaughlin & Williams' steam quartz mill followed; Dr. Overbeck brought the third steam boiler; next came more quartz mills and other works, until now steam machinery has become quite a feature in the place.
Semi-Weekly Gazette, Jacksonville, October 14, 1861, page 3


    The first successful quartz mining company in Josephine County commenced operations at their mill, near Mr. O. Ganiard's place, on the 22nd inst.
"Quartz in Josephine County," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 31, 1862, page 3


Opening of the Northern Telegraph.
    The following is a copy of the first dispatch ever transmitted telegraphically between the states of California and Oregon:
JACKSONVILLE, Oregon,
    January 22nd, 1864, 4 p.m.
    To James Gamble, Superintendent, San Francisco--The line was completed to this place yesterday morning. Will be ready to receive business tomorrow. Please send tariff. Weather bad; roads very muddy.
Signed,
    E. A. WHITTLESEY.
    On the other side, the line is in operation from Portland to Salem, and it is the purpose of the company to supply the intervening space in a short time. This will place Marysville in direct telegraphic communication with Portland.
Marysville Daily Appeal, Marysville, California, January 23, 1864, page 3


    The first message ever transmitted telegraphically between California and Oregon was received at the telegraph office in this city Jan. 22, by Mr. Craddock, the manager, directly from Jacksonville, to which point the line of the California State Telegraph Company has just been completed.--Marysville Express.
Placer Herald,
Auburn, California, January 30, 1864, page 1


    ASHLAND FLANNEL.--Messrs. Baum & Wohlgenant have received a small invoice of the first flannel finished by the Rogue River Mfg. Co. It is heavy goods made of a fine quality of wool, and is particularly suited for men's wear.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 12, 1868, page 3


    THE VELOCIPEDE.--To Mr. Dave Miller belongs the credit of introducing one of these strange animals into Jacksonville. It was finished last evening, and we have no doubt it will perform as well as if imported from Paris. Of course everyone will have to skin his nose with it, and the ladies can have a free ride if they will overcome their scruples against riding as we do.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 6, 1869, page 3




Carlos and Alice Wrisley Goddard, circa 1873
Jan 25th 1873
    Miss Allice Wrisley came up to take up school in the district tomorrow she stopped at our house and is here now.  She is the first white girl born in Jackson County and was born in the old log cabin on Roots place twenty years ago last Christmas day. [At the time of her birth, this was the Jacob Wagner cabin inside Fort Wagner.] Her parents lives on Manzanita plains. She has not been to Wagner Creek for some years before  She is now a fine young lady. It seem curious to me that I should be so old as to remember when she was born
Diary of Welborn Beeson, Talent  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Previous to 1865, it was thought by several different parties who had visited [Crater Lake], and so reported by them, that the edge of the water could not be reached, but in that year Captain F. B. Sprague, Co. I, 1st Oregon Infantry, with a detachment of his company, made a more thorough examination, and found one place where it is possible to clamber down to the water's edge. To Orson Stearns, Orderly Sergeant of Co. I, 1st Oregon Inf. Vols., belongs the honor of first dipping his finger in the water of this remarkable lake.
"Lake Majesty," West Shore, Portland, March 1872, page 2


    Robert B. Hargadine, of Ashland, Jackson County, Oregon, died of disease of the heart at San Francisco, last Monday. He was the first man to introduce Angora goats into that section, and was a man of great enterprise. He leaves a large family in good circumstances.
Puget Sound Dispatch, Seattle, January 20, 1877, page 2


    E. K. Anderson . . . claimed the honor of having assisted in building the house occupied by the first white woman who settled in the valley, but unfortunately for him and his bachelor friends, who took such an interest in the lady's welfare, she was married and could repay not a single one of her gallant admirers with either heart or hand. Her husband's name was Wilson, and she was the daughter of Mr. Walton, of Lane County, where, it is stated, the lady now resides.
"Pioneer Reunion of Southern Oregon," Ashland Tidings, September 28, 1877, page 1



    The first test of the productiveness of the soil of Rogue River Valley was in 1852, and the exact spot where the agricultural experiment was made was on the farm now belonging to W. Beeson, on Wagner Creek. Previous to that year it had been held by many that neither the soil nor climate of Rogue River Valley was adapted to agriculture. In the spring of 1852 a few peas were planted near where Mr. Beeson now resides. In due course of time the peas produced were gathered and taken to the then mining town of Jacksonville, where they were prepared for the table by Mr. Jasper Houck, now of the Ashland House, served at a public dinner given on the 4th of July of that year. Thus was demonstrated the fact that this beautiful valley, now so noted for exhaustless fertility, was suited for the home of enlightenment and the product of the fruits of civilization.

"Pioneer Reunion of Southern Oregon," Ashland Tidings, September 28, 1877, page 1
  1852 was before the Beesons same to Southern Oregon.


THE FIRST WEDDING IN ROGUE RIVER VALLEY.
Jacksonville, Sept. 28, 1877.       
    Editor Tidings:--Permit me through the columns of your paper to correct a statement made by Gen. J. E. Ross in his speech at the Pioneer Reunion at Ashland, Sept. 13, in regard to his being the first man married in Rogue River Valley. Mr. Ross is mistaken, for N. C. Dean and Anna Huston were the first. They were married by Rev. Mr. Gilbert, Nov. 15th, 1852. No one knows this better than Mrs. Ross, for she was a bridesmaid. Her name then was Hopwood. J. E. Ross was one of the invited guests, I understand, but failed to make his appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Ross were not married until Jan. 7 or 8, 1853. Yours,
A Pioneer.                       
Ashland Tidings, October 5, 1877, page 3


    In the winter of 1852-3 John E. Ross married Elizabeth Hopwood, the first wedding ever in the town of Jacksonville.
John E. Ross, "Narrative of an Indian Fighter," Bancroft Library MSS P-A 63, 1878   
N. C. Dean and Anna Huston--see above--may have been married in Willow Springs, where Dean lived.



    Arriving at Rogue River Valley [L. J. C. Duncan] found Long's ferry, established in 1851 by Mr. Long during the excitement at Josephine Creek. At this ferry was built the first house in Rogue River Valley, and this was the first settlement. It is now known as Vannoy's ferry, Vannoy having bought out Mr. Long.
Legrand J. C. Duncan, "Settlement in Southern Oregon," Bancroft Library MSS P-A 27


    The next morning [after the Table Rock Treaty of September 10, 1853] I opened in due form the United States District Court for the County of Jackson--the first court that was ever held in Oregon south of the Umpqua--and the word of the law superseded the edge of the sword.
Matthew P. Deady, Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association, 1883, "Southern Oregon Names and Events," pages 24


    M. G. Foisy, of Gervais, died suddenly at his house on the 11th. He was the first printer to set type in Oregon.
"State News," Ashland Tidings, June 20, 1879, page 2



    John Boyer, at the express office in this place, last week had for sale some fine oysters, which came all the way from the East via the N.P.R.R., packed in ice. This is the first shipment of the kind ever made here.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 18, 1883, page 3  The railroad had not yet reached Jacksonville in December 1883. The oysters were probably picked up at the Grants Pass depot.



    On June 15, 1845, [John B. Wrisley] married Eliza Jane Jacobs, by whom he has raised ten children, the eldest daughter, Mrs. Alice Goddard, being the first white child born in the Rogue River Valley.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, page 544  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Gen. [James C.] Tolman crossed the Siskiyous into Rogue River Valley with a portion of the train, arriving the last of August, and bringing the first families to the valley from across the plains direct [i.e., not by way of California or Oregon City].
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, pages 541-542


    In January, 1853, [John E. Ross] married Elizabeth Hopwood, this being the first marriage in Jacksonville; the ceremony was performed by a Methodist preacher by the name of Gilbert.
A. G. Walling, 
History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, pages 538-539


    The year 1861 will be ever memorable as the period when a great dissension between two vast sections of the country threatened the dismemberment of the nation. The consequence was that, in many places throughout the Coast, military regiments were organized for the emergency that was expected to arise at any moment. Among other organizations of this character, the 1st Oregon cavalry was raised, and [John Marshall McCall] was the first to respond.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, pages 533-534


    In 1861 [Reuben F. Maury] raised first regiment Oregon cavalry.
A. G. Walling, 
History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, page 505


    In 1865 [B. F. Dowell] bought the Oregon Sentinel, which, under his administration, was the first Pacific Slope paper to advocate the enfranchisement of the negroes, and the first to nominate General Grant for the Presidency.
A. G. Walling, 
History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, pages 525-526


    [James W. Collins] claims to have sown the first grain in Jackson County, and erected the first frame house, the one now on the Gordon ranch.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, page 521


    Mr. [Thomas McF.] Patton located in Jacksonville and in that year was elected to the office of county judge, he being the first to fill that position in Jackson County. . . .
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, page 521


    Mr. [William] Hoffman was first county auditor of Jackson County, and has ever since held some office of trust.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, page 521


    [Henry Klippel] mined first at Galice Creek, Josephine County, but soon returned to Rich Gulch where he engaged principally in mining until 1857, after which time he followed various occupations until 1860, when the Gold Hill mine was struck.  He then gave this mine his entire attention and put up on that mine the first quartz mill built in Oregon.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, page 530


    As additional evidence of the enterprising character of [William Cortez Myer] we record the fact that to him belongs the credit of introducing to Rogue River Valley the first gang plow, the first improved Haines header and the first screw pulverizer; and to him and his brother Frank the first horse fork for hoisting and stacking hay. 
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, pages 534-535


    Jacksonville should have been called "Jim." Three Jims first discovered gold there, respectively Jim Clugage, Jim Poole and Jim Cinnor, and the first white child  born there was Jim McCully.
Daniel F. Fisher, "Pioneer Names," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 4, 1884, page 2
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The town of Medford is building up right along. The first birth occurred there last week. . . .
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, January 19, 1884, page 3


    Mr. A. S. Johnson receipted for the first lot of freight delivered at Medford, consisting of a fine lot of fruit trees.

    Every vehicle in town was brought into use last Sunday to take passengers to Medford to witness the arrival of the first passenger train there. An immense crowd had congregated when it arrived.

"Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 1, 1884, page 3


    I found Wm. H. Breese, recently from Iowa, is building a blacksmith shop [in Talent] almost on the identical spot where poor old Jim Clarkson of Yreka had the first blacksmith shop in all this county.
"Reminiscences of Old Days," Ashland Tidings, October 31, 1884


    The first boy born in Medford arrived at the house of G. W. Crystal recently.
"Olla Podrida," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 20, 1885, page 2


    The wife of George W. Crystal presented him with a bouncing baby boy not long since, the first born in Medford.
"Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 21, 1885, page 3


    John B. Wrisley, born in Middlebury, Vt. in 1819, removed to New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin, where he married Eliza Jane Jacobs of Iowa Co., in 1843. He came to California in 1849, and to Rogue River Valley in 1852. His daughter Alice was the first white girl born in the valley. She married C. Goddard of Medford, Jackson Co. Wrisley voted for the state constitutions of Wisconsin, California, and Oregon; has been active in politics, but always rejected office.
Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Oregon, 1886, page 713   Alice Wrisley was born December 25, 1853.
Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    An old pioneer wants to know who was the first white child born in Jackson County--whether it was Frank Rogers, Walter Gore or James McCully. Who can tell?
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, February 26, 1886, page 3


    THE FIRST.—An old pioneer in the Tidings wants to know who was the first boy born in Jackson County and mentions several between whom honors are about even. We cannot answer the question only that J. C. McCully was the first born in Jacksonville, dating his birthday from August 1853, and we’ll think he is entitled to the cake until otherwise proven.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, February 27, 1886, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    If Brad Dean was born in 1851 we will bet our old hat that he did not first see daylight in a cabin at Willow Springs, notwithstanding the Times has twice stated this to be the fact. He has a young competitor for the office of Sheriff, also a Jackson County boy, and we fail to see the object of trying to make Brad several years older than he is.
"Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, May 22, 1886, page 3


    In 1852 [the T'Vault family] removed to Rogue River Valley and shortly after settled on the Dardanelles farm on Rogue River, the first family that settled on a farm in this valley. In 1855 Col. T'Vault came to Jacksonville and began the publication of the Oregon Sentinel, the first paper published in this valley.
"In Memoriam," Oregon Sentinel, June 12, 1886, page 2


    We are assured that the memorial service which will take place in the music hall the 29th inst. will be exceedingly interesting. It is the first service of the kind ever held in this part of the state, and should be well attended by our people.
"Local and Personal,"
Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, May 20, 1887, page 3


    We plead for the payment for the property destroyed belonging to Martin Angel, who left the bluegrass of Kentucky to join Dr. Whitman in 1842 and settled on the bunchgrass of Oregon. His wife left Canada when a child, under the guardian care of a learned physician who in the same year stretched his tent in Oregon City, two thousand miles west of any white settlement, and when the gold mines were discovered in southern Oregon they became the first settlers of Rogue River Valley.
B. F. Dowell, The Heirs of George W. Harris, 1888, page 52


    The first J. L. Case 10-horsepower self-steering traction engine operated in this valley was sold by Wm. Gates to Messrs. McQueen & Curry, the enterprising threshers, on the 8th inst. The engine works like a charm and enables the machine to reset and remove with great facility, thereby saving much expense in handling straw, as well as in stacking.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 16, 1888, page 3


    The foundation for Adkins & Webb's new three-story brick is completed, and the brick masons are at work. It will be a handsome structure and a credit to Medford--the first three-story business house in the city.
"Medford Items," Ashland Tidings, September 14, 1888, page 3


    Mr. [Henry] Klippel was the pioneer of quartz mining, having built the first stamp mill at Gold Hill, Oregon, in 1860; and in 1880 he engaged in hydraulic mining on a large scale at Squaw Lake. . . . He was the first recorder of Jacksonville.
Elwood Evans, History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington, 1889, page 414


    Chas. W. Logan, the photographer, took two views of the ballroom and dancers Tuesday night with the calcium light, and will have them ready soon. This is the first of the kind yet taken on the coast, although the interior of theaters in the East have been photographed successfully, and if the pictures turn out as expected, Charley may justly feel proud of this job. Several views of the interior of the hall were taken Wednesday, also.
"The K.P. Ball," Valley Record, Ashland, February 21, 1889, page 3


    Medford rejoices over the flowing of water through its new irrigating canal, which taps Bear Creek about two miles above the town. The water was turned into the ditch last week for the first time.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, May 3, 1889, page 3


    To Bro. [Martin] Peterson also belongs the honor of organizing the first Christian Church in Southern Oregon.
"Oregon Items," The Christian-Evangelist, St. Louis, Missouri, August 22, 1889, page 9


    C. H. Wallace, the contractor, last week returned to Medford, after completing a fine two-story brick at Junction City, in the Willamette Valley. Mr. W. built the first brick edifices in Eugene, Cottage Grove, Creswell and Junction.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 12, 1889, page 3


    [Harrison B. Oatman] also established the first store in Phoenix, which he successfully conducted for some time.
H. V. Scott, History of Portland, Oregon, 1890, pages 617-619


    The first marriage solemnized in Jacksonville mining camp was that of Mr. Ross and Miss Elizabeth Hopwood, in January 1853.
Obituary for John England Ross, Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 20, 1890, page 4


    To all those who were at the first public dinner ever given in Southern Oregon, on August 4th, 1852, in honor of Captain Lamerick and the brave boys who came back victorious from the first Indian skirmish in Southern Oregon, at that table, which fairly groaned under the load of plain substantials of the early days, where champagne flowed as did the spirits of the boys, and toasts and songs were given by the happy boys, although clad in buckskin and well mounted with the crude implements of war--please come forward and give us a shake of your old trusty hand.
"Pioneer Reunion," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 29, 1890, page 2



    I recall that as late as August, 1857, Colonel John D. Fry and myself made the first journey from Salem to Rogue River that had ever been traveled in a top buggy, and in stopping at roadside hospitable farm houses of nights--there were no hotels or taverns--the trouble was to prevent the children of the household from climbing in the buggy and working open and shut the lifting and closing top.
James O'Meara, "Our Pioneer History," Oregonian, Portland, November 9, 1890, page 16



    The late Henry R. Brown had the distinction of having brought the first set of blacksmith's tools into the county from the north by pack train, and for a long time the miners were in the habit of repairing to his shop to have their picks sharpened in early days.

"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 3, 1891, page 3



    Twins were born to Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Gage in this city Monday. All are reported doing well. This pair of newcomers have the honor of being the first twins ever born in Medford. [Raymond] Crystal, now eight years old, was the first child ever born in this city.
"Local News,"
Medford Mail, January 21, 1892, page 2  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Chas. Wall and Mr. Gray of Flounce Rock precinct are engaged in the dairy business and will manufacture a large quantity of superior butter and cheese in the near future. This is the first enterprise of the kind in Southern Oregon, and it should be liberally patronized. They wish to engage the services of a trustworthy man to milk their cows.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 12, 1892, page 3



    Mrs. Elizabeth Kenney said: "I came to this valley with my father, Colonel W. G. T'Vault, in 1852. My parents took up a donation claim on Rogue River, opposite Table Rocks, now known as the Dardanelles, near Gold Hill. I was the first white woman ever on Table Rock. I went up with my parents in June, 1852."
"Table Rock Legend," Ashland Tidings, April 22, 1892, page 1


    Mr. [John B.] Wrisley with his family wintered at Fort Wagner that winter [1852-53], and there his daughter, Alice, was born, being the first white girl born in the present limits of Jackson County.
Welborn Beeson, "A Fourth of July Reminiscence," Ashland Tidings, July 22, 1892, page 2
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The previous winter [1851-52] there had been an extraordinary fall of snow. According to John B. Wrisley's account the snow fell over two feet deep where the town of Talent now is and deeper in proportion higher up the creek. Mr. Wrisley, with his family, wintered at Fort Wagner that winter, and there his daughter, Alice, was born, being the first white girl born in the present limits of Jackson County. She is now the relict of the late Carlos Goddard.
Welborn Beeson, "A Fourth of July Remembrance," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 5, 1892, page 1  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Mrs. Mary Vining of Ashland has the honor of having taught the first school in Jackson County. She taught in a school house on the creek that runs past the house that Mr. A. Gordon now lives in a few miles southeast of Jacksonville.

Welborn Beeson, "Pioneer Schools in the Valley," Ashland Tidings, September 16, 1892, page 2


    The Express says Capt. O. C. Applegate and Gilbert Anderson made a circuit of Crater Lake by land, the first time it was ever known to be done.
"Pressed Bricks," Valley Record, Ashland, September 22, 1892, page 1  Other sources give Anderson's name as Frank H. Anderson, of the University of California.


    The first halftone photograph printed in a Rogue Valley newspaper may be the ad printed on page 4 of the December 2, 1892 Ashland Tidings.


    Died, near Althouse, Or., on Oct. 4th, 1892, Prof. J. B. Farley, a native of Ireland, aged about 70 years, says the Grants Pass Courier. Prof. Farley was the first teacher to take charge of a school in Jackson County, and was remarkably proficient in mathematics. His death occurred at the residence of K. S. Keffer.

"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, October 21, 1892, page 3


    Captain [Thomas Smith was] the first settler in Oregon south of Wagner Creek. . . .
"The Late Capt. Thos. Smith," Valley Record, Ashland, November 17, 1892, page 1


    Mrs. [Mary E. Miller] Dean was the first white child born north of the Rogue River in Jackson County.
Rev. H. K. Hines, An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon, 1893, pages 409-410
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    [B. F. Miller] was married in Polk County, May 14, 1857, to Margaret J. Sutton, native of Illinois, daughter of Captain John Sutton, of Morgan County, Illinois, who first came to Oregon in 1851, and returned in 1852 for his family. They have three living children and three deceased; those living are: Mary E., now the wife of D. W. Dean, ex-Sheriff of Jackson County. Mrs. Dean was the first white child born north of the Rogue River in Jackson County.

Rev. H. K. Hines, An Illustrated History of the State of Oregon, 1893, pages 409-410



    David Linn, one of the oldest residents in Jacksonville and at present mayor, was appointed county treasurer in the place of Geo. E. Bloomer removed. Mr. Linn's bondsmen are C. C. Beekman, C. W. Kahler and Dr. Geo. DeBar. Jackson County was organized and its first county officers elected in 1853. Dr. E. H. Cleaveland was elected its first treasurer and resigned in a few months when Mr. Linn was appointed and held the office continuously, with the exception of one term when E. S. Morgan was elected for twelve years. There was no fixed salary at that time, the treasurer receiving two percent for receiving and two for disbursing any and all moneys that came into his hands. Mr. Bloomer is the first defaulter in the county since its organization.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 11, 1893, page 3


    On Sept. 20, 1849 [Mary Gilmour Rose] was married to Mr. E. E. Gore, and with him crossed the plains, coming to this coast. They left Charleston, Iowa April 27, 1852, and arrived in the Rogue River Valley Sept. 27th of the same year. For a time their residence was in Jacksonville, Or., where Dec. 3, 1852, Walter S. Gore was born; he being the first white male child born in Jackson County.
"In Memoriam," Medford Mail, October 27, 1893, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    A very successful surgical operation was performed in Medford last Monday, it being that of the removal of an ovarian tumor from Mrs. Wm. Turner. The operating surgeon being Dr. E. P. Geary of this city, assisted by Drs. J. B. Wait and J. S. Parsons, of Medford and Ashland. The tumor weighed forty-two pounds and had been two years in attaining this growth. This is the first operation of the kind which has ever been performed in Southern Oregon, and because that it is proving to be so successful an one is a matter in which much credit is due the operators.
"All the Local News," Medford Mail, February 2, 1894, page 3


    The electric light lit up the town Monday [August 27] for the first time.
"Medford Items," Valley Record, Ashland, August 30, 1894, page 3


    Mrs. JANE McCULLY of Jacksonville left Wednesday morning for San Diego, where she will spend the winter. Mrs. McCully is one of the very earliest settlers of the valley, her son, James, being the first white child born in Jackson County.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, November 9, 1894, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    This issue of the Mail is the first paper ever printed in Medford on a cylinder press. The much-talked-of new machine is here and is doing good execution.
Medford Mail, November 23, 1894, page 2


    Dr. E. B. Pickel, of Medford, Ore., was the first doctor in Oregon to use antitoxin in a case of diphtheria, securing a supply of the product from Dr. Mingus, of this city.
"Personals," The Medical Sentinel, Portland, 1895, page 207


    NEW IN OREGON.--Times: The company in which Judge Reid, W. W. Milner and C. O. White of Tacoma are interested started operations at their mines near Tolo this week. The steam pumping apparatus, which furnishes a fine supply of water from Rogue River, works to perfection and inaugurates a new system of mining.
"Oregon," Mining and Scientific Press, San Francisco, April 6, 1895, page 219


    Jackson County had the honor of receiving the first quartz mill introduced into Oregon. The Gold Hill mine had just been discovered, and the owners were working in an arrastra quartz worth a dollar a pound. The old machine, with its cumbersome drags, lazy mules, etc., became repulsive to its owners, although they were dividing 1000 ounces of gold a week. So, in 1860, they let a milling contract to Henry Klippel, one of the firm, who went to San Francisco and purchased a 12-stamp mill, of the style then used.
"History of the First Quartz Mill in Oregon," Oregonian, Portland, November 24, 1895, page 9



    The first registered letter which came to the [Medford post] office was entered upon the register book by Miss Nettie L. Howard, she who is now Mrs. B. S. Webb. This was in April, '84. J. S. Howard was the first postmaster, and it was in '85 that the town was incorporated.
"News of the City," Medford Mail, February 21, 1896, page 5

Medford's First Three Schools
    The small building to the left in the above cut was Medford's first school house. It was built in the [spring] of 1884 by W. F. Williamson, which gentleman was the first teacher. The building was 16x20 feet in size and had a seating capacity of thirty pupils. The building was built on [South Central] Street and is now owned by Mrs. Smith, and is the residence in which Druggist C. C. Chitwood resides. [The building survives to this day as part of the former Yellow Submarine sandwich shop at 135 South Central.] It was built in '84 as a place of worship as well as school purposes. The first sermon ever preached in the town was in this building and by Rev. [Moses] A. Williams, Presbyterian. Two weeks later Rev. Martin Peterson, Christian, held services in the same building. The first school directors were J. S. Howard, D. H. Miller and [C. W.] Broback; J. L. Johnson, clerk.
Medford Mail, March 6, 1896, page 1


    Thursday evening the Lewiston Tribune office was visited by . . . E. J. Northcutt. In Northcutt's own picturesque verbiage he is 66 years old; on last New Year's Day he buried his third wife; his first wife was the first white single woman in the Rogue River Valley of Oregon. . . .
"Frontier Life Forty Years Ago," Big Timber Pioneer, Big Timber, Montana, May 28, 1896, page 2


    Mrs. J. H. Wilson and her daughters Laura and Garnett and son Melvin, together with Noah Lyon, left Medford last week for Crescent City there to remain for a month or six weeks. The trip is made principally in hopes of improving Mrs. Wilson's health, which has not been the best during the past few months. J. J. Owing, of Crescent City, who has been visiting here some several weeks, returned with them. Mr. Owing was formerly a photographer in Medford--the first one Medford ever had--and 'twas several years ago.
"News of the City," Medford Mail, August 28, 1896, page 7



    A twelve-year-old daughter of the late Carlos Goddard arrived Monday from Boise City, Idaho, to visit with her aunts and uncles, Mrs. Coleman and Mrs. Dean and the Goddard Bros. This young lady is the youngest child of Mrs. Alice Goddard, née Wrisley, whom all the pioneers recognize as the first white girl baby born in Jackson County. The lady is married again and lives in Idaho.

"Talent Whispers," Medford Mail, October 30, 1896, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    M. B. Miller, a Southern Oregon pioneer who opened the first store in Jacksonville, was on Tuesday's train for Pomona, Cal., from Spokane, Wash.
"Personal and Social," Valley Record, Ashland, September 30, 1897, page 3


    Jas. Stewart is our new justice of the peace. He is the youngest man ever elected to fill a public office in Jackson County, being a few months over 21 years of age.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 9, 1898, page 2



    Last year was the first time of holding the fair in Medford, and against heavy odds was the enterprise carried through. Not only had the track to be made, but buildings of all kinds, including the pavilion, built; and not until one week before the date for opening of the fair was the foundation for the latter laid.
           
"A Letter," Medford Mail, September 5, 1898, page 2


    Work has been commenced on Gold Hill's first brick building, which will be a handsome and commodious structure. The I.O.O.F. and C. H. Dalrymple are having it constructed.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 22, 1898, page 3


    The Medford-Jacksonville shortline now has a headlight in which acetylene gas is used as the lighting agent. This is undoubtedly the first railroad in the United States to adopt this gas for headlight purposes.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, October 14, 1898, page 7


    The first piano made on the Pacific Coast, for James Lick of the Lick House, of San Francisco, was built of this mountain laurel. It is a wood as hard as mahogany, takes an equally high polish, but finishes somewhat darker.
Max Pracht, "Madrona and Manzanita," The New Mexican, Santa Fe, April 27, 1899, page 3



    Edison's latest flashlight machine, showing moving pictures, will appear at the U.S. Hall Wednesday evening. This is one of the latest and best machines of the kind, and combined with a $500 talking machine, the largest on the Pacific Coast. Prices of admission, 25 and 15 cents.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 15, 1899, page 3   This may have been the first motion picture showing in Southern Oregon.


    The husband of the late Jackson County pioneer, Mrs. J. M. McCully, built the second brick building that was put up in Jacksonville; the Brunner brick, across from the Odd Fellows brick, being the first.
Ashland Tidings, June 26, 1899, page 3


    Mr. Myer enjoys the distinction of having brought the first gang plow to Southern Oregon, as well as the first one of the hay carriers, now so common in farm barns.
"W. C. Myer," Oregonian, Portland, September 8, 1899, page 6



    [The circus parade] was a fine presentation of many things beautiful. There were four bands and a calliope. The Vermont farmer driving his trained pigs and he riding in the little cart was one of the funny features of the parade, while the automobile, or horseless carriage, was one of the most interesting.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, September 15, 1899, page 7    This was apparently the first automobile to visit the Rogue Valley. It escaped the notice of the other valley newspapers.


    In the summer of 1852 a partial survey of the town was made by H. Klippel & some of the streets named. The town was named Jacksonville by vote--the admirers of General Jackson outnumbering those who wanted to call it Annville in honor of Mrs. Lawless--the first white woman & landlady of the first boarding house in the place.

    The first sermon was preached by a Methodist minister named Jos. Smith in the famous "round tent," a gambling house & saloon. The first newspaper published in Southern Oregon was by Col. W. G. T'Vault in November 1855. The Sterling mine was discovered by Jim Sterling on election day June 1853. And the place took his name, though there never was any regularly laid-out town. The mines are still worked with hydraulic, and yield 100,000 dollars a year--approximated.
    Ashland: The first house [was] built by Hargadine & Pease on their land claim on the 6th of January. The 2nd building was the sawmill built by Eber Emery, [J. B.] Emery, J. A. Cardwell and Dowd Hurley, completed June 16th 1852, cost 8000 dollars, named Ashland Sawmill, in honor of A. D. Helman's former home (Ashland, Ohio), whose dwelling house was the 3rd building. The Ashland flouring mill, built by A. D. Helman, Morris & Co. was completed in October 1854 & dedicated by a grand ball, was the first mill. But the Eagle Mill, built by Thomas Brothers, was finished before the year closed. J. W. Collins claims to have raised the first grain in the valley, on the "Gordon place" about five miles from Jacksonville, which he located on in February 1852.
    The first wedding in the county was on Nov. 15th 1852, N. C. Dean to Miss
Ann Huston, just arrived across the plains.
    Josephine Co. was organized from a portion of Jackson Co. by act of the Legislature which took effect in Jan. 1856. The first court was held at Waldo in the fall of 1856, Judge M. P. Deady presiding. The county was named for Miss Josephine Rollins, who is believed to be the first white woman, her father being a miner on Josephine Creek in 1851. Mining was done in Josephine Co. a year earlier than in Jackson.
    The first houses built in Jackson Co. were at the three ferries on Rogue River, Long's, Evans' and Perkins' & were fortified to resist Indian attacks, early in the summer of 1851.
    An Indian war raged for about two months that summer. A treaty was made in August, and Judge A. A. Skinner sent out here as Indian agent. Immediately on his arrival--in September perhaps--he located a donation land claim, which location was followed almost simultaneously by T'Vault, Ambrose, Dean, Hopwood, Colver, Tom Smith, P. Dunn, Barron, Russell &c.
    By Christmas more than 20 men had settled on their farms. But no women
were here to winter.
    In the early springtime of 1852 the families began to come. First Mrs. Lawless then T'Vault family, Ambrose, Dairy, Hopwood, Griffin, Rice, Angel, Evans, McCully & families were all here by July 1852 to settle on the farms located the previous fall.

Mrs. R. M. McDonough and Elizabeth T'Vault Kenney, letter of November 26, 1899.  Much of this is cribbed, with additions, from Walling's history of Southern Oregon.



    The first gold dredger in Southern Oregon is being operated by the English-Canadian Co., at Faun's mine, on the Illinois River, near Waldo.
"Oregon," Mining and Scientific Press, San Francisco, December 2, 1899, page 639


    The first sawmill was located on Ashland Creek. It was built by E. Emery & Helman. The first flouring mill was also located on Ashland Creek and is still in operation. Joseph Smith was the first preacher in Jacksonville.
David Linn, letter of December 25, 1899


FIRST DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN SOUTHERN OREGON.
    It has been published and republished, iterated and reiterated some thousands of times that James Clugage and James Poole in passing through the valley, from the Willamette to California, in the fall of 1851, camped on Rich Gulch, within the present corporate limits of Jacksonville, and that while in camp Mr. Poole did some prospecting with a pan and made the discovery. Nobody disputes the prospecting by Mr. Poole, or the finding of gold, but was this the first discovery in Southern Oregon? The purpose of this paper is to show that it was not.
    Mr. David Linn, who has lived in Jacksonville since early in the spring of '52, and whose word is as good as his bond, says he left Oregon City in the fall of '51 in company with Wesley McGanigal, a man with whom he had just crossed the plains. They walked from Oregon City to Salem, and bought their outfit and two ponies. They packed the ponies and started on foot for California. Arriving at Canyonville they found the town to consist of one log cabin, and no modern adjunct in the shape of a real estate agent to boom the prospects of the place and offer corner lots at bankrupt prices. The two men stopped here for a short time for reinforcements, as it was considered dangerous for so small a party to travel through the Rogue River country. The next day after their arrival a party of three men came along going to California, and together the five pursued their journey south, leaving Canyonville on the morning of Oct. 28, 1851. Mr. Linn remembers the date distinctly on account of it being his birthday. The party went through the canyon in a day, and camped at Hardy Eliff's. Judge Skinner and party were there on their way to Rogue River, where Mr. Skinner was to take up his residence as Indian agent. The five men continued their journey on the 29th, leaving the Skinner party, who had ox teams which would travel too slow for the packers.
    On the first or second day of November the party arrived at Perkins' ferry on Rogue River. There were three or four men at the ferry, and they had built a stockade to protect themselves against the Indians. They advised the party not to cross the river until reinforced, as the Indians were hostile and had killed a number of persons up in the valley a few days before. The party, however, crossed the driver, and went about two miles and camped for the night in a secluded bend of the river. The next morning, after starting out, they met a man on horseback, whom McGanigal recognized as an old schoolmate by the name of Bills. After greeting each other, Bills requested us to camp about a half mile south of the rocky point, a noted place for Indians to attack travelers, and that he would return in the evening, as he was only going to Perkins' ferry for some boards to cover his cabin. About sundown Bills returned and McGanigal went with him up the river to Big Bar, and there found young Bills' father. They were engaged in mining, and had apparently been there for some time. When Mc. returned to camp he was greatly excited. He said there were thousands of Indians up there, but that young Bills and his father told him the Indians would not disturb the party, and that they could pursue their journey to safety. In passing up through the valley, the only evidence of civilization met with was a log enclosure four or five logs high at the back and one log in front, the sides tapering from the back to the front and forming a sort of scoop-shaped camp, without covering. There were some blankets and other things in the camp, indicating that someone was stopping there, but the party saw no one. This was at the Willow Springs. When the party arrived near where the flouring mill ditch crosses the county road above Phoenix, they came across three packers who had been killed by the Indians and thrown together, and the flour sacks cut open and the flour poured over them. As assured by the two Bills, the five reached Yreka without being molested.
    Your correspondent expects this statement to call out a strong protest, if not a vigorous attack, because, when an idea concerning any important matter or event becomes crystallized in the public mind, it becomes a sort of cherished memory, and if the idol is shattered or its foundation shaken, somebody is sure to kick.

"Jacksonville Items," Ashland Tidings, January 15, 1900, page 2


    And now comes Hon. Lee Laughlin of Yamhill County and more fully disproves the statement that Mr. Poole made the first discovery of gold in Southern Oregon in the fall of 1851, and that the discovery was made where the town of Jacksonville now stands. It is interesting to note the fact that the discovery of Poole as the first has been accepted as a fact and remained unchallenged for nearly 50 years, and that the Tidings was the first to call it in question and show an earlier discovery, which, in turn, brought out the statement of Mr. Laughlin. The account of Mr. Linn will also have to surrender its claim to priority, as Mr. Laughlin reports the discovery of gold on or near Myrtle Creek, Douglas County, and at Big Bar on Rogue River, by a party of which he was a member in September, 1849. The party was en route to California, from the Willamette Valley. As many small parties, and members of the Hudson Bay trappers, had passed through the country before the Laughlin party, it is possible that this may not be the first discovery. The true facts in a matter of this kind, though they may not be regarded at this date as of any special consequence, can only be reached by giving the subject the widest publicity. There may be persons yet living who can show that gold was discovered here before the date named by Mr. Laughlin. If there are such, as Oregon is now making history, it would be interesting to hear from them. Notwithstanding the later discoveries, it will be conceded that the Poole discovery spread the news, and created the rush that took place here early in the spring of '52. The excitement commenced at Yreka, where Poole and Clugage first told the news, and soon spread all over the state of California, and in the fall of 1852 this country swarmed with miners.

"Jacksonville Items," Ashland Tidings, January 25, 1900, page 2


    The Olwell Bros. have recently ordered a large gasoline power sprayer, for spraying fruit trees. This will be the first sprayer of the kind ever brought to the Pacific Coast.
Medford Enquirer, March 16, 1900, page 5


Mrs. Anna Dean, Oregon Pioneer of 1852.
    JACKSONVILLE, Or., Oct. 25.--Mrs. Anna Dean, a pioneer of 1852, died at her home at Willow Springs last night, aged 74 years. She was the wife of the late N. C. Dean, who took up the first donation claim in Rogue River Valley, and who was one of the commissioners appointed by the Legislature to organize Jackson County. Mrs. Dean was the first white woman married in the Rogue River Valley, and had lived continuously on the donation claim since February, 1852.
Morning Oregonian, October 26, 1900, page 10



    Mrs. Anna Dean, who died at the family residence at Willow Springs, Wednesday night, October 24th, was the first white woman married in Rogue River Valley.
Medford Mail, November 2, 1900


    The new bell for the Presbyterian Church, which arrived a few days ago, was put in the belfry Monday. Well may the people feel proud of this, the first church bell in Phoenix.
"Phoenix Items," Medford Mail, March 22, 1901, page 3



    Last Sunday morning the little 5-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, who live some two miles above the fish hatchery on Rogue River, while playing along the river bank fell in and was drowned before help could reach her [omission] body all that day and night, but it remained for Supt. Berrian of the hatchery and Geo. Weeks to find her. The body was found in a drift near Trail post office, some six miles below where she fell in the river, Monday, about 11 o'clock a.m. As near as can be learned this is the first body ever recovered from the waters of upper Rogue River. The parents were but recent arrivals in that part of the country and are prostrated over their great loss.
"Drowned in Rogue River," Medford Enquirer, May 11, 1901, page 1


    W. F. Williamson, formerly of Medford, and the first school teacher . . . in this man's town, came up from his home in Norwalk, Calif., last week for a few days' visit with relatives and friends, returning Tuesday morning.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, May 17, 1901, page 6


    Fleming Bros. gave a very pleasing and satisfactory entertainment with their Edison Waragraph Tuesday evening, at the U.S. hall.

"Jacksonville News," Medford Mail, May 24, 1901, page 3


    R. T. Lawton, the gentleman who opened the first real estate office in Medford--14 years ago--has decided to again engage in the same line of business, including insurance.

"Additional Local," Medford Mail, June 14, 1901, page 6


    Patrick Dunn, an aged and highly respected pioneer of Jackson County, died at Ashland Monday. Deceased was several times elected to office and was the first Republican official ever elected in the county.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, August 2, 1901, page 7


    Dan Cawley, the pioneer stage driver, died at Yreka, Calif. Oct. 15th, of neuralgia of the heart. He drove the first and last stage over Scott Mountain, which was on the route from Portland to Sacramento in early days.

"Jacksonville News," Medford Mail, November 1, 1901, page 3


    Henry Judge, one of the pioneer business men of Jackson County, has disposed of his harness shop and real estate in Ashland and will remove with his family to San Francisco. Mr. Judge opened the first harness shop in Jackson County, at Jacksonville in 1859.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, December 20, 1901, page 7


    W. F. Hunter, the civil engineer and draftsman who is in Medford at work upon maps for Dr. Ray's Gold Hill mining company, is turning out some very fine work .The gentleman was detailed last fall to make a correct map of Rogue River from its source to its mouth. He started out upon his trip in a small boat with one assistant, and in thirty-two days he had made the entire trip. While en route his assistant quit, and he was compelled to pick up another man for the remainder of the trip, which change of help gives Mr. Hunter the distinction of having been the first man who ever traversed the entire length of the stream.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, February 7, 1902, page 7


    George Ross, brother of the late Col. John E. Ross, a Jackson County pioneer of '52, died at the home of his daughter in Washington on the 26th of February . . . He was the first white man to look upon the sunken waters of Crater Lake.
He was out with a party of twelve searching for a young woman who escaped the massacre at Bloody Point, Klamath County, where a train of immigrants was killed by Modocs in 1852, but who, it was afterwards learned, had been killed a short time after the capture.
"Death of a Southern Oregon Pioneer," Medford Mail, March 14, 1902, page 2


    H. G. Fairclo, of Ashland, has made arrangements to move his family to Medford in August and place his three children in the Academy. Mr. Fairclo taught the first private school in Medford, fifteen years ago, in the brick building which has since been remodeled for the Jackson County Bank.
"Academy Notes," Medford Mail, March 28, 1902, page 3



    [In 1855] Col. T'Vault was postmaster at Dardanelles and Mrs. [Elizabeth] Kenney was deputy. She is therefore no doubt the first woman postmaster in Oregon, and as her father was absent most of the time at Jacksonville on business, she had the whole responsibility of the business.

W. J. Plymale, "Scraps of Early History," Medford Mail, May 17, 1902, page 2



    Mr [Alfred] Gordon was one of the first settlers of Southern Oregon, and it was he that built the first frame house in Jackson County, having shipped the material around Cape Horn.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, May 17, 1902, page 6


    The Rebekahs held another interesting session Tuesday evening A number of guests were invited to attend the social part of the evening. The latest craze game of Ping Pong was introduced in Medford for the first tine and promises to have many followers.
"Medford," Valley Record, Ashland, June 19, 1902, page 3



    The first calf born to a tame elk in Southern Oregon can be seen in the park of J. W. Prall, two miles north of Medford, says the Mail.
"Mr. Prall's 'Zoo' Garden," Rogue River Courier, July 10, 1902, page 2


    A special from Phoenix Tuesday evening says Richard Payne was instantly killed by a bolt of lightning. This is the first death by this means that is on record in this valley.
"Pioneer Killed by Lightning,"
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 14, 1902, page 1


    The first mining in Oregon was at Big Bar, near Rock Point, on Rogue River, in Jackson County, in 1850. This was in the middle of May, and the first placer mining in Southern Oregon. The diggings did not prove good, and the prospectors went down Rogue River until they came to a small stream since called Applegate Creek. Not finding gold in paying quantities on this creek, they followed the creek to its head, crossed the Siskiyou Range into California, and came down to what at that time was called the Big Bar, on Klamath River. At this point they worked for two weeks. Not being satisfied here with the diggings, which paid one-half of an ounce per day, the party went down Klamath River until it came to a small stream which was named Indian Creek, many Indians camping there. We prospected this creek to its head; but not finding sufficient gold to pay, we crossed the Siskiyou Mountains again into Oregon, and what is known now as Josephine County. We discovered a river which we followed down until it went into a canyon. We named this river Illinois, it running through Illinois Valley.
Luther Hasbrouck, "Discovery of Gold in Southern Oregon," Sunday Oregonian, Portland, August 24, 1902, page 21    Hasbrouck was a member of the party that mined on Big Bar in 1850, discovering Sailor Diggings the next year.


    Probably the first automobile seen in Southern Oregon passed through the valley one day last week. In it were Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Carmack of Seattle, who are making the trip to San Francisco. They attracted much attention.

"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 25, 1902, page 1  An auto visited with a circus in 1899, above.


    Rev. T. F. Royal . . . established the first school here--a subscription school--also, six Sunday schools in different parts of the valley; the Clinton Butte Sunday school, on the Clinton donation land claim now owned by the Hanleys being the first established in this section by a Baptist missionary.

"Early Church Days," Medford Mail, October 10, 1902, page 3


    Last week these columns said G. H. Howland had left for a visit to Minnesota. The gentleman didn't go--got "cold feet," as it were, thinking of the below-zero weather in the aforesaid-mentioned eastern state and decided to call the trip off, for a time at least. As a matter of fact, Mr. Howland's trip was postponed because of the illness of the parties in the East with whom he expected to do business. The mistake the Mail made was due wholly to the fact that Mr. Howland did not make different arrangements until after the paper was on the press. It was the first mistake the Mail ever made.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, October 10, 1902, page 7


    The first carload of lumber from the Iowa Lumber Co.'s mill arrived in Medford via the Rogue River Valley Railway on Tuesday. It appeared first-class in quality, was of mixed sizes, principally heavy pieces, and consigned to Gold Hill.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, October 31, 1902, page 7


    D. H. Miller, one of our hardware merchants, has the distinction of being the occupant of one building for the greatest length of time. He has sold hardware over the counters in the Hamlin block since 1886. It was Mr. Miller who occupied the first business house that was built in the city. The date was way back in '83, and the building is now standing on the corner of Eighth and D streets and is occupied by the Palm-Whitman cigar factory.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, October 31, 1902, page 7



    On the Beeson place is a rose tree, or bush, which is still alive, and which blooms in season, that was the first rose bush brought to the valley, it have been brought here in '54 by a son of Jason Lee, the noted early-day missionary.
"Additional Local," Medford Mail, November 21, 1902, page 6


    Therefore, we hope that the company which has hold of the Bowden property now will be successful in their undertaking, and near the place where the fabulously rich Gold Hill pocket was taken out, the first quartz mining ever done in Jackson County will open a new era of mining in this section and demonstrate the fact that the gold is in the mountains of Southern Oregon, if you but go deep enough to find it.
"A Big Mining Deal," Medford Mail, November 28, 1902, page 2



    Ed. Riddle, of Ashland, was in Medford a few days since, on a visit to his brother-in-law, D. W. Crosby. Mr. Riddle is probably the pioneer printer of Medford, having officiated as "devil" on the Southern Oregon Transcript, the first paper published in this burg. [Medford's first newspaper was the Medford Monitor.]
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, November 28, 1902, page 6


    Hon. J. H. Stewart during the past week received a fine automobile, and with E. D. Elwood enjoys the honor of being the Southern Oregon pioneer in that line.

"Brief Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 13, 1903, page 2


    Mr. [William Cortez Myer] also earned the distinction of being the first to introduce gang plows, improved headers and other labor-saving farm machinery in the Rogue River Valley.
"Death of a Well-Known Pioneer," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 27, 1903, page 1


    Led by Superintendent Arant, Eva, Minnie, Harding and Eddie walk down a narrow and dangerous trail to the level of [Crater Lake]. Harding and Eddie go in for a swim. According to Mr. Arant they are the first white men who have ever ventured to do this.
"Councilman B. C. Cuvellier Tells of Trip,"
Oakland Tribune, August 10, 1903, page 12


    A leading feature of the Crater Lake outing under W. G. Steel was the successful climb of Mount Scott, a little-known mountain near the border of the lake, which towers up to somewhere near the height of Mount St. Helens, 9122 feet. Under the leadership of Messrs. Fred and Oscar Kiser, who are perhaps the most daring and successful cliff climbers in the Northwest, a little party of five made the ascent, this party including the first women, it is believed, to make the summit of the peak. . . .
    The view of Crater Lake from the summit of Mount Scott outrivals any that has hitherto been known. The camera was therefore leveled at it in good earnest. The view commanded the entire lake, with the morning light still upon it, the marvelous reflections which are so distinguishing a feature of the lake and which can be seen only at certain hours being plainly visible. Panoramic views commonly seen of Crater Lake are made from a series of plates, and are not, therefore, correct in perspective, whereas a photograph taken from Mount Scott being upon a single plate is absolutely true to nature. As this is the first photograph ever taken from the summit of Mount Scott, everyone who is interested in Crater Lake is on the qui vive to see the finished picture.
"New View of Crater Lake," Medford Mail, August 28, 1903, page 1


    Crowds of people are stopping in front of the show windows of J. K. Gill of Portland to see the beautiful display of Crater Lake views that were obtained by the Kiser brothers on their trip with the Steel party. Many of the pictures have been enlarged and show the country around the natural wonder in a most magnificent manner. One of the pictures shows the entire lake, and it is the only one that has ever been taken on one plate. This was taken from the top of Mount Scott.
"Crater Lake Pictures," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 9, 1903, page 4


    To Mr. and Mrs. Emerson E. Gore is due the honor of being the parents of the first white baby boy born within the limits of the present town of Jacksonville, so far as records now to be had show, their son Walter Gore, now residing near Phoenix, having been born December 3, 1852, while they were residing in the little shake house in the north part of town.
Jacksonville Sentinel, October 16, 1903, page 1  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The enterprise of [Alfred Weeks] seems to have been handed down to his sons, for one of them came to Oregon at an early day and started the first fruit ranch of any size in the Rogue River Valley.
"Alfred Weeks,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 727-728


    [Samuel Grubb] assisted in laying out all of the roads of this part of the state, and helped to organize the first schoolhouse in this vicinity
"Daniel Walker,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 728-729


    In 1867 a location was made in the Willamette Valley, Ore., where [Job R. Tozer] wintered and the following year, located permanently in Ashland, where he followed contracting and building up to a recent date, being now practically retired. After erecting a number of residences, he started a planing mill, which was among the first in that section.
"Job R. Tozer,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 302-305


    The Ashland Tidings was established as a weekly paper in June, 1876. being founded by James Sutton, a prominent journalist of Southern Oregon, and was the first newspaper published in Ashland.
"Fred D. Wagner,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 558-561


    A week ago tonight I had the pleasure of attending a "sheet and pillow case" party, at the residence of Mr. B. F. Dowell, in Jacksonville. This was the first party of the kind ever given in Jackson County, and to say that it proved a perfect success is not necessary.
"Sheet and Pillow Case Party," Ashland Tidings, November 16, 1876, page 3


    In 1882 [Henry Thornton] was elected to represent Josephine County in the state legislature, being the first Republican elected in the county. . . .
"Henry Thornton,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 550-551


    To [Orson Avery Stearns] belongs the credit of raising the first peach ever raised in Jackson County, where fruit is now both plentiful and of such luscious quality as to gain widespread fame. . . . He was the first delegate to a political convention from this section of the state, being a representative of the Republican soldier vote at Fort Klamath March 16, 1866, held at Jacksonville, Ore.
'Orson Avery Stearns," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 932-933


    [James H. Russell] had the honor of erecting the first monuments in Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Klamath and Lake counties, Ore., and in Siskiyou County, Cal.
"James H. Russell,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 947-948


    In the winter of 1853 [Samuel M. Robison] set out his peach seeds and in time had the first peach orchard in Oregon, and his vegetable garden furnished products to many of his neighbors to whom such things were positive luxuries.
"Samuel M. Robison,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 882-883


    [Emil Peil's] first work in this state was in Medford, where he established a blacksmith shop, which was also the first building to be erected in that place.
"Emil Peil,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, page 224


    Ever ready to lessen the labors connected with farming, and to add to the profits of his work, he took advantage of the most approved modern machinery and appliances, keeping abreast of the times in regard to inventions, and has the distinction of having introduced the first derrick wagon for elevating headed grain from the stack to the thresher, and subsequently of being the first to bring a combined harvester and thresher into Southern Oregon. This harvester was run by twenty-two horses, and was of great assistance to the men in the harvest field.
"Sylvester Patterson,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 959-960


    Finding upon experimenting that fruit could be successfully grown in this locality, [Warren H. Norcross] planted his place in an apple orchard and established here the first nursery in the vicinity of Central Point.
"Warren H. Norcross,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 951-952


    The first regular court was held September 5, 1853 by Hon. Matthew P. Deady, who held the office of district judge. . . .
    James Cluggage McCully was the first white child born in Jacksonville on August 27, 1853, son of Dr. and Mrs. McCully. Every miner and trader in the town considered himself a godfather to the newcomer and made it their business to spoil the little codger and teach him lessons that it took years of Sunday school training to eradicate. . . .
    The first school was conducted by Miss Royal in the fall of 1853.
Jessie Beulah Wilson (Jacksonville High School student), "History of Jacksonville," Jacksonville Sentinel, June 5, 1903, page 4  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    [Claiborne Neil] set out a large orchard of all kinds of fruit, and put in the first irrigating ditch in this section, bringing the water from Neil Creek through the center of his land in such a way that the whole farm can be well irrigated.
"Claiborne Neil,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 671-672


    A close student of all things pertaining to his special line of industry, progressive and enterprising, [William Cortez Myer] did more than any other one man to improve the blooded stock of the county, being the first to import thoroughbred Percheron horses and Jersey cattle. . . . Establishing a successful stock business, he soon found it necessary to add to his stock on hand, and again went east, returning in 1872 with Napoleon, a superb Percheron stallion, four Jerseys, the first brought to Oregon, and some Cotswold sheep for J. P. Walker, the first brought into Jackson County, and a few Durham cattle for E. F. Walker. . . . As an agriculturist he employed all modern methods, being the first in the valley to use a gang plow, an improved Haines header, and the screw pulverizer. In his efforts to have a pottery established in Ashland he was the first to attempt to make use of the kaolin beds of this locality.
"William Myer," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 676-677


    In 1854 [Michael] Mickelson came across the plains to Oregon and settled in Jacksonville, Jackson County, and a year later came to Ashland and established the first blacksmith shop of the place, becoming well and favorably known throughout the valley in his capacity of blacksmith as well as silversmith.
"Michael Mickelson,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 588-591


    Mr. [Isaac] Constant added to his many accomplishments that of mountaineer and scout, and in this capacity he took the first white party to Crater Lake, in Klamath County, now a national park.
"William Constant Leever,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 764-765


    [T. J. Kenney] established the first business house in Jacksonville, opening a store of general merchandise, which he conducted until his death, February 18, 1860. . . . Locating in Oregon City, W. G. T'Vault practiced his profession there for seven years, and under the name of The Oregon Spectator edited and published the first newspaper published on the Pacific Coast. He was active in public affairs, served as the first postmaster general of the Territory of Oregon, and represented Clackamas County in the constitutional convention. . . . Taking up his residence in Jacksonville in 1855, he started the first newspaper published south of the Calapooia Mountains, calling it the Table Rock Sentinel. . . . W. G. T'Vault was prominent in all public affairs, was acquainted with Dr. McLoughlin and Dr. Whitman, and in his house the first proclamation of the governor of the territory was written.
"Thomas Joseph Kenney," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 906-907


    [J. S. Howard] was one of the first residents of Medford, and long before its present prosperity had been thought of he brought the first load of lumber to the townsite and built one of the first structures. He was ably assisted in the work of upbuilding the embryo hamlet by his sons, who ran a general store, while their father served as the president of the first board of the town, and took an active interest in establishing municipal order. He was the first postmaster, serving seven years, and for ten years he had charge of the Wells, Fargo express office.
"James Sullivan Howard," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 609-610


    Soon after locating here, [Abel D. Helman] succeeded in having a post office located in Ashland, in 1855, and was appointed its first postmaster, giving a bond as security.
"Abel D. Helman,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 791-792


     [Emerson E. Gore's] oldest son was born at Jacksonville, Ore., December 3, 1852, was christened Walter S., and was the first white male child born in that vicinity.
"William H. Gore,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, page 747  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    [Isaac Hill] was the first man in the Rogue River Valley to raise tobacco.
"Mrs. Mary Minerva (Hill) Dunn,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 663-665


    In 1850 Mr. [Nathaniel Cobb] Dean came to California by way of the Isthmus, and for two years followed mining. In 1852 he came to Jackson County, where he took up a donation claim of one hundred and sixty acres three miles west of Central Point. In October of the same year he married Anna Huston, a native of New Jersey, and who crossed the plains in 1852. Mrs. Dean took up a claim adjoining that of her husband, and therefore, this first white couple to marry in the Rogue River Valley had three hundred and twenty acres between them, a by no means discouraging outlook for young people starting out in life. . . . Extremely public spirited, he watched with increasing interest the development of the Democratic Party in the county, and took a foremost lead in local offices, becoming a member of the first board of commissioners appointed by the Territorial Legislature to organize Jackson County.
"Ralph F. Dean," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 533-534


    [A. A. Davis] came to Oregon in 1888, and at Medford started the first roller mill in this part of the state or south of Albany, with a capacity of sixty-five barrels a day.
"A. A. Davis,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 669-670


    Mr. Chapman helped to build the first wagon road over the Siskiyou Mountains. . . .
"Henry H. Chapman,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 691-692


    To Peter Britt belongs the distinction of taking the first photograph in the state of Oregon, the much-valued print still being a prized possession of this master portrait painter and photographer. The date of this undertaking was February 26, 1858, and the subject was Judge Moser.
"Peter Britt,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 966-967


    [Robert V. and Thomas F. Beall] brought the first threshing machine into Jackson County, and also introduced to the farming population the first McCormick mower.
"Robert V. Beall,"
Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 876-878


    [Jesse Applegate] was the pioneer civil engineer of the state, being the very first surveyor to locate here, and surveyed the road from Wallace to Fort Hall, which is now known as the Applegate Cutoff. He was very prominent in the early settlement of the state, and was a member of the first constitutional convention of Oregon.
"Daniel A. Applegate," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, page 540


    Mr. Anderson and his brother bought an interest in the flouring mill at Ashland. This proved a losing venture, for they were at a great expense refitting the mill. They paid $5 a bushel for wheat to convert into flour, which was sold for fifteen cents a pound. It is worthy of mention that this was the first flouring mill erected in the Rogue River Valley.
"Eli K. Anderson," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904, pages 707-709


    To [David Ebenezer Stearns] belongs the credit of raising the first peach ever raised in Jackson County, where fruit is now both plentiful and of such luscious quality as to gain widespread fame.
    [Orson Avery Stearns] was the first delegate to a political convention from this section of the state, being a representative of the Republican soldier vote at Fort Klamath March 16, 1866, held at Jacksonville, Ore.
"Orson Avery Stearns," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co. 1904, page 933


    The association of David Henry Miller with Medford began November 28, 1883, at which time there were few indications upon which to base the town's present industrial and commercial supremacy, and he claims the distinction of being the first white man to take up his residence within the town. . . .
"David Henry Miller," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co. 1904, page 591


    Settling on land in Adams County, [Joseph H. Stewart] started a nursery and farming business, and the first fruit trees brought to Oregon in an ox-train came from this farm. 
"Joseph Howard Stewart," Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co. 1904, page 489


    In 1853 Mr. [Joseph E. Gaunyaw] volunteered under Capt. Goodall and served during the Indian wars. He was the first white man on Rogue River below Galice Creek.
"Who Is the Oldest Settler," Medford Mail, April 29, 1904, page 1


    Last Friday Mrs. Elizabeth Hopwood Ross, widow of the late General John E. Ross, died at her home in Jacksonville, after a prolonged illness. . . . Their first child, Mrs. Mary Louise Ross Stanley, born October 8, 1854 [sic], is, so far as [is] known, the first white female born in Jacksonville.
"Death of Mrs. Elizabeth H. Ross," Sunday Oregonian, Portland, September 11, 1904, page 12
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    When Medford was founded [Orson Gilbert] moved hither, and he and Mrs. Gilbert conducted the first restaurant established in this city.

"Death of Orson Gilbert," Medford Mail, February 3, 1905, page 1


    The Mail is not given greatly to throwing bouquets at itself, but feels justified in calling the attention of its readers this week to a few of the improvements that have been made in the way of machinery for the plant during the past year. Four years ago a gasoline engine was installed in this office, which, by the way, was the first gasoline engine installed in Medford, and one of the first in the vicinity of the town. No other newspaper in Southern Oregon at that time used such power. Last May we placed a Simplex typesetting machine in the office, and The Mail was the first newspaper the type of which was set by machinery published in Jackson County. Then a few weeks afterward we installed a folder, the first machine of the kind south of Eugene. This week we have installed an electric motor to take the place of the gasoline engine, and again The Mail leads the procession, this being the first motor installed in the city, and this office being the first institution to use the electricity from the Ray dam for power purposes. From the above it will be seen that The Mail has been keeping abreast of the times, and is endeavoring to give its readers the best possible service. Our efforts in this line we believe are appreciated, and with this assurance encouragement is given for other and further improvements. About that motor we want to say that it works like a charm. There is no pumping up of gasoline, no fooling with exhausted batteries, no turning a wheel until black in the face, no noise of exploding vapor to alarm the neighbors. We simply push the button and Dr. Ray does the rest. It is the steadiest, most satisfactory power we have ever used and fills the bill exactly.
Medford Mail, February 17, 1905, page 4


    [Alfred Hall] was the eldest son of Dr. Langley Hall, prominent in the early Indian Rogue River wars, and was a favorite with the Indians. With his father he operated the first freight trains from Southern Oregon to the Florence country.
"Alfred Hall," Morning Oregonian, Portland, February 22, 1905, page 6


    James Porter was visiting his old home and friends in Ashland last week. Jim "fired" on the first passenger train that came into Ashland and was afterward promoted to be an engineer and had a good record until a number of years ago he got his iron horse into a wreck at Grants Pass and was himself seriously injured, hard luck all around. Since that time he has had a good deal more of hard luck, but his friends hope that he is about at the end of it and there is a better turn in the wheel of fortune in store for him.
"Personal Mention," Ashland Tidings, May 1, 1905, page 3


    The Medford Furniture Co. removed their undertaking parlors this week to the new quarters in the Boyden brick, recently finished, just back of the store. . . . The goods will be transported from the lower to the upper story by means a large freight elevator, the first apparatus of the kind ever used in this city.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, September 1, 1905, page 5


    The plant of the Condor Water & Power Co. is situated on Rogue River, some ten miles north of Medford, beneath the shadow of Table Rock. Here for the first time in its history the waters of the Rogue have been successfully controlled. A mighty dam is built across the stream, so solid it will stand for all time. Here are the mighty wheels and dynamos which generate the electric current which furnishes light and power to the whole valley. Medford was the first city to enter into contract with this company. Since then substations have been established at Central Point, Talent and Jacksonville, and Ashland in the extreme southern end of the valley, over twenty miles from the source of supply, is lighted by electricity from this plant.
    Besides, lines have been run into Josephine County to the Granite Hill and Greenback mines, and the motive power which moves the machinery of these mines comes from the Condor Water & Power Co.'s plant. The Opp Mine, near Jacksonville, was the first to adopt electric power, to be closely followed by the Oregon Belle.
"Transmission of Electric Power," Medford Mail, March 9, 1906, page C1


    General Haymond, a pioneer of the Rogue River Valley, died at his home at Rock Point, in the northern portion of the valley. . . . In pioneer days he constructed the first bridge built across the Rogue River. . . .
"Rogue Valley Pioneer Dies at Rock Point," Oregon Journal, Portland, March 30, 1906, page 14


   
J. S. Howard:--"I traded with Maury & Davis when I first came to Jacksonville, and that firm erected the first brick in Southern Oregon, where the Jacksonville town hall now stands."
"Street Echoes," Medford Mail, April 6, 1906, page 1



    The Medford Cement & Construction Co. commenced operations last week, manufacturing reinforced cement blocks. . . . This is the first introduction of the reinforced concrete block for building purposes in Southern Oregon. . . .
"Cement Plant in Operation," Medford Mail, May 11, 1906, page 1


    The first nugget that betrayed the presence of the royal metal was uncovered on Josephine Creek, southern Oregon, May 2, 1851. . . . The first [hydraulic] giant thundered its shaft of white on Jack Layton's mine, Applegate river, 1862.
Dennis H. Stovall, "Mining in Southern Oregon," Sunset Magazine, August 1906, page 139


    "This year's crop packed out from 35 to 40 pears to the half box, of 70 to 80 to the full box of 50 pounds. Last year's carload was the first half-box packing ever shipped out of the state."
J. W. Perkins, "What an Oregon Grower Has Done with Comice," Pacific Rural Press, December 1, 1906, page 340


    MEDFORD, Or., June 6.--(Special.)--Dr. Ray, manager of the Condor Power Co., who recently purchased the Medford lighting plant, tendered a banquet to the Commercial Club last evening, and today began the installation of a modern arc system of street lighting. For the first time in history, Medford is using arc lights for street lighting.
Morning Oregonian, Portland, June 7, 1907, page 8


    Mr. and Mrs. C. P. True of Medford left their home Monday morning by auto and made Grants Pass by 8 o'clock on their way to Crescent City for an outing. Mr. True had just returned Saturday from a Crater Lake trip with W. M. Hodson, and it is claimed that their two machines are the first to make the round trip to Crater Lake, the gentlemen driving their machines to the rim of the crater. They went out by way of Green Springs Mountain, Klamath Falls and Fort Klamath, returning by the Rogue River route.
"Items of Personal Interest," Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, August 23, 1907, page 5


    The Tribune today prints the first eight-page daily newspaper ever printed in Southern Oregon. It would like to print an eight-page paper every day and hopes to, eventually.
    The eight-page paper is too much for the present plant. There is not type enough .We desire to enlarge the plant so that we can do it.
"The First Eight-Page Daily," Medford Daily Tribune, November 25, 1907, page 2


    Ray Crystal, of Pendleton, Oregon, [first boy born in Medford,] is in Medford for a few days' visit with relatives and old-time friends. Mrs. Crystal has been here for a few weeks' visit to her parents, Mrs. and Mrs. J. F. Kiernan, and for several days has been quite ill, which illness is the reason for her husband's visit at the present time. Mr. Crystal has a splendid position with one of the largest mercantile firms of Pendleton, gets a good salary and likes the town.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, January 3, 1908, page 5


    Sid Montgomery of Grants Pass visited this section on the 13th inst., in company with a friend on a prospecting tour. Forty-nine years ago Mr. Montgomery herded cattle through here. He built the first cabin that was ever put up on Trail Creek. It was built near the place that was afterwards owned by H. L. Hill, where our free bridge is over Rogue River.
"Upper Rogue River Items," Medford Daily Tribune, August 19, 1908, page 3


    The only accidents which occurred in Medford yesterday were the colliding of J. M. Root's and D. T. Lawton's autos, with the result that the lamps of both machines were demolished. J. Bradbury ran his auto into a fence and thereby put his machine out of commission until it can be repaired.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail, October 2, 1908, page 6


    The incentive of the extremely high prices realized for the output, which prices appreciate from year to year, in spite of the rapidly enlarging orchard area, has brought about the employment of the most modern methods of handling orchards in this valley, where the gasoline spray engine was first used in the history of horticulture.
"Rogue River Apples," Medford, Oregon: Rogue River Valley, booster booklet published by the Medford Commercial Club, 1909.



    Mr. Howard, in addition to being the first postmaster, the first merchant and the first civil engineer in Medford, was the first express agent, he opening an office for Wells-Fargo Company at the time the trains began to run to the town. [It was A. L. Johnson who opened the Wells Fargo agency in March 1884; Howard succeeded him in May.] He was also the first notary public and made out papers and was legal advisor for the little community.
Rogue River Fruit Grower, January 1909


    The consumption of tropical fruit has become so large in Rogue River Valley that the importation of oranges and bananas by express lots will soon give way to car lots, as proven by the receipt of a carload of oranges at Medford recently. This is the first full car of tropical fruit ever brought to a Rogue River Valley town. And 60 crates of bananas received in one shipment recently is the record for that fruit for Medford.
"The Problem of a Market for Fruit," Rogue River Fruit Grower, April 1909


A Pioneer of Distinction.
    Hon. O. A. Stearns, of Klamath County, who was a guest of honor at [the] Crater Lake commemoration banquet at Medford Saturday evening, and who is visiting in Ashland and vicinity for a few days, is a pioneer with distinction. Mr. Stearns is accredited with the honor of being the first white man to reach the waters of Crater Lake. This was in 1865 when he was a soldier, a volunteer in Capt. Sprague's company. Mr. Stearns also claims the distinction of having a taste of the first peach ever ripened in the Rogue River Valley, which grew upon a tree upon the homestead of his father, David Stearns, in Wagner Creek Valley, west of Ashland. This was in the early fifties, and a single peach ripened upon the sprig of a tree planted by Mr. Stearns and was divided among the seven members of the family.
    Mr. Stearns, with many other citizens of the Rogue River Valley, were among the first settlers in the Klamath country, and he has resided there for the past thirty-five years, prominently identified with the growth and development of the country, the latest epoch in which was arrival of the first railroad train a few days ago at Klamath Falls. Upon this train Mr. Stearns made it a point to be a passenger. Friends of his from Klamath tell interesting incidents in connection with this trip of his.
Ashland Tidings, May 24, 1909, page 5


    The special train on the Southern Pacific railway, carrying 100 San Francisco business men, passed through Medford on the way to Portland, at 5:40 o'clock this afternoon. The train is running as the first section of No. 16.
    There were several hundred people at the station to see the train, but few were able to see the inside of the first car, which contained the operators and the instruments for the wireless telegraph system. All that could be seen from the outside were some wires running along the top of the car from front to rear.
"Excursion Passes Medford,"
Morning Oregonian, Portland, June 14, 1909, page 9    This may have been the first radio station (however briefly) in the Rogue Valley.


AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT
Boy Run Over but Is not Seriously Injured
    The first [see story of October 3, 1908 above] automobile accident in Medford occurred about 7:30 last night.
    D. T. Lawton was driving his car west on Main Street, and when crossing the Medford-Jacksonville railroad track Oscar Carpenter, the 12-year-old son of Stephen Carpenter, ran in front of the car and was struck by one of the fenders and knocked to the pavement and one wheel passed over him. The boy was watching a nearby merry-go-round and doubtless did not see the car coming, and Mr. Lawton did not realize that he would so quickly dart in front of his car. Mr. Lawton was driving very slowly; in fact, so slowly that he was enabled to bring his car to a dead stop in going a distance of half the length of the car, this preventing the hind wheel from passing over the boy. The lad was at once taken to Mr. Perry's office and a physician, Mr. Thayer, was called, and after making an examination stated that the little fellow seemed to have suffered but very little from the accident. Mr. Lawton took the boy in his car and took him to his home, in southwest Medford.
    Several bystanders who saw the accident were interviewed, and they stated that the car was running very slow and that the accident was in no way the fault of Mr. Lawton.
    The most fortunate thing in connection with the accident was the fact that Mr. Lawton had neglected for several days to pump up his tires, and because of this neglect the tires were very soft, whereas had they been full of air the accident might have been more serious.
Medford Mail, July 9, 1909, page 1


   Yesterday, for the first time in its history, Medford was supplied with water under a gravity system--and it was supplied with a lavishness which caused old and decrepit hose to spring leaks in places where, under the old pressure, they were good for another decade.
"Medford Now Has the Water,"
Medford Mail, July 23, 1909, page 1


    Another matter which was not made exactly clear to me is as to who it was that planted the first orchard in the Rogue River Valley. "I am the pioneer in this business,'' said a man who looked as though he had a proper regard for the truth as a general proposition. "My brother and I planted the first orchard set out here," remarked another. "Our father was in the nursery business back East and we understood the business of fruitgrowing before we came here." But on a moving advertisement of John D. Olwell displayed in front of his real estate office is a proclamation which goes still farther. He announces in type so large that not only "he who runs" but also he who walks and he who stands still, may read that John D. Olwell is the leader in the orchard business in that locality; that 20 years ago he planted the first orchard at Medford and that 14 years ago he began the shipping of fruit to European markets.

John T. Bell, "The Rogue River Valley and Medford," Sunday Oregonian, Portland, August 1, 1909, page 50


    In February of 1852, E. K. Anderson went to the Willamette Valley for seed and brought from what is now Yamhill County the first wheat that was sown in Rogue River Valley. About the same time James H. Russell went to the Willamette and brought out the first seed potatoes.
    During the summer of 1852, A. D. Helman, Jake Emery, Eber Emery and James Cardwell settled on Ashland Creek, within what is now the corporate limits of the city of Ashland and built the first sawmill in Jackson county. . . .
    In 1852 E. K. Anderson raised wheat enough to supply his neighbors of the valley, who gladly paid him eight dollars a bushel for it, and with the potatoes brought in by James Russell faces brightened in the thought of a more luxurious living. Early in 1853 Eber Emery built the first hotel on the present site of the Ashland House, their new mill furnishing the lumber. It was then that plans for a flouring mill were arranged and its construction planned and commenced by A. D. Helman, Jake Emery, Eber Emery, and [Madison B.] Morris. This mill was completed in 1854 and is the real subject of this paper, for upon its site less than two weeks ago a bonfire was made of the rubbish after tearing the old mill away. In the fall of 1854 the first flour was made there, from wheat raised by E. K. Anderson and J. F. Anderson on their homestead, the first flour ever ground in Oregon south of Roseburg.
C. B. Watson, "Story of the Old Flour Mill," Ashland Tidings, August 26, 1909, page 1



BITS OF EARLY DAY HISTORY IN THIS COUNTY
J. S. Howard, First Citizen of Medford, Tells of First Building Ever Erected in This City.
JACKSON COUNTY WAS ORGANIZED JANUARY 12, 1852*
Was Formerly Part of Linn County--Interesting Facts of Early Days.

    The secretary of the Oregon Historical Society and J. S. Howard of this city have furnished the following very interesting items concerning the early history of Medford and Jackson County:
    The first settler in Medford was J. S. Howard, who came to the location in December 1883 and erected a building 16x30 feet on the spot where the Distillery Saloon is situated. Here he opened a store, which was to serve as a branch to the one he already owned in Jacksonville, but which burned on January 1, 1884.
    Mr. Howard also served as Medford's first postmaster, keeping the mail in a cigar box. He was also appointed agent for Wells-Fargo.
    Three weeks after the arrival of Mr. Howard in Medford Dave Miller arrived and kept boarders. Then came George Crystal, who opened a blacksmith shop. [The Oregon Sentinel
of December 8, 1883 reports Crystal's blacksmith shop open for business, and Howard's store yet to open.]
    The town was surveyed by Mr. Howard's son, C. J. Howard, who also surveyed Phoenix, Gold Hill and Grants Pass. Mr. Howard bought the lot where the First National Bank stands [at 120 East Main] and was laughed at for buying on a "side street." It cost him $300, was afterwards sold by him for $6000 and could not be purchased today for $20,000.
    Mr. Howard arrived in Jacksonville in October 1860 and lived there for 23 years. He was successful in getting for the city the three public blocks on West Main Street which now furnish room for the park, water tank and west school.
    The first wagon road in the county was built in 1849 to facilitate travel between Oregon and California. [Wagons had been following the route--the Jackson County segment of the "Applegate Trail"--since 1846; a few had traveled it even earlier.] This followed the old Hudson's Bay Company pack trail, leading from Fort Vancouver to Yerba Buena (San Francisco), first established in the early 'thirties.
    Gold was found on the Rogue River in the spring of 1849 by men from the Willamette Valley, who were on the way to the placer mines on the Sacramento, but no camp was established because the party was organized to "go to California," and nothing short of that would hold the company together.
    The first settlement was in 1851. Three cabins were built that year--one at each of the three ferries--Long's, Evans' and Perkins'.
    The first white woman in the county was Mrs. Lawless, early in 1852.
    The first donation land claim was taken up by Judge Alonzo A. Skinner in the fall of 1851. Location, a little ways southeast of Table Rock [on the site of Central Point].
    The first mining camp--that is, continuous camp--was on Jackson Creek and Rich Gulch, beginning in January 1852.
    The first man to put up hay in the county was David Linn in the summer of 1852. This was wild hay, of which Mr. Linn cut about 40 tons a little ways east of Jacksonville. He would have cut more, but was ridiculed by those who maintained that the hay would rot on the ground before it was used. But the winter of 1852-3 was a hard one, and Mr. Linn sold most of his hay for 25 cents a pound, and the last two tons he sold for $400. Mr. Linn built the first fanning mills in Southern Oregon--20--which he sold at $100 to $125 each. He also made the first wooden pumps, and it may be that some of them are still in use in the county.
    Jackson County was organized* on January 12, 1852. Prior to that date it was a part of Linn County, the boundary of which was "all of Oregon south of Marion County and east of Benton."
    The first wheat grown in the county was in 1853.
    The first grist mills were built in 1854--one by Thomas Brothers, Emery and Morris, all of Ashland. The third mill was at Phoenix, or "Gasburg," by S. M. Wait. Some say the latter name was given on account of the extraordinary conversational powers of a certain lady who dwelt there.
    The first sawmill was built in 1852 by A. V. Gillette.
    Josephine County was cut off from Jackson on January 22, 1856.
    The first cabin in Jacksonville was built in the spring of 1852 by W. W. Fowler.
    The first United States court was held on September 5, 1853, Judge Matthew P. Deady presiding. This was at Jacksonville.
    The first church in the county--Methodist--was organized in the fall of 1853 by Rev. T. F. Royal, who had just arrived from a trip across the plains. He organized Jackson County into school districts and was instrumental in causing the first school to be established.
    The first newspaper in the county was the Table Rock Sentinel, issued November 25, 1855, W. G. T'Vault, editor.
    Dardanelles, near the present city of Gold Hill, was the first post office in the county. A very attractive young lady, Miss Lizzie T'Vault, was the postmistress. There were more calls to see the young lady than to get mail. This young lady is now Mrs. Elizabeth Kenney, Jacksonville.
    General John C. Tolman piloted the first families into Jackson County direct from the plains, arriving in Rogue River Valley late in August, 1852.
    The first settlers near Ashland of today were R. B. Hargadine and Pease, on what was afterward known as the "Applegate place," and five days later Eben Emery, J. B. Emery, Dowd Hurley, J. A. Cardwell, A. D. Helman and A. M. Rogers settled nearby. The first house built was that of Hargadine and Pease. The second building was the sawmill built by Dowd Hurley, J. A. Cardwell and J. B. Emery, finished June 16, 1852, and named "Ashland Sawmill," after Ashland, O., the native town of Mr. Helman.
Medford Daily Tribune, September 25, 1909, page 1   *Jackson County was created by the state legislature on this date, but not organized until 1853.


SOME FIRST THINGS
Doings of Jackson County Pioneers Fifty Years Ago
    The following interesting account of some of the "first things" in Jackson County appeared in the Valley Record, Sept. 22, 1909.
    The first wagon road in the county was built in 1849 to facilitate travel between Oregon and California. This followed the old Hudson's Bay Company pack trail, leading from Fort Vancouver to Yerba Buena (San Francisco), first established in the early thirties.
    Gold was found on the Rogue River in the spring of 1849 by men from the Willamette Valley, who were on the way to the placer mines on the Sacramento, but no camp was established because the party was organized to "go to California," and nothing short of that would hold the company together.
    The first settlement was in 1851. Three cabins were built that year--one at each of the three ferries--Long's, Evans' and Perkins'.
    The first white woman in the county was Mrs. Lawless, early in 1852.
    The first donation land claim was taken up by Judge Alonzo. A. Skinner in the fall of 1851. Location, a little ways southeast of Table Rock.
    The first mining camp--that is, continuous camp--was on Jackson Creek and Rich Gulch, beginning in January 1852.
    The first man to put up hay in the county was David Linn in the summer of 1852. This was wild hay, of which Mr. Linn cut about forty tons a little ways east of Jacksonville. He would have cut more, but was ridiculed out of further efforts by those who maintained that the hay would rot on the ground before it was used. But the winter of 1852-53 was a hard one, and Mr. Linn sold most of his hay for twenty-five cents a pound, and the last two tons he sold for $400.00. Mr. Linn built the first fanning mills in Southern Oregon--twenty--which he sold at $100 to $125 each. He also made the first wooden pumps, and it may be that some of them are still in use in Jackson County.
    Jackson County was organized on January 12, 1852. Prior to that date it was a part of Linn County, the boundary of which was "all of Oregon south of Marion County and east of Benton."
    The first wheat grown in the county was in 1853.
    The first grist mills were built in 1854--one by Thomas Brothers and the other by Helman, Emery and Morris, all of Ashland. The third mill was at Phoenix, or "Gasburg," by S. M. Wait. Some say the latter name was given on account of the extraordinary conversational powers of a certain lady who dwelt there.
    The first sawmill was built in 1852 by A. V. Gillette.
    Josephine County was cut off from Jackson on January 22, 1856.
    The first cabin in Jacksonville was built in the spring of 1852 by W. W. Fowler.
    The first United States court was held on September 5, 1853, Judge Matthew P. Deady, presiding. This was at Jacksonville.
    The first church in the county--Methodist--was organized in the fall of 1853 by Rev. T. F. Royal, who had just arrived from a trip across the plains. He organized Jackson County into school districts and was instrumental in causing the first school to be established.
    The first child born in Jacksonville was a son of Dr. McCully on August 27, 1853.
    The first newspaper in the county was the Table Rock Sentinel, issued November 24, 1855, by W. G. T'Vault, editor.
    Dardanelles, near the present city of Gold Hill, was the first post office in the county. A very attractive young lady, Miss Lizzie T'Vault, was the postmistress. There were more calls to see the young lady than to get mail. This young lady is now Mrs. Elizabeth Kenney, Jacksonville.
    Gen. John C. Tolman piloted the first families into Jackson County direct from the plains, arriving in Rogue River Valley late in August 1852.
Jacksonville Post, October 9, 1909, page 4


    The first public school in Jacksonville was opened and conducted through the winter of 1853 and 1854 by Rev. J. H. B. Royal till he was appointed principal of the Umpqua Academy, when he resigned in favor of his sister Miss Mary E. Royal, who conducted the school through the summer of 1854.
    The first Sunday school in Jacksonville was organized with William Kahler superintendent, Rev. James H. B. Royal assistant superintendent, S. H. Taylor secretary and librarian. The teachers besides the officers were Mrs. T. F. Royal, Christopher Alderson, and Miss Mary E. Royal.
    The writer was the first county school superintendent. He was inexperienced, but did what he could without interfering with his duties as a pastor. He organized school districts; located school lands; put good, competent teachers in the schools, and organized teachers' institutes. Believing the office had been a help to him in his ministerial work, he charged the county nothing for his services; but, through the courtesy of Col. T'Vault, the county surprised me with full pay.
The First Sunday School Celebration.
    The first celebration of the 4th of July by the Sunday schools occurred on Independence Day 1854. Early that morning, the 5 Sunday schools of the county met in the streets of Jacksonville, formed in procession and marched with the citizens to Heber Grove with waving banners under the stars and stripes. Addresses were delivered by S. H. Taylor Esq., Rev. Dr. Kenney of New Orleans and others. Mr. Kenney, in the course of his remarks, said, "This celebration compares favorably with the best I have seen back home." All the people cheered and sang enthusiastically patriotic songs, and did justice to a sumptuous 4th of July dinner.
    A large snow-white satin banner, painted with appropriate designs by a French artist, Charley Simon, was given by the Jacksonville Sunday school to the Clinton Butte Baptist Sunday school to honor them as the first to organize in the county. We were all delighted to see that banner with the flag of our country marching at the head of the procession.
Church Organization.
    The Methodist Episcopal Church was the first to organize in Jacksonville. The date of organization was January 1st, 1854. . . . The Rev. Joseph S. Smith, afterwards known as Congressman Joseph Smith of Oregon, was the first preacher in this field. He was sent here by the Oregon Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1852. He was an able and popular preacher. He held religious services in the "round tent," a large one-room building with a ground floor made of split shakes, and used as an alcalde courthouse.
Thomas Fletcher Royal circa 1910, Southern Oregon Historical Society Research Library MS 161 folder 11


    In the spring of 1905 Miss Margaret Keith, sister of Mrs. A. C. Allen, brought into Medford the second automobile owned in Rogue River Valley. This car was, like nearly all the '05 models, of the bronco type--sometimes it would go and at other times it would "balk," but at most times it acted in a rather untamed manner. After a time Miss Keith and her sister managed to gain an understanding of its eccentricities to such an extent as to be able to coax the auto out and back home again. And so it was that Miss Keith became the first lady to drive an automobile in the valley.
"Tells Story of Second Auto in Rogue Valley," Medford Mail Tribune, May 15, 1910, page C1

May 26, 1910 Medford Mail Tribune
From the Medford Mail Tribune, May 26, 1910. Mrs. Allen's 1905 Oldsmobile was likely the third auto in the valley and the second one owned here, coming after the Walter L. Main Circus' 1899 Sears and E. D. Elwood's 1903 Baldner.


    Two seven-passenger Locomobiles have been purchased by the Crater Lake Stage Company for use between Crater Lake and Medford in the passenger business. These are the first machines to be regularly employed on that route as stage vehicles. The two machines were shipped south on Wednesday and began active service yesterday.
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, July 10, 1910, page D4


FIRST ELECTRIC CALENDAR CLOCK IN SOUTHERN OREGON
    T. P. Duzan, chief installer of Western Union clocks, was in Medford this week, engaged in placing in position a self-winding calendar clock at the Medford Buick company garage.
    This clock is the only one of the kind in Southern Oregon, and automatically records the day, month, year, hour and second, don't require any winding and is always "on the job."
Medford Mail Tribune, July 15, 1910, page 4


    F. H. Page, of the firm of Page & Sons, Portland, was a visitor in Medford yesterday, after having spent several weeks' vacation on the fishing grounds of the Klamath country. Mr. Page has the distinction of being the first [fruit] shipper from the Rogue River Valley [H. E. Battin & Co. preceded Page & Sons.], and his reminiscences of old times are replete with interest. The first car of pears came from the old Stewart orchard, now the famous Burrell property. This was in 1889 or 1890, Mr. Page is not certain which. [Fruit was shipped by the carload within Rogue Valley in 1884, the year the railroad--and J. H. Stewart--arrived here.
Fruit was shipped out of the valley by the carload in 1886. Bartlett pears were shipped by the carload from the Rogue Valley as early as 1888--before Stewart's orchard came into bearing. Contemporary news accounts suggest Page is remembering the shipments of 1891.]
"Early Days of Fruit Shipping," Medford Mail Tribune, July 27, 1910, page 4    The remainder of the article is transcribed here.


    Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Herring, of Portland, have arrived in Medford after a 600-mile tramp along the summit of the Cascades. Mrs. Herring is the first woman ever to make this trip.
"Woman Traverses Cascades' Crest," Morning Oregonian, Portland, September 26, 1910, page 13
   The remainder of the article is transcribed here.


    Mrs. [Sylvester M.] Wait's husband built the Phoenix flouring mills in 1854, the first grist mill in this section of Oregon.
"Pioneer Woman Visiting Valley," Medford Mail Tribune, October 27, 1910, page 4


    [In 1852] we crossed Jump-off Joe and Louse creeks and came to the Rogue River. Here we found Ben Halstead had established the first ferry on the trail between Oregon and California. We crossed here and went down seven miles and found James N. Vannoy, Jim Tuft & Co. had taken up a splendid ranch and put in a ferry.… It seems as though a small company of California miners, during the month of August 1851, left Yreka and traveled north in search of gold. They traveled on the old Hudson Bay trapper trail over the Siskiyou, down Bear Creek, and right by Jackson Creek, where there were good diggings, and on to the Illinois Valley. Here they went north over pretty steep mountains and found gold in two different creeks. One they named Canyon Creek and the other Josephine, in honor of a young lady who was a member of the party. This was the first gold found in Oregon. Afterwards Sailor Diggings, Althouse and many other good diggings were struck. I was with the Joe Knott party in February 1852, and we were the first white men to ever make the trip up Galice Creek, where we found good diggings.… Alex Rossi, a pioneer of Boise, came to California in the early days. He was a natural-born mechanic and good surveyor. He drifted north in 1853, crossing over the Siskiyou Mountains. At the foot of the mountain he found a town called Ashland. It was here, I think, that a Mr. Thomas, a big, jolly, 200-pound German, built the first flouring mill in Rogue River Valley.
James H. Twogood, "Early Days in Southern Oregon,"
The Jacksonville Post, serialized beginning November 19, 1910, page 1


    Mr. and Mrs. Gore crossed the plains in 1852 and took up their residence in Jacksonville, where their oldest son, Walter S. Gore, was born December 3, 1852, being the first white male born in Jackson County.
"E. E. Gore Passes to Beyond," Medford Mail Tribune, November 22, 1910, page 1  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


FAMOUS OLD TREE IS GONE
First Peach Tree Planted in Southern Oregon Falls Before Weight of Snow--
Was Planted in 1857 by Peter Britt.
    Weighted down by clinging snow, the first peach tree planted in southern Oregon bowed its head on Thanksgiving Day and went the way all things which have life must go. For 53 years the tree had thrown off the attacks of wintry blasts, but old age had undermined the strength of former years and the end came.
    In 1857 Peter Britt planted a little peach tree in the yard of his home in Jacksonville. Two years later the tree bore its first fruit, and continuously since it has produced peaches for members of the Britt family.
    The snow on thanksgiving Day, however, crushed it to the ground.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 28, 1910, page 3



    The Big Pines Lumber Co. are just completing the installation of the first dry kiln that has ever been built in the city of Medford. 
"Medford Has Dry Kiln," Medford Mail Tribune, December 4, 1910, page C3


    The large passenger elevator just installed [in the Garnett-Corey Hardware building] is the first of its kind in the city.
"New Building Completed," Morning Oregonian, Portland, December 16, 1910, page 8


    The first fruit trees planted in the Rogue River Valley, a few of which are still living and bearing prolifically, are now fully 58 years of age. These apple and pear trees were planted by the early pioneers, and, although they did not receive the intelligent care and attention given the Rogue River Valley orchards of today, they fruited well and pointed the way to the greatest industry in the valley at the present time. Not until 34 years after the first fruit trees were brought into the valley were the older commercial orchards planted.
P. J. O'Gara, "Oregon Apples and Their Future," Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1911, page B4


    Construction is under way on the first "bungalow" church in the Northwest, First Church of Christ, Scientist, now being constructed by the Christian Scientists on North Oakdale at a cost of $9000.
    The church is unique in architecture and resembles a country club more than a religious edifice.
"Bungalow Church Being Erected," Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1911, page 3


    Election of Millar as councilman is noteworthy from one standpoint, that being that he is the first socialist to be elected to office in Oregon.

"W. H. Canon Elected Mayor," Medford Sun, January 11, 1911, page 1


    The Hicks lead on the left fork of Jackson Creek was the first quartz lead successfully prospected. Sonora Hicks and her brother [sic--Sonora was apparently a man] discovered a rich pocket in this lead and, according to the seeming sensational news columns of the Jacksonville Sentinel, took out $1000 in gold in two hours. The total yield of this, the first quartz mine operated in Southern Oregon, totaled $2000, only one small pocket of gold being found.
    In January 1860, "Emigrant" Graham discovered the Gold Hill ledge, which was the first important quartz gold discovery.
Arthur M. Geary, "Gold Mining in Southern Oregon,"
Medford Mail Tribune, February 5, 1911, page B1


    John Peninger, who died recently at Chico, California, aged forty-two, was well known here. He was one of the first pair of twins born in Jackson County.

"Local News Notes," Gold Hill News, February 11, 1911, page 5



MEDFORD MEN WILL MAKE FIRST TRIP
WITH AUTO TO FISH LAKE
    Two Medford automobile enthusiasts are planning an auto trip for the early summer that promises to not only test the durability of their machines, but their skill and ingenuity as drivers as well. Dick Slinger and W. M. Hodson are the principals of the trip, and their destination will be Fish Lake. No automobile has ever made the trip, but they are sincere in their belief that they will be able to pilot Slinger's Buick to the lake this summer.
    Mr. Hodson is an experienced driver and was the first man to take an automobile to the rim of Crater Lake, and has made many other trips of like nature. Mr. Slinger has spent many years in the mountains in the vicinity of Fish Lake.
    The road into the lake is not much more than a pack trail, and it is quite an effort to put a common wagon over it, but these men expect to go equipped with boards with which to raise their machine over stumps and rocks and with sundry other devices for simplifying mountain travel. They expect to make the trip as soon as road conditions will permit.
Medford Sun, February 15, 1911, page 1


    Two other happenings which marked 1854 as a banner year of growth in Jacksonville were the birth of the first white child, James Cluggage McCully, August 27, named in honor of James Clugage, the founder of the town and the building of the first brick building [the Brunner Building]. A combination of clay and sandstone of the desert was used as a substitute for lime in constructing the building.
    The first newspapers of southern Oregon, the Table Rock Sentinel, was established by W. G. T'Vault in 1855.
"Jacksonville is Real Relic of the Pioneer Days," Medford Mail Tribune, March 26, 1911, page 10



    Mrs. [Jane E.] White prepared the first meal and the last meal for the stage passengers at [Rock Point] station and has the longest record of such service of any woman between Portland and San Francisco.
"Lady Who Came in 1858 Passes," Medford Mail Tribune, March 31, 1911, page 2


    In '53 Mr. Vinton Beall, now residing on the Beall farm near Central Point, accompanied by his brother Tom, brought into the valley the first teams of mules, oxen only having been used previously. E. K. Anderson, of Ashland, familiarly known as "Uncle Joe," is a pioneer of '52, and with the Helman brothers, Emory and Abe, operated the first grist mill in the valley, located at Ashland--the Eagle Mill, which is still standing. . . . The first hotel in the valley was built in Jacksonville by Dr. Jesse Robinson on the lot where now stands the U.S. Hotel. . . . The first school in Jacksonville was taught by Mr. J. W. Merritt, a retired capitalist, now living at Central Point, and was under the patronage of Mr. Beekman and Jerry Martin, both of whom had small children whom they wished to educate. The school house stood on the hill where the present modern brick structure now stands.
Hattie Warner Gore, "Glimpses of the Past in Rogue River Valley," The Rogue magazine, April 1911


    In moving from the Willamette Valley to Jackson County [in 1853, C. K. Klum] sold a farm there for a few stands of bees, which were the first colonies brought to this county.
"Rogue River Valley Pioneer Dies at 81,"
Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, May 5, 1911, page 3


    What is thought to be the first instance of prosecution for failure to observe the law regarding the sending of children to school was tried in Ashland Friday, prosecuting attorney B. F. Mulkey being called there on a case of this sort. This is significant in that it is the first instance in which it has been necessary to enforce this law in Jackson County.
"Children Must Attend School," Medford Mail Tribune, May 14, 1911, page 5


    It was in the Uniontown settlement [around 1863] that the first alfalfa seed was sown in Applegate Valley, as also the first in Oregon. . . . The seed for these two experimental tracts of alfalfa was brought from California, and was there generally called Chile clover.
"Where the First Alfalfa Was Grown in Oregon," Rogue River Fruit Grower, June 1911


    The First National Bank, Medford's "million-dollar" financial institution, will observe its sixth birthday next Thursday, June 15, and congratulations are already pouring in on the officials of the bank. During the six years its growth has bordered on the phenomenal, such great strides having been made. Last fall it passed the million-dollar mark--the first bank in southern Oregon to do so.
"First National Six Years Old," Medford Mail Tribune, June 12, 1911, page 6


    The Mail Tribune building is by far the best illumined structure in Medford. It has set the pace for the city beautiful.
    The building has been outlined with electric globes—the first in Medford to be so illumined.
    Two hundred tungsten globes blaze with a white light, revealing the graceful outlines of the building. Above them is the glare of the big Mail Tribune sign.
"Lights Make Night Bright," Medford Mail Tribune, July 23, 1911, page 2


    [J. W. Jacobs] conducted the first marble shop in Medford and two years ago he returned to Central Point, where he now makes his home.
Joseph Gaston, The Centennial History of Oregon, 1912, page 565


    Mr. and Mrs. Henry Harth were called to Grants Pass last Saturday by the death of Mrs. Harth's mother, Mrs. Elizabeth M. Dean, at the age of 79 years. Mrs. Dean was an Oregon pioneer of 1853 and the first woman ever married at Jacksonville, Or.
"Local News," Roseburg Review, January 1, 1912, page 5


    George E. Briggs (commonly called Governor), Peter Peveler, so long county clerk of Del Norte County, California, and Robert Worthington were among the earliest packers to deliver supplies on pack animals to the new mines. A Mr. Cochran was the first, coming in '52.
A. J. Howell, "Pioneer on Althouse Tells of Early History of County," Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, March 8, 1912, page 3


    Police Judge Johnson of Grants Pass was in the city Monday attending to business in connection with the "blind pig" cases in Josephine County. Judge Johnson claims the distinction of being the first magistrate in southern Oregon to order the confiscation of liquor.

"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, March 12, 1912, page 2


    The funeral of E. K. Anderson, of Ashland, the oldest resident of Jackson County and the first man to start a flour mill in Southern Oregon, who died Wednesday, was held this afternoon under the direction of the Masons.
"E. K. Anderson Is Buried," Sunday Oregonian, Portland, March 17, 1912, page 10


    In 1854 two miners, whose names I can't recall, while mining just below Grassy Flat on Althouse, quarreled over a tailing dump. One called the other a vile name, implicating his mother, whereupon the implicated man went into his cabin, got a shotgun and shot the man dead, declaring as he did so that his mother was a good woman.
This was the first miner killed on Althouse by a white man. The slayer was not caught.
A. J. Howell, "Pioneer Howell Writes of Indian Fights During Early Days in Josephine County," Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, March 22, 1912, page 5


    The first white asbestos roofing to be seen in Ashland is being put on by the Conway company on their new bungalow in Terrace Heights addition. . . . An additional feature of the roof is the fact that it is being built on a one-eighth pitch, the first of that pitch to be built in Ashland.
"Innovation in Building," Ashland Tidings, July 1, 1912, page 1


    The first car of potatoes ever shipped out of the Rogue River Valley was sent out this week. It is estimated that the potato crop will be between 30,000 and 40,000 sacks, as against less than half the quantity last year.
"First Car of Potatoes Shipped from Medford," Medford Mail Tribune, July 20, 1912, page 1


    J. M. Potter, first editor of the old Medford Tribune, and well known here, was brought to Ashland Thursday and taken to the hospital, to undergo an operation for strangulated hernia. He was taken suddenly ill at his home in Weed, where he is cashier of the First National Bank. He was accompanied by his family, his half brother, Mr. Nolton of Montague, and Dr. F. E. Tebbe of Weed.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, August 28, 1912, page 4


    It has been reported and believed by many newcomers that George Putnam and the Medford Mail Tribune were the discoverers of Rogue River Valley, and they report as a most progressive and unusual event that a carload of melons have been shipped from Central Point, being the first shipment of that kind ever made from the valley. A week afterwards comes the remarkable news that a carload of wheat has been shipped from Central Point, the first shipment of the kind ever made from the valley, with editorial comments on the great and beneficial effect these first initial exports will have on the progressive and enterprising spirit of the valley.
    Great Scott! Man Alive! Over a half century ago, before George Putnam ever drew the breath of life, Rogue River Valley was exporting flour, bacon, wheat and barley to Yreka and mines in Northern California, to Sailor Diggings, Althouse and Galice Creek by horse team, mule team, ox team and pack team.
J. S. Howard, Excerpt, "Prosperity of the Rogue River Valley in Pioneer Days," Medford Mail Tribune, September 4, 1912, page 4


    The history of southern Oregon gives Miss Lizzie Anderson the distinction of having taught the first school in the town of Ashland, which was conducted in the house of Eber Emery, Miss Anderson "boarding" the while at the home of Captain A. D. Helman. . . .
    In the local fraternal world [Mary Elizabeth McCall] was conspicuous as one of the organizers and the first worthy matron of the first chapter of the Order of Eastern Star in Oregon, which was Alpha Chapter No. 1, of Ashland.
"Mrs. McCall's Funeral," Ashland Tidings, October 31, 1912, page 4


WOMAN OUT FOR COUNTY OFFICE
    In spite of the fact that her name is not allowed on the ballot there is a woman candidate for county superintendent of schools. Caroline Van Nice of Ashland is asking the voters to write her name on the ballot on the grounds that if the suffrage amendment carries she will be eligible. She will go on record as the first woman to run for office in southern Oregon if not in the state.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 2, 1912, page 8


    A. P. Talent of Medford was the first of the Rogue River Valley pioneers to cut up a large farm into small tracts. Thirty-seven years ago he filed with the recorder the first subdivision platted in Jackson County. A few days ago he filed the first subdivision plat with the recorder of Linn County, cutting into small tracts a farm he recently purchased there.
"Linn 37 Years Behind Jackson," Medford Mail Tribune, November 11, 1912, page 2


GRANTS PASS WOMEN FIRST TO REGISTER
    GRANTS PASS, Ore., Nov. 14.--The registration of women voters preparatory to their participation in the city election in December is now permitted by the local registration officers. With the announcement which came late Wednesday afternoon, a score of the suffragette leaders presented themselves at the office of the auditor, Mrs. Arthur Conklin, president of the Southern Oregon Women's Suffrage League, being first to qualify as an elector. She is believed to be the first woman to register in the state of Oregon.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 14, 1912, page 2


    In the appointment of Mrs. Schuster, the Medford city dads were the first men in Oregon to officially recognize the women of the state following the granting of equal suffrage, and Mrs. Schuster is the first woman to be so recognized.
"Mrs. A. B. Schuster Is Member Board of Registration," Medford Mail Tribune, November 23, 1912, page 6


    Rogue River went wet Monday at the annual city election by a vote of 65 to 33, practically a two-to-one vote. One hundred and seven votes were cast, 47 being women, the first suffragettes in southern Oregon to exercise the right of the ballot as given them at the last election.
"Rogue River Votes Wet; Women Out," Medford Mail Tribune, December 3, 1912, page 3


    Miss Leta Luke of Talent, aged 24 years, postmistress at that place, is the first woman in the state to be officially elected to a municipal position since suffrage was obtained in Oregon. At the city election held on Tuesday her townspeople gave her a majority of 28 out of 91 votes cast for the office of city recorder. Thirty-three women voted.
"Miss Luke Recorder at Talent," Jacksonville Post, December 7, 1912, page 1


    In most of the eastern cities of 10,000 the state law does not allow milk to be sold out of cans on the street for private families, and we feel there is nothing too good for Medford people. We are the first to introduce bottled milk, also sanitary milk tickets, in Medford.
J. W. Snider, "Why Medford Pays More for Milk," Medford Mail Tribune, December 9, 1912, page 5


    Medford is the first city in Oregon to establish a municipal market.

 "Medford Public Market Proves a Great Success," Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1913, page B7


Jacksonville's First Hanging
    The year 1852 also saw the first occasion for primitive justice. A gambler named Brown without provocation shot a man named Potts. The miners gathered and appointed W. W. Fowler as judge. Twelve men were selected as a jury, and after hearing the stories of the witnesses, the jury announced that in their opinion it had been a cowardly murder and that Brown should be taken to a nearby oak and hung. The sentence was immediately carried into execution, and he was buried under the tree upon which he had been hung.
First Child Born
    This same year [1853] also saw, on August 27, the birth of the first child in Jacksonville, a son being born to Dr. and Mrs. McCully, the proprietors of the bakery at Jacksonville. He was named James Cluggage McCully, in honor of the discoverer of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville's First Newspaper
    The next year [1855] Colonel T'Vault, with two partners, started a newspaper called the Table Rock Sentinel. Colonel T'Vault, however, soon bought out his partners and ran the paper alone.
Fred Lockley, "Jacksonville, Pioneer City of Southern Oregon," Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1913, page C4  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The members of this [county] court have given Jackson County the first macadam roads in southern Oregon. They have started the foundation for an extensive system of fine highways.
"A Word of Appreciation,"
Medford Mail Tribune, January 6, 1913, page 4


    Talent was the first town in Oregon to elect a woman for recorder, and it kept its lead by choosing Mrs. Minnie Vogeli as councilman.
"Woman Elected to Talent Council," Medford Mail Tribune weekly, February 13, 1913, page 3


    Miss Stella Levy has the distinction of being the first Jacksonville woman to sign a petition for the nomination of a candidate for city office.

"Local News," Jacksonville Post, March 1, 1913, page 3


    As the result of the annual election held at Gold Hill Wednesday, Mrs. Cora J. Truax will be the first woman to serve on a city council in southern Oregon. Mrs. Truax defeated S. T. Hodges for this honor and will represent the second ward. Mrs. Truax received 83 votes to Hodges' 25.
"Councilwoman in Southern Oregon," Medford Mail Tribune, April 10, 1913, page 6


Death of Mrs. Stanley.
    Mrs. Mary L. Stanley, formerly of Ashland, died Saturday at the home of her son, George Stanley, at Eugene, Ore., and the remains were brought to Ashland for interment, the funeral taking place this forenoon at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Winnie Hildreth, on First Avenue, followed by interment in Hargadine Cemetery. The services were conducted by Mr. Gard of the Temple of Truth.
    Mrs. Stanley, who left Ashland about six weeks ago, was 59 years, 7 months and 23 days old at the time of her death. The bereaved family have many friends in Ashland who extend their heartfelt sympathy.
Ashland Tidings, June 2, 1913, page 1   Hargadine Cemetery records confirm her date of birth as October 8, 1853.


    Mrs. Mary Ross Stanley, believed to have been the first white child born at the pioneer settlement of Jacksonville, Or., passed away at the home of her son, George C. Stanley, on Saturday, aged nearly 60 years.
"Pioneer of Oregon Dies at Eugene at Age of 60," Oregonian, Portland, June 3, 1913, page 2
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Mrs. Stanley was the eldest child of Colonel John E. Ross and was the first white girl baby born in Jacksonville and the second white child to be born in Jackson County, Oregon.
"Death of Mrs. Mary Louise Stanley," Ashland Tidings, June 5, 1913, page 8
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    MEDFORD, Or., June 16.--(Special.)--For the first time in the history of Medford a woman was elected to the City Board of Education today, when Mrs. E. E. Gore, wife of a prominent merchant, secured 67 votes out of a total of 69.
"Mrs. Gore Wins in Medford," Morning Oregonian, Portland, June 17, 1913, page 2


    A Boston terrier belonging to Mrs. Bob Fitzsimmons, wife of the pugilist, who is filling a theatrical engagement here, was killed Friday by Dr. J. L. Helms, city veterinarian, after observation had convinced him that it was afflicted with rabies. . . . This is the first case of rabies in southern Oregon. . . . The infection probably occurred in Portland, where two men died this week from rabies, and several dogs have been found afflicted.
"Dog Afflicted with Rabies in Medford Shot," Medford Mail Tribune, July 18, 1913, page 1


    The Kinetophone, or Edison talking pictures, will be seen here for the first time at the Page Theater, Sept. 1 and 2. Just as wonderful as was his invention of the original moving picture is the latest discovery of the great wizard Edison.
"Edison Talk Pictures Here Next Week," Medford Mail Tribune, August 28, 1913, page 5


    K. Omaki, the first Japanese boy to enroll in the Medford High School, was admitted today. He weighs 187 pounds and is looked upon as splendid material for the football team.
"Medford Schools Crowded," Morning Oregonian, Portland, September 13, 1913, page 4


    Medford will soon have a cafeteria, the first in Southern Oregon. It will be opened on South Central by two ladies from Cottage Grove.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, November 7, 1913, page 2


    [The Ashland to Linkville road] was the first attempt at graded roads in Jackson County except in one instance, that of the grade from Jacksonville to the Applegate side.
J. S. Howard, "Road Building in Pioneer Days," Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1914, page E3


    "Oak Lodge" has been one of the show places of the county, and famous for its beautiful grove of old oaks, the finest in Oregon. The house, constructed six years ago, was the first bungalow built in Southern Oregon and the first to utilize clinker brick.
"Root's Oak Lodge Sold to Garden City, Kansas, Banker," Medford Mail Tribune, February 18, 1914, page 3


    Car No. 1 of the Southern Oregon Traction Company, the first streetcar to be introduced into Southern Oregon, arrived Friday night from St. Louis.
"Trolley Car for Bullis Line Arrives in City," Medford Mail Tribune, March 14, 1914, page 4


    District Attorney Kelly spent Monday at Rogue River trying a civil case, Steffy vs. Jones, in the justice court before a jury composed of three ladies and three men, which he declares is the first time in the history of southern Oregon that women have served on a jury.
"Women Jurors Give Quick Decision," Medford Mail Tribune, June 8, 1914, page 3


    The first cases of rabies authentically reported south of Portland are reported by Dr. E. B. Pickel, president of the state board of health. . . . These are the first authentic instances of rabies in southern Oregon. Previous to a few years ago, the disease was unknown west of the Cascades.
"First Cases of Rabies; Cow and Dog Succumb," Medford Mail Tribune, August 4, 1914, page 2


    The first stretch of hard-surfaced road in Oregon constructed under the county bonding act was opened to rubber-tired traffic on the 27th, at which time the delegates were taken over the highway and shown what Jackson County has done to make Southern Oregon a good road paradise.

"Portland Letter," Jacksonville Post, August 8, 1914, page 1



    Mrs. Nakuitu, the first Japanese woman to die in this county, died at Sacred Heart Hospital Saturday night. The funeral services are being held from the Perl undertaking chapel this afternoon.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, August 10, 1914, page 2



    Martin Angel, the first white male child born in Jackson County, died at Grants Pass, Thursday, October 15, with Bright's disease, aged 58. Following the discovery of gold in Jackson Creek in 1852, the Angel family was one of the first to settle in the new Eldorado, locating a donation land claim between Medford and Jacksonville, where the birth of the young Martin was celebrated in 1856.
"First White Male Born in Valley Dies, Grants Pass," Medford Mail Tribune, October 17, 1914, page 6
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The first preaching services in this part of the valley [the Ashland area] were at my father's home. Rev. [Samuel Eastman] Stearns, a Baptist minister, preached there the summer of 1853 before the Indian war, which began in August.
Haseltine Hill Russell, "Mrs. Russell Tells of Church History," Ashland Tidings, November 12, 1914, page 4


    Miss Marian Towne of Talent, Jackson County, will be the first woman member of legislature in Oregon. She is a Democrat.
"Election Aftermath," Ontario Argus, November 12, 1914, page 1



Who Was the First White Child Born in Jackson County?
(From the Ashland Record.)
    On October twenty-first the Record culled from the Grants Pass Courier a story regarding the death of Martin Angel which stated that he was the first male white child born in Jackson County. Since then we have been "hauled over the coals" by a number of pioneers who know better. We thought at the time that a man fifty-four years old could hardly be the first white child born in Jackson County, but presumed the Grants Pass Courier and the Medford Mail Tribune, which copied the story, knew what they were talking about.
    The first remonstrance came from Captain C. C. Gall, of Ashland, who said there were getting to be so many first-born white males in Jackson County that he was unable to keep count of them. He stated the fact that his nephew, John Hardin--whose father was killed by the Indians in 1853--was born in April 1854 and even he was therefore born two years before Martin Angel. He said there were numerous others that he knew of who were born prior to 1856--the year in which Martin Angel was born.
    The next man who tackled us on the subject was Gwynn Butler, who disputed the matter from actual experience--due to the fact that he was born in Jackson County himself and is five years older than Martin Angel was at the time of his death. Mr. Butler was, to the best of his information, the first-born white male in Jackson County, and that Jim Birdsey was born at about the same time. Both of these, he stated, were dead. He cited the fact that he and Walter Gore of Medford--both of whom are still very much alive--are both several years older than Martin Angel. The third pioneer to take up the innocent little news story which we swiped from the papers down the valley was John B. Griffin of Kerby--whose bear stories in the Ashland Record a couple of years ago were so entertaining. Mr. Griffin's letter on the subject is given below:
    "I just read in the Record the account of the death of Martin Angel, a pioneer of Jackson County, in which the statement is made that he was the first male white child born in Jackson County. Now, with all due respect to the dead, I want to say that if anyone will stop to think for one second they will see that the statement is not correct.
    "Jackson County was settled by both men and women and many families as early as 1852. Does it look reasonable that there wouldn't have been a boy born in three or four years? Certainly not. And how it came about that this claim was made for Martin Angel is a mystery. It certainly was not made by him, as it was only a short time ago that a friend of mine, who was well acquainted with him and talked with him often, told me that Martin Angel told him that John Griffin was the first white boy born in Jackson County and asked me if that was correct. It told him it was not, and that there were two born before I was. They were Bruce Evans, whose father settled on Rogue River in 1852, and James McCully, whose father was a physician living in Jacksonville.
    "As for myself, I was born in Jacksonville on the 14th day of September, 1853, being now a little over sixty-one years young. My father and mother settled in the Rogue River Valley in 1852, being the seventh family to arrive in the valley. My mother knew, and I have heard her say time and again, that Bruce Evans was the first, Jim McCully the second and I the third boy born in the Rogue River Valley, and if I am not badly mistaken Molly Ross, daughter of Col. John E. Ross, was the first girl.
    "Two or three years ago I read an account of the pioneer reunion in Ashland in which was stated that Gwynn Butler was the first white child born in the county. Now, while I am about it, I may just as well say that is not correct either.
    "I am writing this to put the matter straight before the people and not for any notoriety for myself. Such a claim, if not true, would have a tendency to lower a person in the estimation of the people--and I am perfectly satisfied that Martin Angel never made such a claim himself, and it is very plain that he was mistaken if he did so."
Medford Mail Tribune, November 14, 1914, page 4
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Gwin S. Butler . . . was perhaps the first child born on a farm in this valley. The first born were in Jacksonville.
Welborn Beeson, "Donation Lands Held by Entrymen," Ashland Tidings, November 30, 1914
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    "I was born in Jackson County in the 'fifties," said Mrs. Evan R. Reames, of Klamath Falls.
    "My father, General John E. Ross, was the first man to be married in Jacksonville, and his marriage was the second in Jackson County. . . .
    "This was in January , 1853, just a year after the discovery of gold in Rich Gulch by James Clugage and J. R. Poole, that led to the stampede which resulted in the founding of the town. Appler and Kenney put up a tent in February, 1852, and started the first store and saloon. Next month W. W. Fowler, who later married Mrs. Goss, the mother-in-law of Alexander Martin, my husband's associate in business, here put up the first log cabin built in Jacksonville. Mr. Fowler was chosen as judge in the trial of the first murder at Jacksonville. The man tried was hanged and buried within an hour of the trial."
"The Oregon Country in Early Days," Oregon Daily Journal, Portland, August 12, 1915, page 6


    In 1857 we moved to the Rogue River Valley.… My sewing machine was the first one to be brought into the Rogue River Valley, and was the center of much interest among the people there.
"Pioneer Recalls Old Days," Oregon Journal, September 19, 1915, page 10


    Mr. Stimson and another man, both in the employ of the O.&C. Power Co., came out Thursday and installed two electric heaters for J. V. McIntyre in his home, I believe the first ones to be used in our town, but if they prove a success there will probably be several more put in.
A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail Tribune, November 9, 1915, page 3


    "My name was Cully Miller--at least, that is what I have always been called. My real name was Ianthe Miller. I was born October 29, 1852, and I was the first white girl born in Southern Oregon. The first white boy in that whole district was James McCully."

Fred Lockley, "Observations and Impressions of the Journal Man,"
Oregon Journal, Portland, June 9, 1919, page 8


Oregon's "First" Cashier Dies.
    MEDFORD, Ore., Thursday, Oct. 2.--Henry G. Dox, the first cashier of the first bank in Oregon's history, the old Beekman Bank of Jacksonville, is dead at the age of 67 years. Judge Dox, as he was known, held the office of justice of the peace in Jacksonville for many years as he later did the Jacksonville agency of the Wells Fargo Express Company.
Seattle Daily Times, October 2, 1919, page 18   Dox was not Beekman's first cashier.



    Mrs. Mary F. Riddle is a daughter of the late John Catching and was the first white child born in Southern Oregon, south of Roseburg. . . .
George W. Riddle, "History of Early Days in Oregon," Riddle Enterprise, 1920  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The first white men to set foot in the valley of whom we have any authentic record were some French Canadian trappers who were trapping for furs for that great British monopoly the Hudson's Bay Company. . . .
    Ashland was founded in 1852 by Abel D. Helman and Robert Hargadine. A sawmill was built on Mill Creek, and in 1854 a big flouring mill was built there, the first in the Rogue River Valley. . . .
    The first school in the Rogue River Valley was taught by Mrs. McCully in Jacksonville, and was a subscription school.
    The first white child born in the Rogue River Valley was Walter Gore, son of a pioneer of 1852, born on December 3rd, 1852. . . .
    The first apples raised in the valley were Gloria Mundis, raised on the Skinner place on Bear Creek and sold to a wealthy miner from Gold Hill for two dollars and fifty cents each. . . .
Alice Applegate Sargent, "A Sketch of the Rogue River Valley and Southern Oregon History," Oregon Historical Quarterly, March 1921, pages 1-11.  Read before the Greater Medford Club in the spring of 1915.  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Jackson County, by the passage of a half-million-dollar bond issue, has the honor of being the first county in Oregon to improve its roads under the new state bonding act, and the first county in the state to improve a large unit of the Pacific Highway.
"Leads the State," Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1915, page E1


FIRST ARREST FOR SPEEDING UPON PACIFIC HIGHWAY
    A warrant was issued out of Justice Taylor's court this morning for the arrest of Verl G. Barnthouse for speeding on the Pacific Highway.
    District Attorney Kelly declare that a speed cop with an automobile will be placed on the highway to trap violators and that motorists and motorcyclists who are seeking new records on the highway had better heel themselves with the wherewithal for a healthy fine before starting in.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 10, 1915, page 3


    J. T. Sullivan, manager of the Rogue River Canal Company, has returned from a trip to Fish Lake. He traveled by auto, reaching the dam at the west end of the lake. This is the first time an auto has ever made the trip.
"Dam at Fish Lake," Jacksonville Post, July 15, 1915, page 1. Reprinted from the Medford Mail Tribune, July 13, 1915, page 6


    On April 14, 1853, Isaac Hill, with his wife and family, arrived in the beautiful Rogue River Valley. His wife and three daughters, Martha, Mary and Haseltine, were the first white women in this part of the country.
"Mrs. Dunn's Eightieth Anniversary," Ashland Tidings, May 25, 1916, page 6


    Mrs. H. H. Corliss has become quite expert in handling her motorcycle. Sunday evening she and Mrs. Frazee motored to Talent. So far as we know Mrs. Corliss is the first and only lady motorcyclist in the valley.
"West Phoenix," Medford Sun, June 7, 1916, page 3


    Roxanna E. Brown . . . was the first white woman to go to Crater Lake, and Mr. and Mrs. Brown were in Klamath at the time of the Modoc War.
"Obituary," Ashland Tidings, August 21, 1916, page 3


    The Bernard Motor Co. of this city was sold Monday. . . . Mr. Bernard sold the first Dodge Brothers car ever bought in Medford, and today there are more than 100 of these popular cars in the valley.
"Treichler Purchases Bernard Motor Co.," Medford Mail Tribune, November 21, 1916, page 5


    David Henry Miller, the first white man to live on the site of what is now the city of Medford, was struck and killed by train No. 13 near Gold Hill at 9 o'clock Saturday morning.
"Medford Pioneer Killed by Train," Ashland Tidings, February 5, 1917, page 8   Miller may have been the first to live on the town site after it was platted in 1883, but at least a dozen people preceded him, including Napoleon Evans, who homesteaded the site, and the Phipps and Broback families, who owned much of it and had it platted.


    Ozro T. Brown, pioneer of this valley and of Klamath County, died Saturday at his home near Talent. . . . His wife was the first white woman to see Crater Lake. She died last fall.
"Old Pioneer Died at Talent," Ashland Tidings, May 31, 1917, page 6


    The funeral of Francis W. Winn, son of Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Winn, of Wellen, the first Jackson County victim of the present war, was held at the Catholic Church in Medford Saturday.
"Francis W. Winn Buried," Morning Oregonian, Portland, January 29, 1918, page 4


    Under the auspices of the health department of the Red Cross and the state association for the prevention of tuberculosis, Jackson County is to have the first community nurse in Oregon.
"Jackson County to Have First Public Nurse," Medford Mail Tribune, February 16, 1918, page 8


    In March 1917, [Mary Agnes Bagshaw] was elected City Recorder by a large majority and discharged the duties of the office with fidelity and credit. She was the first and only lady ever elected to a municipal office in the city of Jacksonville.

Jacksonville Post, February 1, 1919, page 2


    The Southern Pacific has leased a plot of ground at the corner of Main and Fir to the Standard Oil Company which will at once establish there a service station for the sale of gasoline and oils. It is the first time in Medford's history that the railroad has ever leased a part of the real estate it owns on either side of the tracks for other than warehouse purposes.
"Local Briefs," Medford Mail Tribune, July 7, 1919, page 2


    The Medford boys [Floyd Hart and Seely Hall] in charge of the trip have made a record in being the first civilian plane to make the trip across the Siskiyou Mountains under the same conditions.
"Medford Aeroplane Arrives,"
Jacksonville Post, July 26, 1919, page 3


    Lieutenant Franzen's machine was the first commercial plane to fly across the Siskiyou Mountains to the Willamette Valley, making the trip without mishap at an elevation of 5000 feet.
"Flier Plays Samaritan," Morning Oregonian, Portland, August 4, 1919, page 2


    The stretches of road between Medford and Central Point, Ashland and Medford, 14 miles, were the first links of the great Pacific Highway laid in the state of Oregon. Paving began in November 1915, and ever since its completion has been a source of delight alike to tourists and home autoists. Building the road over the Siskiyous has brought to the state thousands of people from all parts of the nation and world, whose auto tours heretofore had ended in California. This road construction was made possible by the passing of a half-million-dollar bond issue in 1913, which was contested in the courts, and finally declared constitutional, after a hard fight. The first shovelful of earth on the Pacific Highway was turned by Sam Hill, father of Good Roads in the Northwest.
"Jackson County, Pioneer County, Good Road Work," Medford Mail Tribune, August 12, 1919, page 3B


    . . . there was not a threshing machine in Rogue River Valley until our old and good neighbors Thomas and Vint Beall brought one into this valley about the year '56 or '57.
John Justus, "Communication," Medford Mail Tribune, January 13, 1920


    Mention is made of the fact that for the first time in the history of the fruit business in Oregon solid trainloads of pears were shipped this year from the Southern and Western Oregon districts.
"Northwest Fruit Notes from Here and There," Better Fruit, September 1920, page 22


    Louis Doren, who for 18 years has resided at Wellen, Ore., died in Medford Sunday morning at the age of 67 years.  Mr. Doren was a native of England, and came to this county when a small boy. He came to this locality before any buildings were erected where Medford now stands, and after it became incorporated, he and Mrs. Doren were the first couple married in Medford.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 17, 1921   The Dorens were married in Medford August 3, 1884, before Medford was incorporated.


Catfish Planted--
   
J. W. Berrian, superintendent of the Butte Falls hatchery, received 8000 catfish fry Saturday and planted them in the sloughs above Ray Gold dam. This is the first catfish planted in Jackson County streams. It is predicted they will do well in these sloughs and ponds and will not inhabit the cold fresh waters.
Ashland Weekly Tidings, August 24, 1921, page 4


    Some interesting features are gleaned from the association's old records. It develops that Mrs. Mary Louisa Stanley, daughter of Col. Ross, well-known figure of early days, was the first girl of white parents born in Jacksonville, and the second girl to be born in the county. Basil Dairy was the first boy born in Jacksonville, the date being March 20, 1853, the second boy being James McCully, whose birthday was Aug. 27, 1853.
"Pioneers Hold Annual Meet, Elect Officers," Medford Mail Tribune, September 16, 1921, page 1  Basil Dairy was among the first white babies in Jackson County, but he was born elsewhere.


First Jackson County Baby--
    At the recent pioneers' meeting at Ashland it was stated that the first white boy born in Jackson County was Basil Dairy, who was born March 20, 1853 [sic]. This apparently is a mistake. For the Gore family of Medford have family records to show that Walter S. Gore of this city was born December 3, 1852, the son of Emerson E. Gore and Mary E. Gilmore Gore, and one of ten children. This would make Walter Gore, who is now a hale and hearty resident, three months ahead of Basil Dairy.--Medford Mail Tribune.
Ashland Tidings, September 28, 1921, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The first settlers to make permanent homes in Jackson County were the men who established ferries there--at Long's Ferry, Perkins' Ferry and Evans' Ferry. This was in 1851, the same year in which Judge A. A. Skinner, Indian agent of the Rogue River Indians, took up the first claim in the county, southeast of Table Rock.  . . . The first sawmill was put up in 1852 by A. V. Gillett. . . .
    The first settlement at Ashland was made January 6, 1852 by R. B. Hargadine and a man named Pease. About a week later A. D. Helman, Dowd Farley, E. Emery, J. B. Emery, J. A. Cardwell and A. M. Rogers took up places there. The first log house was that of Hargadine.
Edward G. Kilgore, interviewed by Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, December 14, 1921, page 10; reprinted in "Pioneer Recounts Early Experience in Southern Oregon," Ashland Tidings, December 21, 1921


    Rogue River Valley was first settled in 1851. Or rather that year witnessed the first pioneer settlement. The first dwelling house was erected on Bear Creek about midway between what is now Central Point and Medford, by A. A. Skinner, who was the earliest Indian Agent appointed to take charge of the Rogue River Indians. This house (a log cabin of fair size) was occupied in the fall of 1853 when first seen by the writer, by Judges Skinner and Rice, the latter a man with a family of a wife and one daughter. . . . There is a diversity of opinion as to the building of the first sawmill. I have always been of the impression that the sawmill on Wagner Creek, built by Granville Naylor and Lockwood Little and a Dr.____, was the first, and that of Milton Little [Milton Lindley?] of Gassburg second, but some claim that the sawmill built by the Emery brothers at Ashland was first. However, all three of these mills were erected very early and were running in 1854. , , , The first school house was built by the settlers living near what is now Talent. It was of rough logs, with cloth-covered windows on two sides. Its floor was of slabs, benches of slabs, with legs of round sticks inserted in auger holes, no backs. The desks were simply rough plank tables. It was erected on the bank of Bear Creek about one-fourth of a mile from the farm of Jacob Wagner (now Talent). There being no school districts yet established, it was started as a subscription school and the name of Eden given to the school. The first teacher was Miss Mary Hoffman, and her school consisted of the children of the surrounding country for several miles in every direction, many of the pupils being older than the teacher. . . . The school house in Gassburg was built sometime in the late 'fifties. It stood about the same place now occupied by the Phoenix church. It was [a] lumber building, box and batten construction, I think, with fairly good homemade furniture. It was about 18x32 feet in dimensions and faced the east. It was lighted by three or four windows on north and south sides. The first school taught there, to the best of my recollection, was by Orange Jacobs, and he taught several successive terms. . . . Up Wagner Creek in order named was John Beeson, John Robison, David Stearns, Lockwood Little and Granville Naylor, who built the first sawmill thereabouts if not in the entire valley. . . . It was while we were at the road camp that we learned of his discovery of the lake now known as Crater by two of the road crew who were hunting deer a few days before. We found at the road camp a party of four Jacksonville men, having come out to see the new road, and as they wanted to see the lake, they went with us on our return to the fort when, following the instructions given us by the discoverers, we visited the lake, and myself and one of the civilian party ventured down to the water, being the first human beings to reach its waters.
Orson A. Stearns, "Reminiscences of Pioneer Days," 1922


    In 1910 Mr. [Clarence Josiah] Semon removed to Medford, where he resumed contracting business and established the first material plant of the city.
Charles Henry Carey, History of Oregon, 1922, page 302


    The jury list for the February term of the circuit court, which meets Monday, February 27, was drawn Tuesday by the county clerk, and Mrs. Ella Smith, a housewife, of Butte Falls, has the distinction of being the first woman drawn for jury service under the new law in Jackson County.
"First Lady Juror Jackson County Mrs. Ella Smith," Ashland Weekly Tidings, February 22, 1922, page 1


    "I spent my boyhood at Jacksonville. I swam in the old swimming hole made by the dam built to impound the waters of the creek for mining. I played in the sluice boxes and I owned the first tricycle ever brought to Southern Oregon. That was in the Centennial year, 1876."
B. F. Dowell, Jr., quoted by Fred Lockley, "Observations and Impressions of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, October 12, 1922, page 10


    Haskins' Drug Store was the first exclusive drug store in Medford and was established in the present location in 1883 by George H. Haskins, father of Leon B., who operated it until 1903, when it was taken charge of by Leon.
"Heath Company Buys Haskins Drug Business," Medford Mail Tribune, July 21, 1924, page 6


    The first annual Rogue River Valley Pear Day, held under the auspices of the Growers Exchange, Inc., was held at the Hotel Medford Saturday, April 4, and was attended by 300 pear growers.
"Rogue River Annual Pear Day at Medford, Ore., Last Saturday," The Chicago Packer, April 11, 1925, page 18


    "The first white child born in Southern Oregon below Roseburg was Mary Catching, a daughter of John Catching, later Mrs. Mary F. Riddle."
G. W. Riddle, quoted by Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, August 14, 1925, page 8


    The first irrigation in Jackson County was a small irrigated tract near Jacksonville in 1858, and since that time the amount of land irrigated had gradually increased until about 1910, when approximately 15,000 acres were irrigated.
"History of Irrigation Is Record of Progress," Jackson County News, January 1, 1926, page B4


    . . . Mr. [C. B.] Watson was one of the first white men to see the great and mysterious Crater Lake, which Mr. Watson says was then called by the names Lake Majesty or Lake Mystery. He wrote the first description ever published of the wonders of the Crater Lake region.
"Interesting Interview with Judge Watson Given," Ashland Daily Tidings, February 26, 1926, page 4


FIRST VISIT OF WHITE STORK TO CRATER LK. PARK
    The first child ever born in Crater Lake Park, at least so far as white children are considered, and it is historically known that the Indians ever since Crater Lake was discovered in the last century have avoided the mysterious nature wonder and had a superstitious dread of it, was born there a week ago this afternoon. News of this interesting event was brought down to the city yesterday by superintendent C. W. Thomson.
    The baby girl enjoying this unusual distinction is the nine-pound daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Everett R. Green at their cottage quarters at Anna Spring camp, at 3 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, with Dr. James C. Hayes, who had been hurriedly summoned from Medford, present.
    The little miss and her mother, who it is understood is a former resident of Grants Pass, are both doing nicely. She has not yet been christened.
    The father, Everett R. Green, is connected with the United States government bureau of public roads and has been stationed during the season in Crater [Lake] National Park as chief engineer for the park in looking after the road improvements there.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 24, 1926, page 6


A Correction Is Offered.
To the Editor:
    Being a member of two of the oldest pioneer families of Jackson County, the Colver and Gore families, pioneers of 1850 and 1852 respectively, I am interested in keeping the pioneer records correct so far as possible. In the splendid report of the 50th annual reunion of the pioneers of Southern Oregon, found on page 6 of the Medford Mail Tribune, Sunday, October 10, 1926, I read the following:
    "The first child born in Jacksonville was Cornelius Armstrong, son of Robert and Minerva Armstrong, born February 24, 1853."
    I have before me the obituary notice of my grandmother, the late Mrs. Emerson E. Gore, who died in October, 1893, from which I quote the following:
    "Mr. and Mrs. Gore left Charleston, Iowa, April 27, 1852, and arrived in Rogue River Valley September 27th of the same year. For a time their residence was in Jacksonville, where, on December 3, 1852, Walter S. Gore was born, he being the first white male child born in Jackson County."
    Walter Gore, my father's half-brother, still resides in Medford, Oregon. He is the brother of Will Gore, Ed Gore and Mrs. Harry Wortman of Medford, Oregon.
    I am glad to be able to make this correction in the interest of reliable pioneer records.
NELLIE ROSE JONES.
Mrs. Wilbur Jones,
    203 High Ave.,
    Klamath Falls, Ore.
"Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, October 14, 1926, page 4  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


FIRST WHITE CHILD BORN JACKSON CO.
To the Editor:       
     Being a granddaughter of Col. John E. Ross and a great granddaughter of Thomas Hopwood, I deem it my privilege to sent this notice, taken from the Medford Mail of several years back:
     "There has been some dispute as to the first white child born in Jacksonville, Ore.  Some old timer signing himself or herself 'pioneer' in Medford Mail sets the matter straight. The statement, made at the pioneer reunion as Basil Dairy being the first white boy born in Jackson County is all a mistake. He was not born in Jackson County, but his parents came to Jacksonville in 1852 when he was a baby.
     "Neither can Walter Gore claim the honor.  Bruce Evans was the first white boy born in Jackson county. He was born in Jacksonville, August, 1852. All real pioneers know this to be a fact, and Mary Ross Stanley was the first white girl born in Jacksonville."
    Respectfully,
WINIFRED S. CANTRALL,
    Jacksonville, Ore., Oct. 15.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 17, 1926  Refer to conflicting claims on this page. The 1854 census does list Robert Bruce Evans, age 2.


    There lives today in Ashland the first white man to set foot on the shores of Crater Lake. He was not the first white man to visit Crater Lake, by 10 years, but so far as is known, he is the first white man to make his way down the supposedly unscalable cliffs to the water's edge. His name is Orson A. Stearns, and he was born in Illinois January 9, 1843.
Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland. Undated clipping, Southern Oregon Historical Society vertical files.



First Children Born
    The first child born in Jacksonville was Cornelius Armstrong, son of Robert and Minerva Armstrong, born February 24, 1853. The parents are deceased, but their son lives on the lower Applegate.
    The first girl born in the country was Mollie G. Ross, daughter of John E. and Elizabeth Hopwood Ross, born October, 1853; all are deceased.
First Marriages
    The first couple to be married in Jacksonville were Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Ross in January 1853. The first marriage in the county was that of Mr. and Mrs. N. S. Dean, in December 1852. Both are deceased, but their son, N. S. Jr., lives on the donation land claim of his parents in the Willow Springs district.
Alice Hanley, "Reminiscences of Early Pioneers," Medford Mail Tribune, October 10, 1926, page B6
Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The Oregon state law permitting counties to employ visiting nurses for tuberculosis work and to establish tuberculosis hospitals will soon pass its tenth birthday.… Jackson County was the first to employ a public health nurse under the new law.
"Jackson First to Employ Nurse," Medford Mail Tribune, January 10, 1927, page 2


    [In 1851] 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.  . . . Mrs. Lawless possessed the distinction of being the first white woman settler, coming sometime in 1852. . . .   The first house built [in Ashland] was the dwelling of Hargadine and Pease. . . . 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 Eben Emery in the year 1854-5 by Miss Lizzie Anderson, who later became the wife of Gen. McCall. . . . The first public school house was built in 1867 on a lot donated by R. B. Hargadine. . . . To Ashland belongs the credit of the first marble works in Oregon south of Portland.
"Ashland Has Had Steady and Consistent Growth," Ashland Daily Tidings, February 26, 1927, page 5


    Mr. [J. R.] Cunnyngham's father constructed the first hotel in Medford on the present site of the Jackson County Bank, where it was known as the Empire Hotel.
"Son of Medford's First Hotel Owner Visits Old Vistas," Medford Mail Tribune, February 27, 1927, page 8


    Arthur J. Weeks, the man who planted the first commercial pear orchard in the Medford district, has returned from a visit to his birthplace at Woodstock, Canada.

"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, July 21, 1927, page 2


    The year 1864 yields data of an interesting character in one person of Martin Peterson, who crossed the plains and settled in the Sacramento Valley in 1863, coming to Oregon a year later. To him belongs the honor of organizing the first Christian Church in Southern Oregon. He built the first schoolhouse in his part of the state at his own expense and preached in it until his death.
C. F. Swander, Making Disciples in Oregon, 1928, page 35



    In 1898, before [J. H. Stewart's] death, this orchard came into full bearing and was sold to Colonel Voorhies, who is still owner and operator of the property. It was the first sale of a commercial orchard in the Rogue River Valley which sent prices skyward and caused the great rush for valley fruit lands.
"First Commercial Orchard Planted in this Section Nearly Fifty Years Ago," Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1928, page J2


    "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.'"
Henry S. Emery, quoted by Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, April 24, 1928, page 10


    Henry Shriner Emery: "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."
"Pioneer Tales of Ashland Folks," Fred Lockley, Ashland Tidings, May 5, 1928


    [Charles] Wolters owned and operated the first grocery store in this city. It was located where the First National Bank now stands.
"Locals," Medford News, May 20, 1928, page 2


    [The A. S. Bliton house on West Main] was the first house in Medford to be wired for electricity."
Medford Mail Tribune, July 22, 1928, page 3


BYLLESBY PAPER TELLS OF MOVIES
    The October issue of Byllesby Management, the official monthly magazine of the Byllesby companies, contains several items of interest to local people, including the following:
    "The Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore., recently reported that the first moving show ever presented at the Oregon Caves resort was put on by H. L. Bromley of the California Oregon Power Company, when he showed pictures of the Legion convention in Medford, Herbert Hoover's visit to Southern Oregon and other items of local interest. To the California Oregon Power Company also goes credit, according to this newspaper, of having put on the first moving picture programs at Crater Lake, Diamond Lake and other vacation resorts of Southern Oregon."
Medford Mail Tribune, October 12, 1928, page 4


    "When Spencer Childers, now nearing his 80th birthday, dropped into Medford in 1885, he was here but a half hour when he signed a contract [with C. W. Broback] to build the first brick house in the city, on the corner of Ninth and Riverside. There was only one other brick building here then, according to the pioneer builder, and that was in the present location of the Nash Hotel."
"Spencer Childers Razing House He Erected in 1885," Medford Mail Tribune, March 21, 1929, page 5


    I do not need to remind any of the old-time residents of Medford that this county was the first in the state to lay a modern hard-surface highway outside of the city limits, and as a part of a larger state system. The section of the Pacific Highway from Central Point to Ashland, and the grading and paving of a new road over the Siskiyous, both done by Jackson County, was the beginning of Oregon's splendid state highway system.
"Ben C. Sheldon Details History of Efforts for Highway System,"
Medford Mail Tribune, September 19, 1929, page B1


    Another time [in 1853] Mr. Gibbs brought us a cat that had come from Crescent City with the pack train of Mr. Russell. That cat was the first one in Southern Oregon. . . . I believe that Lou, Has and I were the first girls to cross the Siskiyous.
Mary M. Dunn, "Undaunted Pioneers," Ashland Daily Tidings, September 20, 1929, page 3


   During the winter Cupid was busy, and the spring found many new homes being started. I was married to Patrick Dunn, February 23, 1854; sister Has married James H. Russell May 9, 1854; and sister Lou married Alvin Gillette, April 25, 1855. . . . My wedding was the first in Jackson County, which at that time included Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake counties, as they are now divided.
Mary M. Dunn, "Undaunted Pioneers," Ashland Daily Tidings, September 24, 1929, page 3


   He and his partner, Fred Alberding, came up the valley and took up claims. Captain Thos. Smith took up one at the same time also. Major Barron and a few men located at the Mountain House, further up. These men were the first actual settlers in that part of the Rogue River Valley above Phoenix. . . .
    While in Salem [in 1855, Patrick Dunn] ordered about three dozen fruit trees and brought a few home with him on his horse. He planted the first orchard in the valley, and a few of the pear trees are still bearing. . . . Mr. Alberding sent me the first rose bush in the country from Santa Rosa, California, in 1856, and a bush from it is still blooming at the home of my niece, Mrs. Geo. McConnell in Ashland.

Mary M. Dunn, "Undaunted Pioneers," Ashland Daily Tidings, September 26, 1929, page 3


    The first white child born in Rogue River Valley, so far as the early builder ["Stonewall" Jackson] could recollect, was Jim McCullough of Jacksonville.
"Indian Pioneer Mason of Jacksonville Back for Visit After 47-Year Absence," Medford Mail Tribune, October 2, 1929, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Stopping at Ashland [in 1852] the party visited the first sawmill operated in southern Oregon, having met "Cludge," who took over the mill.
"William Hamlin, Pioneer of Valley, Recalls Days When Redskins Troubled," Medford Mail Tribune, September 26, 1930, page B3


    Leonard Carpenter returned from an auto trip to Lake o' Woods. This is the first time an auto ever made the trip. Mr. Carpenter reports "the road is a fright. I would not make the trip again," said Mr. Carpenter, "for the auto, the lake or all the timber in Jackson County."
"Fifteen Years Ago This Week," Medford Mail Tribune, October 12, 1930, page B2


    J. Vern Shangle, Medford's golf-minded photographer, who won a match at the local course Sunday morning, also claims the honor of driving the first golf balls into Crater Lake the same day.
"Golf Balls Land in Crater Water," Medford Mail Tribune, November 3, 1930, page 5


    "I was born September 14, 1853, in Jacksonville, while my folks were forted up there on account of the Indians being on the warpath. The wife of Colonel John E. Ross gave me the first clothes I ever wore. Her daughter, Molly, was the first white girl born in Jackson County; at least, I have always been told so. Some time ago I received a letter from Mrs. Velma Moulton of Montreal, Canada. She is a daughter of Senator Nesmith. She told me that Cully Miller, daughter of General John F. Miller, was in Jacksonville in 1851. In her letter she said that little Cully Miller was the first white baby the Indians had ever seen and they called her Kula-Kula, meaning a bird. She lives in Portland now; her married name is Cook. I have always supposed that I was the third white boy born in Jackson County. This was the conclusion arrived at by the old pioneers when the Pioneer Society of Southern Oregon was formed many years ago. Now by some hook or crook the society has reversed itself and they say Basil Dairy was the first. This would put me back a notch, to fourth place. I want to tell you right now that I went to school with Basil and was an intimate friend of his as long as he lived, and he never claimed to be born in Jackson County. I have often heard my mother say that they fell in with the Dairy family while going to the Rogue River Valley and Mrs. Dairy was carrying Basil in her arms. That goes to prove that he wasn't born in Jacksonville. Jim McCully was the second child born in Jacksonville."
John Bell Griffin, quoted by Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, December 12, 1930, page 12


    The first white child born in Jacksonville was the son of Dr. and Mrs. McCully. The birth was on August 27, 1853.
William Pierce Tucker,
The History of Jackson County Oregon, 1931 (M.A. thesis, University of Washington)  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


Local Boy Buys Glider
    Cecil Hartley of Phoenix and his glider broke into the movies last week when pictures of his aerial activities were taken by H. L. Bromley, Copco advertising manager. Hartley had his glider, which is the first one in Southern Oregon, out at the Medford airport and put it through its paces without a mishap. The glider, which the Phoenix youth built himself, has a wingspread of 32 feet and is able to take off and land with ease under the skillful direction of its pilot. Altitude is gained through towing with a 500-ft. rope behind a speed automobile, and flight is sustained for a considerable distance.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 28, 1931, page 2


    Ashland was founded in 1852 by Abel D. Helman and Robert Hargadine. A sawmill was built on Mill Creek, and in 1854 a big flouring mill was built there, the first in the Rogue River Valley. . . .
    The first school in the Rogue River Valley was taught by Mrs. McCully, who taught a subscription school in Jacksonville.
    The first white child born in the Rogue River Valley was Walter Gore, who was born in December 1852.
"Battle of Table Rock Told by Mrs. Sargent," Medford Mail Tribune, January 3, 1932, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Finally, however, a governor of the camp seemed necessary. He should be clothed with plenary authority, and, as adjudicator, his decisions were judicial. U. S. Hayden was elected to be the first alcalde. That was in 1853; and he continued until a justice of the peace was chosen under the territorial laws.
James S. Howard, as reported in "Thrills of Early Days Experienced by 'Father of Medford' Revealed,"

Medford Mail Tribune, January 17, 1932, page 9



    One of the Crystal children has the honor of being the first child born in Medford. [Raymond Crystal probably correctly claimed to be the first boy born in Medford, but Medford's first birth noted in the newspapers was a daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson December 28, 1883.]
*      *      *
    "The first hotel was the Torrey House [Homer F. Torrey advertised his business as the "Medford Hotel"], on the corner of Riverside and Seventh Street, where Hubbard Bros. store is now located [northwest corner of Main and Riverside]."
*      *      *
    "The first school [in Medford] was held in a one-room school building [at 135] South Central. . . . During the summer of 1884 a frame school house was built on West Main Street between South Oakdale and L streets [current site of the Jackson County Courthouse]. In 1891 this building was moved to [517] West Tenth Street. . . ."
*      *      *
    The first Sunday school was held in the little schoolhouse on South Central. Afterwards it was held in different halls, one on Front Street, one about where Strang's [drug] store is now [at 231 East Main], and the last place was in Howard's hall, the present location of the First National Bank [at 118 East Main].
"Medford History Dates from Railway Inception," Medford Mail Tribune. Attributed to Jane Snedicor. Series begins February 28, 1932, page 3


SOUTHERN OREGON PIONEER WOMAN DIES IN PORTLAND
    PORTLAND, Ore., May 30.--(AP)--Mrs. James P. Cook, 80, the first girl of white parentage born in Southern Oregon, died at her home here last night. Her husband, who died several years ago, was one of the best-known salmon packers on the Columbia River a half century ago.
    Mrs. Cook was born in Jacksonville in 1853. Her maiden name was Ianthe Miller. Her parents came to Oregon by wagon train.
    She is survived by two sisters, Mrs. James E. Coleman of Salem, and Mrs. Pierce Dawson, of Oakland, Cal., and by two daughters, Mrs. P. L. Menefee of Portland, and Mrs. M. E. Crumpacker of Portland, widow of the late congressman.
-----
    Pioneer residents of Jackson County today could not recall to memory Ianthe Miller, born in Jacksonville in 1853. However, according to Miss Alice Hanley, pioneers in this section recognize Molly Ross, oldest daughter of Colonel Ross, and Alice Wrisley, as the first two white girls born in 1852, Miss Hanley stated.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 30, 1933, page 1
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    [Asahel C.] Hubbard says that he first attended school here in an old two-room frame structure located on what later became known as the Washington school site, now the site of the new courthouse. "Wallace Woods, Mamie Isaacs-Riddle, now employed in Mann's department store, Mrs. Jessie Coss, 'Toggery Bill' Isaacs, Charley Davis, former city superintendent, and George Alford, former county commissioner, were among the pupils enrolled when I first entered school here," he said. "Mary Baker was the first teacher. Later Maggie Sargent was our teacher."
"A. C. Hubbard in Business 42 Years,"
Medford News, July 14, 1933, page 1


    Mr. [W. J.] Warner is retiring under the recently adopted retirement law, having completed 30 years of service with the Medford post office. He went to work here August 1, 1903, as mail carrier on R.F.D. No. 1, the first rural route established in southern Oregon.
"DeSouza Takes Postmastership Monday Morning," Medford Mail Tribune, December 26, 1933, page 6



    John B. Griffin, the second white child born in Jackson County, and a widely known Southern Oregon pioneer, will probably be the recipient of the first old age pension certificate issued in this county, Ingrid Holmes, secretary of the county court, said today.
"Griffin, Pioneer, Probably First for Age Pension," Medford Mail Tribune, February 13, 1934, page 3


    In J. Verne Shangle's display window today there are found further evidences of the interest aroused in wedding news of other days. Pictures of the first white couple married in Jackson County, Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Dean, are there. The date was November 1, 1852.
"Wedding Gown Tea Stirs Memory of Pioneer Days," Medford Mail Tribune, March 1, 1934, page 3


    The first [drug store in Medford] was at the corner of Eighth and Front streets, the second at 130 East Main from 1885 to 1891, the third at 206 East Main from 1891 to 1910, and has been located at 231 East Main from 1910 until now.
"Charles Strang, Druggist, Rounds Out Full 50 Years of Business in Medford," Medford News, March 30, 1934, page 1


    The oldest apple tree in Oregon is growing in the Brownsboro section, Charles Terrell, a pioneer native son of Jackson County, reported when in Medford today. It is believed to have been planted back in the early '50s when settlers were together in a fort seeking protection from marauding Indians.
"Oldest Apple Tree Located," Medford Mail Tribune, April 13, 1934, page 5


    [Charles Terrell] told of the first threshing machine brought to southern Oregon. It was used until a few years ago and is now in the Lake Creek section, where he resides. Mr. Terrell has in his possession what he believes to be the first cider press in this section, and has offered to display it during Oregon's Diamond Jubilee celebration here next June.

"Oldest Apple Tree Located," Medford Mail Tribune, April 13, 1934, page 5


    The first child born in Jacksonville, R. C. Armstrong of Grants Pass, will take an active part in the [Diamond Jubilee] celebration. Armstrong was born the early part of 1853, when gold lured thousands to Southern Oregon. The second white child born in Jacksonville, John Griffin of Medford, will also take an active part in the celebration and will appear in the pioneer parade.
"Big Jubilee Celebration Still Grows," Oregon Journal, Portland, April 29, 1934, page 6
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


FIRST BABY BOY OF JACKSONVILLE IS NOW AGED 81
    GRANTS PASS--(Spl.)--The first lusty boy-baby yell to be drowned in the medley of noise that filled the air of the colorful mining town in Jacksonville in 1853 came from the lungs of Cornelius J. Armstrong, now of Grants Pass, who will mark down his eighty-second birthday next February.
    "If it hadn't been that a girl, Minnie Taylor, was born two weeks before I was, I would also have been the first white child to call Jacksonville his birthplace," Armstrong said recently.
    Straight, alert, Armstrong does not use glasses, his hearing is apparently good, and his hair retains a reddish tinge.
    The family Bible bearing his name, the date and place of his birth, is carefully kept in a safe place in his little cottage at Ardencraig, home of K. M. C. Neill on Redwood Highway near here.
    His parents, R. C. Armstrong and Minerva Jane, made the trip by prairie schooner from Iowa to Oregon in exactly six months, arriving in Jacksonville in 1852. Their party included nine wagons, Armstrong remembers his father telling him.
    The Armstrong family resided on a ranch two and one-half miles north of Jacksonville for many years. Cornelius has two sisters, both living in Portland. They are Miss Emma Alice Armstrong and Mrs. Martha Fleck.
    Armstrong, a native Oregonian, has been outside the state boundaries but once, and that time only to Dunsmuir, Cal. "California's all right, but I love Oregon," he says, and smiles.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 30, 1934, page 6
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


Medford's First Child May Visit During Jubilee
    Efforts are being made by friends and relatives to induce the first baby born in Medford to come to this city to participate in Oregon's Diamond Jubilee celebration next June. Mrs. Donnie Medford Dillinger, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Watson, was born in a dwelling the site of which is now occupied by the Medford post office.
    Medford was officially named February 17, 1884, and shortly afterward little Miss Donnie Medford Wilson came into the world. Quite a number of years ago she moved away, and has been living in Portland, Ore., for some time. She will not only help celebrate Oregon's birthday, but Medford's golden jubilee as well.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 6, 1934, page 12     Donna was born December 28, 1883. What is supposed to have happened February 17, 1884 is a mystery; it went unrecorded in the valley's newspapers. The name "Medford" appears in the newspapers--and on the town plat--long before February 17.



FIRST CHILD BORN HERE TO AID JUBILEE
    Claimed to be the first child born in Jacksonville, R. C. Armstrong of Grants Pass will take an active part in Oregon's Diamond Jubilee celebration here next week. Mr. Armstrong was born the early part of 1853, when gold lured thousands to southern Oregon.
    The second white child born in Jacksonville, John Griffin of Medford, will take an active part in the celebration and will appear in the pioneer parade on Thursday.
Medford News, June 1, 1934, page 1
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Mrs. [Mary O.] Carey . . . can well remember when the first mail sack was thrown off the old stagecoach at the little box shanty which A. P. Talent had built to serve as a post office at Talent.
    It was on March 17, 1861, according to Mrs. Carey, that Mr. Talent was made the first postmaster of the town named after him. The first school house, built of hewn logs, was erected on the property just south of the Jackson County [poor] farm.
    Tryon's store now stands where the first church was built. . . . "Later, Talent had the first commercial planing mill in this section, built by Renfrew and Freeman. Talent also had the first shipping and packing house in the valley, which was built by M. L. Pellett. . . . E. K. Anderson took up a donation land claim in the early forties, and did the first hydraulic mining in the county east of Jacksonville and Sterling. The diggings of '49 [the '49 Mine] are yet visible from the highway south of Phoenix, and many nuggets were taken from the property. The first wheat and corn for planting was brought to Talent by Mr. Anderson. Jackson County's first still," Mrs. Cary said, "was operated on the Wagner donation, which was part of the townsite. . . . Joseph Rapp, father of Fred Rapp, raised the first commercial truck here, and took vegetables to Jacksonville and Ashland, for sale, peddling them from a wagon."
"Talent Pioneer, Saw First Mail Sack Delivered," Medford Mail Tribune, June 4, 1934, page 6


    David B. Stearns of Portland, who with his twin brother was born on the donation land claim at the head of West Jackson Street in this city, the first white boys born in southern Oregon, was a member of the Portland Chamber of Commerce delegation that arrived this morning. The Stearns twins were born on the day 77 years ago that the Oregon Constitution was signed.
"First White Boy Born in Area is Here for Jubilee," Medford Mail Tribune, June 6, 1934, page 3
The Oregon Constitution was signed September 18, 1857.
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.

Says Gore Was First
To the Editor:
    There have been several items recently in the Medford Mail Tribune about the first white boy born in Jackson County. There seems to be many people who wish to claim that distinction to themselves. However, the one person whose birth date precedes any other date given has not forced himself into the headlines, and his birth record seems to be overlooked.
    Walter S. Gore, now of San Bernardino, California, was born in Jacksonville on December 3, 1852. He is the son of Elijah Emerson and Mary Elizabeth Gore, who crossed the plains in 1852, arriving in Jacksonville in September of that year.
    My sister, Mrs. Ray Lenox, of Medford, has in her possession the Gore family record, which gives the birth dates of the members of the pioneer Gore family and which will verify the above date. This record was copied from the original records in the family Bible when that Bible became completely worn out from use.
        Respectfully yours,
                JEANETTE GORE
Junction City, Ore.
    June 7, 1934.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 10, 1934, page 6  Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


FIRST-BORN FUSS RAGING 40 YEARS
    That the current controversy over who was the first white boy born in Jackson County is not new, is attested by a clipping handed in today by Mrs. Clara Barkdull of Medford. The time-yellowed clipping, which she has treasured for over 40 years, was taken from some pioneer paper published in the county, but she does not now remember the name. It reads as follows:
    "To the editor: The statement made at the pioneer reunion as to Basil Dairy being the first white boy born in Jackson County is all a mistake. He was not born in Jackson County, but his parents came to Jacksonville when he was a baby; they came in 1852. Neither can Walter Gore claim the honor. Bruce Evans was the first white boy born in Jackson County. He was born in Jacksonville in August, 1852. All real pioneers know this to be a fact--and Mollie Ross was the first white girl baby born in Jacksonville, Jackson County, Oregon. (Signed) A Pioneer."
Medford Mail Tribune, June 12, 1934, page 3
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    [Peter Britt] traveled south, and on November 8, 1852 he arrived at Jacksonville, a new mining camp scarcely six [sic] months old. On arrival he had a two-wheeled cart, one yoke of oxen, a mule, $5 in cash and the first photographic outfit brought to Oregon.
Emil Britt, quoted in "When Crater Lake Met the Camera," Oregonian, November 11, 1934, page 56


    The distinction of producing the first sound moving picture in southern Oregon goes to H. D. Kem of this city, assistant sales manager in charge of advertising for the California Oregon Power Company and the Mountain States Electric Company, who has just made the initial presentation of "Jim Stays on the Farm" here. . . . the Medford-made picture [is] considered the first of its kind of educational films to be produced in the West. . . . The initial Medford-made picture, which has merited the praise and endorsement of all who have previewed it, reflects the energy and ability of the producer, Huxley Kem.
"Initial Medford Sound Picture, Produced Here by H. D. Kem, Is Praised," Medford Mail Tribune, November 25, 1934, page 5


    The memory took Mr. [Charles] Strang back to 1898, when Medford's first switchboard was installed in the back of his pharmacy, then situated where the Economy Meat Market now stands [at 206 E. Main].
    At that time the Pacific States Telephone Company had just linked up San Francisco and Portland and was endeavoring to build up its telephone business along the line. Switchboard service had already been inaugurated in Ashland and Jacksonville, and the company sought to establish its business here, Mr. Strang recalled.
    The result was that a small board was set up in the rear of the Strang drug store, and Mr. Strang became the first operator.
*      *      *
    The first full-time operator to be employed at the drug store switchboard was Lillian Barr, now Mrs. Ralph Woodford of this city, it was recalled by Mr. Strang's son, Fred, who by then had become an interested observer of the telephone business. The second operator was Florence Toft, who subsequently married and now resides in Los Angeles. She was a sister of the late Ray Toft. The third operator to be employed at the drug store was Miss Edna Eifert, who now is bookkeeper at the Hutchison Mercantile Co.
*      *      *
    Strang's Drug Store, incidentally, was the first pharmacy to be established in Medford. It was opened by the elder Mr. Strang in March 1884, when the city's population was only 200, Mr. Strang having come here from Jacksonville, where his parents resided.
"Strang Managed First Telephone System in City," Medford Mail Tribune, September 27, 1935, page B1


    "My first pastorate was the Springfield circuit," said Dr. Walton Skipworth. "I preached usually three times on Sunday, at various points, including Coburg, Creswell, Cottage Grove and Goshen, or at schoolhouses. I was assigned early to the Jacksonville circuit, including Jacksonville, Medford and Central Point. We had a powerful revival at Medford, with many baptisms and accessions. I preached the first sermon in the first Methodist church that was built at Medford. It was not completed, and I found floor and aisles covered with shavings, but the workmen promised to sweep out and have the church ready on the following day. I also organized the first Methodist Sunday school at Medford. D. T. Lawton was superintendent."
Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, April 29, 1937, page 12


    With ten fully uniformed softball teams ready for action and the high school band and girls' drum corps on hand to take part in proceedings, Medford High School's newly lighted football field will be dedicated tonight at 7:45.
"Softball Teams Start Schedule Under Arcs, 7:45," Medford Mail Tribune, June 7, 1937, page 7



    Night football will make its bow in Medford tomorrow evening when the Black Tornado of Coach Bill Bowerman enters the first game of its "sudden death" schedule.
"Game on Friday Will Inaugurate Night Football," Medford Mail Tribune, September 30, 1937, page 6


    The lights will flash red and green at intervals to be determined later, Mr. Rogers related. A whistle will blow simultaneously with the color flash to call attention to the change, he said. Traffic light whistles are an innovation and have been found more effective than bells, he stated, adding that Medford's whistles will be the first to be installed in the West Coast.
"City to Install Traffic Lights at 2 Corners," Medford Mail Tribune, November 3, 1937, page 10



    [Evan] Reames, the first U.S. senator from Southern Oregon, was born in Jacksonville, Ore., Feb. 5, 1870.
"Reames Named U.S. Senator,"
Portland News-Telegram, January 29, 1938, page 1


    "My brother, Joseph Orin [Stearns], with whom I am living, was born in Southern Oregon, October 15, 1855. Father had taken a donation claim where Medford is located, and Joe was the first white child born within the city limits of what is now Medford."
Anna M. Stearns Niles, quoted by Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, June 4, 1938, page 4


    E. K. Anderson packed the first seed wheat to this section on horseback from Yamhill, selling his 12-acre harvest the following year for 12 dollars a bushel.
Ralph Billings, "Valley Pioneers Name Mrs. Lother," Medford Mail Tribune, October 7, 1938, page 1


    In 1878 Mr. [John B.] Griffin married Nettie Naylor, daughter of Granville Naylor, who built the first sawmill in Jackson County. Mrs. Griffin died in 1936, at which time Mr. Griffin left the Medford home to reside in Ashland. Three children survive: Mrs. Abbie Bailey of Merrill, Lawrence Griffin of Bly and Everett Griffin of Trinidad, Calif. Survivors also include five great-grandchildren.
Medford News, May 5, 1939, page 1

"Death Calls Pioneer John Griffin," Medford News, May 5, 1939, page 1


    The first bridge on Rogue River in Jackson County was where the railroad bridge is at Gold Hill; it was a toll bridge, 25 cts. for a single crossing or $7.00 a year for Sams Valley ranchers.

Lindsey Sisemore, "Account of Life in Sams Valley," 1940, Southern Oregon Historical Society 1999.100.1, M45C, Box 7


    An aerial banner carrying the legend "Visit the Big Y" in large three-foot letters was towed about the city at about 1000-foot altitude by an airplane belonging to the Crater Flying Club. This is the first aerial banner ever used in this part of the state, according to airport employees.
"Aerial Banner Forms Novel Ad," Medford Mail Tribune, April 12, 1940, page 5


    Court Hall . . .
operated the first stage line to Crater Lake, and for the past 30 years had operated the Young and Hall orchard.
"Court Hall Passes On,"
Medford News, September 6, 1940, page 1


    In 1894 [Edward Wilkinson] built the first brick building on East Main Street, now occupied by Swem's Gift Shop. [Many brick buildings were built on East Main before the Wilkinson-Swem Building was built--in 1895, not 1894.]
Medford Mail Tribune, January 20, 1941, page 8


    Charles T. Higginbotham . . . came to Jackson County with his parents about 60 years ago. For a time they made their home in Central Point, then moved to Jacksonville and later to Medford when construction started on the railroad. He was the first wagon maker in Medford.
"Obituary," Medford News, June 20, 1941, page 3


    All were greatly excited [in May 1851] when the rockers were ready for operation, Josephine [Rollins] no less than the others, for the men promised to allow her to wash the first gold through a rocker. Thus she was the first person to mine gold in Oregon. The stream in which the gold was found had as yet no name, but the men soon named it Josephine Creek.
William A. Moxley, Oregon Historical Society Research Library MS 855.


    Women made their first entrance into factory work in Medford this week when the Timber Products company placed 15 on duty in the wire-bound box department of their plant. The work is light and easily handled by women and girls, official stated.
    The wire-bound work is being done on defense contracts, so the hiring of women really marked the first case of Medford women entering factory work for defense.
"Women Go to Work at Timber Products," Medford News, March 27, 1942, page 1


    A "first thing" came along at Camp White Sunday, August 23, in the form of the first marriage ceremony to take place in the camp chapel since "activation."
    Participants in the "merger" were Sergeant Keith Fowble of San Gabriel, Cal., and his sparkling-eyed, dimple-cheeked bride, Miss Geraldine Green of Los Angeles.
"First of Weddings Performed at Camp White in Army Style," Oregon Journal, Portland, August 30, 1942, page 4


    Mrs. Polly Foster and Mrs. Nancy Hunter were, according to their claims, the first and second respectively of the white women who settled in Rogue River Valley. I met the former first in Smith River in 1885 and the latter in Crescent City in 1888.
Eph L. Musick, "The Old 'Big Sticky,'" Oakland Tribune, December 27, 1942, page 29


    William M. Hodson . . . established the first automotive concern in Medford, "The Hodson Auto Company," in 1905, and sponsored the first car to drive to the rim of Crater Lake in 1906 or 1907. He was a mechanic and followed that trade most of his life.
"Obituary," Medford Mail Tribune, May 12, 1944, page 3


    Stephen Nye, Jr. and Joe Naumes, Jr., on property just north of the [Growers Refrigerating Co.] storage plant [on South Fir] are building the first ground-level fruit-packing plant in the Northwest.
"Ice Arena To Be Modern Storage Plant for Fruit," Medford Mail Tribune, June 9, 1946, page 14

1908 Dorris
Reputedly (though improbably) the first auto in Jacksonville, a 1908 Dorris, from a notoriously inaccurate series of Rogue Valley postcards issued in 1947. A. C. Allen (see above) bought Jackson County's second car in 1905, and he lived about two miles from Jacksonville.

    Funeral services were held September 13 at Cave Junction with interment following in the I.O.O.F. cemetery there for Agnes Martha Smith of Cave Junction, who passed away at Ashland, September 11. Mrs. Smith, oldest daughter of Margaret Lovejoy and Freeling William Sawyer, early pioneer residents, was the first white child born at Kerby, then Kerbyville.
Medford Mail Tribune, September 21, 1947, page 3


    [Hattie W. Gore was the] first woman to serve on [the] Medford School Board. . . .
"Hattie W. Gore,"
Capitol's Who's Who for Oregon 1948-49, page 222


    The antiquated street lighting on Medford's Main Street has been replaced during October by a system using 16,000-lumen mercury lights--the first mercury system to be installed in Southern Oregon.
"Medford Has Mercury Lighting," Western City, February 1948, page 25


    Ashland's first hotel was built by John H. Foster in 1854, but by 1859 "The Ashland House" was built by Eber Emery, and became the stage stop hotel.
    The first stage house built in Phoenix was opened in 1854. Nothing remains of it today. Colver House was built there by Samuel Colver in 1855 for a hotel. It was used for Colver's family residence, later as a place of refuge during the Indian wars [it was never attacked], and still later, for a stage stop. [It was never a stage stop.]
"Rogue River Valley's Early History Reviewed,"
Medford Mail Tribune, September 26, 1948, page 10


    The second quartz locality was the famous Gold Hill Lode, discovered the same year by Mr. Graham, who took George Ish, James Hayes, Thomas Chavner and John Long as partners. The first quartz mill in the valley was built there. It was purchased in San Francisco and shipped to the mine by the firm of Klippel, McLaughlin and Williams at a cost of $12,000, including the freight; $400,000 was taken out the next year.

"Rogue River Valley's Early History Reviewed," 
Medford Mail Tribune, October 17, 1948, page 7


    Before [1853]'s end, the walls of the town's first brick building were well underway. A kiln of brick had been burned for that purpose and marl from the "desert" beyond Bear Creek was used instead of lime. The building was the store of Maury & Davis, completed the next year. . . .
    The first school was organized by Miss Royal, a minister's daughter. Mrs. McCully taught it.
"Rogue River Valley's Early History Reviewed," Medford Mail Tribune, October 24, 1948, page 14


    The first hotel [in Ashland] 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. . . .
    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. . . .
    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. . . .
    The first church was held in the dining room of the Sampson Tavern. . . .
    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. . . .
    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.
"Rogue River Valley's Early History Reviewed," Medford Mail Tribune, October 31, 1948, page 12


    Harvey Oatman built the first hotel [in Phoenix]. Henry Church and H. B. Oatman were the first merchants.
"Rogue History Review Shows Talent Among First Towns in Valley Farming Region," Medford Mail Tribune, November 1, 1948, page 3


    Colonel Ross evidently had a penchant for thrilling his audiences with his version of an Indian war whoop, for a story which makes its rounds in Jacksonville tells of the bachelor party given for Nat Dean upon his approaching marriage to Ann Houston, which was the first marriage in Jackson County. 
"Reminiscences of Early Days in Jackson County Told at Pioneer Group's Meeting," Medford Mail Tribune, October 2, 1949, page 12


    Jane Mason McCully . . . was the teacher of the first private school in Jacksonville, and was one of the first three white women to inhabit Jacksonville. It is believed that she was mother of the first white child born in Jacksonville.

"Reminiscences of Early Days in Jackson County Told at Pioneer Group's Meeting," Medford Mail Tribune, October 2, 1949, page 12
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Elizabeth Dunn Van Sant, the first white girl born in Jackson County, died Sunday in Portland, where she had resided for the last 20 years. She was 93 years old.
“First White Girl Born in County Dies,” Medford News, May 19, 1950, page 1   Elizabeth Dunn was born November 20, 1855.
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The history of the Myron E. Root Company began in 1932 when it became an incorporated concern and started operating in the old C. and E. warehouse at 11th and Fir sts. This building was the first warehouse constructed in Medford and was built prior to 1908.
"Myron Root Co. Moves to New Location," Medford News, June 9, 1950, page 1


    In November of 1852 [Nathaniel C. Dean] married Miss Anne Houston, and they became the first white couple to be united in wedlock in Jackson County.
"Farm Owned by Dean Family for 100 Years," Medford News, December 29, 1950, page 1

Possibly Medford's First Taxi
Medford Mail Tribune, June 28, 1953.
It's unlikely that this particular carriage figured in Medford's early history.


    An unidentified man telephoned Brown's Cafe and Lounge, 101 East Main St., at about 7:05 p.m. yesterday. . . . The threat, the first reported in Medford, is the latest in a series of bombing hoaxes, threats and one actual bombing which have busied police authorities in Oregon and Washington in recent weeks.
"Threat of Bombing Here Thought To Be Hoax by City Police,"
Medford Mail Tribune, May 20, 1955, page 1


    The [pear blossom] tour brings motorists through Fern Valley. It approaches Phoenix on the Fern Valley Road, turns north just east of Bear Creek and proceeds to the Medford Pear Company orchard on the left. After a curve in the road is the largest solid planting of Bosc in the world in the Crystal Springs orchard. In the same orchard is a 100-year-old Bartlett tree, the oldest of its kind in the county.
"Connie Hanscom Named Queen of Pear Festival; Tours Suggested," Medford Mail Tribune, April 20, 1956, page 1


    Medford was the first community in the county to get telephones. The exchange was established on September 5, 1898. Less than a month later, on October 1, telephones came to Ashland. Then service came to Jacksonville on the first day of March the following year.
"Telephone History Recalled,"
Rogue River Times, April 5, 1957, page 7


    John Ross and Elisebeth Hopwood were the first white couple to be married in Jacksonville, and the second in the county, Mrs. Cantrall recalls. . . . John and Elisebeth's daughter, Mary Louisa Ross, was the first white girl born in the city of Jacksonville. Her birthday is given as October 8, 1853, her death as May 31, 1913.
    Mary Louisa was married to William Jasper Stanley on December 13, 1871. Mr. Stanley was a school teacher, and later he served as the first superintendent of schools in what is now Jackson County.
"Native Daughter Recalls Early Jackson County Day," October 13, 1957 Medford Mail Tribune, page B7 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Charles C. Furnas, ex-mayor of Medford who died here Tuesday, established the first automobile service station in this city in December, 1918.
    The Medford Service Station, as the enterprise was known, was erected by Mr. Furnas at Main St. and Riverside Ave. where the then two-way Highway 99 passed through Medford. The tire sales and service part of the firm's operation was conducted in the adjoining building which now houses Wainscott's Pharmacy.
"First Gas Station Run by C. Furnas Who Died Tuesday," Medford Mail Tribune, April 17, 1958, page 1


    . . . William [Colvig], who was company clerk, went on an expedition into the area which is now roughly Klamath, Lake and Malheur counties. William drew a crude map of the territory--the first ever made--and the map was later sent to Washington, D.C. for copying.
Olive Starcher, "Potpourri," Medford Mail Tribune, March 1, 1959, page B7



    Kanaka Flat, just out of Jacksonville, is designated as the place where manmade bricks were made for the first [brick] building in Jacksonville.
"Historic Sites Marked," Medford Mail Tribune, July 8, 1959, page 15



    Rogue Valley Hospital . . . includes an intensive care unit, the first of its kind in southern Oregon-northern California.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 16, 1962, page 1


    It was at the old Page Theater (where the Roxy now rests in quiet cinema death) that Al Jolson, appearing in person, announced to his audience that he would sing Irving Berlin's "Always" for the first time.

J.W.S., "On Stage," Medford Mail Tribune, April 7, 1963, page 4


    Mrs. O. T. Brown was the former Roxanna Gray. She was the first white woman resident at Fort Klamath in the 1860s, and the first white woman to visit Crater Lake, also in the 1860s, according to historical accounts of Southern Oregon.
"Relatives of Pioneer Couple Hold Reunion," Medford Mail Tribune, June 9, 1963, page C6


    [John] Schumpf said his father owned the first barber shop in Jacksonville. . . .
"Oldtimer Tells of Day GAR Reunion Shook Jacksonville," Medford Mail Tribune, January 25, 1965, page 10


    On Jan. 1, 1889, a weekly newspaper in the county carried this item:
    "Ashland Plaza was lighted for the first time last Friday by a 1200-candlepower arc light suspended in one of the upper doorways of the Ashland Flouring Mills.
    "The light was a bright surprise to most of our citizens. It is of the same power as the arc lights, which will be furnished by the electric company, and it was supplied with electricity by a small dynamo constructed by Mr. Tuttle, the electrician of the company, during his residence at Chico, Calif."
    Thus did the marvel of electricity come to Jackson County.

Seth M. Bullis, "Electric Service in Jackson County Started in Ashland in 1889," Medford Mail Tribune, February 9, 1965, page C6


    Woody Morse, owner of Morse Motors, Medford, has disclosed that the 1966 Volkswagen will go on display Friday, October 8.
    The new models are shown in photo above en route to Medford by Southern Pacific's specially designed transport car. According to Morse this is the first time any shipment of cars has been delivered in Medford by this mode of transportation.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 7, 1965, page 8


    In [1913] [Cora Jane Roberts Truax] became the first city councilwoman in the state of Oregon, when she served one term on the Gold Hill City Council.
"Mrs. W. W. Truax to Celebrate 100th Birthday Oct. 23," Medford Mail Tribune, October 17, 1965, page 3

    The first single-care-unit hospital to be constructed in the United States, now nearing completion on Crater Lake Avenue and McAndrews Road, will be known as "Providence Hospital, Medford." . . .
    While there is a private room hospital now in operation in Carmel, Calif., spokesmen for the local hospital construction explained, it is not a "single care unit" hospital. The single care units are smaller than private rooms, and the cost remains at the same level of hospitals operated under the ward system.

"Catholic Hospital Here Changes Name," Medford Mail Tribune, December 15, 1965, page 1


    In 1854 a son, John, was born to [Abel D. and Martha Helman], who had the distinction of being the first white child born in the new settlement [of Ashland].
"Ashland's New School to Honor Pioneer Settler Abel D. Helman," Medford Mail Tribune, January 12, 1966, page B2
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    Many other notable achievements were recorded through the years by the hospital on the hill which assure it a place in medical history. The first brain surgery, using hypothermia, was successfully completed there in 1959; the only tumor clinic in Jackson County was first maintained at Sacred Heart Hospital.
"History of Sacred Heart Hospital Is Reviewed," Medford Mail Tribune, March 18, 1966, page B2


    The state's first information center for tourists entering Oregon opened today in the Siskiyou Mountains along the northbound lanes of Interstate 5.
"Tourist Information Center Opens Near Ashland on Freeway," Medford Mail Tribune, May 4, 1966, page 1


    [Votomatic] voting machines were initiated in Jackson County in the May primary election.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 8, 1966, page 1


    Book 1 of Medford building permits is labeled "Oct. 27, 1913 to Feb. 16, 1921."
    The first permit in the book was issued to a former Medford mayor, George W. Porter, 826 Minnesota Ave.
    The permit called for construction of a frame store building at a cost of approximately $600. The location was on the south side of East Main Street between Almond and Tripp streets. It housed a bakery, originally, Porter, who served as mayor during the 1930s, recalls.
Eva Hamilton, "Look into First Building Permits of City Shows Cost Differences," Medford Mail Tribune, March 26, 1967, page D1


    March 13, 1880, the first Eastern Star chapter in the state of Oregon was instituted in Ashland, with Mrs. Mary E. McCall installed as its worthy matron.
"Oldest Eastern Star Chapter in State Celebrates Anniversary," Medford Mail Tribune, March 27, 1968, page 11


    He was first to film Crater Lake, and his auto was the first to make the trip into Crater Lake National Park.

"Private Services Held for Author Albert C. Allen," Medford Mail Tribune, November 30, 1972, page 15



    In 1954, [Ben Fagone] was elected president of the Lincoln School Parent-Teacher Association--the first man to head a PTA in Oregon, thus cracking a long-standing sexist barrier.
Eric W. Allen, "Four for Council--and Benny,"
Medford Mail Tribune, October 27, 1974, page 4


    The First Christian Church organized on Nov. 22, 1884; "the first service was held in a hall over Charley Waters' [sic] grocery store." [Charley Wolters wasn't yet in business in Medford in 1884; this likely refers to the building he would later occupy.]
"First Christian Church Marks 90th Milestone," Medford Mail Tribune, November 15, 1974


    The Emerys and Hurley started building a sawmill as soon as they arrived [in Ashland]. In June, 1852, that mill turned out the first lumber of any mill in the Rogue River basin.
"Cornerstone Yields Sketch of Old Ashland,"
Medford Mail Tribune, September 26, 1978, page D1


    Ashland's first police woman reported for duty Monday. If there's one thing that Mary Duhaime is sure of, it's that she wants to be a patrol officer.
Joe Cowley, "City's First Policewoman Anticipates Patrol Duty," Medford Mail Tribune, June 12, 1979, page C1


    Traffic signals at Medford street intersections were operated by a master computer at city hall for the first time Tuesday afternoon.
"New Signal System Partially Operating," Medford Mail Tribune, February 8, 1984, page 1


    A jeweler named Elwood brought the first auto to Medford in [1903]. [Roland A.] Hubbard says the three-cylinder Lamport [sic] was the object of some derision. [Though Elwood did later become a Lambert dealer, an early photo reveals Medford's first car to have been a Baldner.] It was labeled "Elwood's pushmobile" because it often had to be pushed home.
"Hubbard Recalls Days of Buggies, Wagons," Medford Mail Tribune, June 6, 1985, page 36


   
Ben Fagone "
was the first man to become president of the Oregon Parent Teacher Association (PTA)."
"Ben Fagone, City Leader, Dies at 66," Medford Mail Tribune, August 10, 1986, page 1


    Folklore is that Alice (Wrisley) Goddard was [said] to have been the first white child born in Rogue River Valley.
Linda Morehouse Genaw, At the Crossroads: A History of Central Point, 1989, page 18
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    My mother told me that Jane Helen Woodford [born December 17, 1884] was the second woman born in the city of Medford. The first was Edith Webb (who married a Mr. Welch).
M. W. Williams, undated letter, Woodford vertical file, SOHS
 Refer to conflicting claims on this page.


    The announcement was made shortly after noon Monday, and around 2:30 p.m., [Sheryl] Baird and [Shannon] Rouhier became the first same-sex couple in Jackson County to legally tie the knot.
"Gay Marriage Band Struck Down," Medford Mail Tribune, May 20, 2014, page 1




Last revised February 7, 2024