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The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised




Jackson County 1902


JACKSON COUNTY.
Noted for Its Mines and Great Abundance and Variety of Fruit.
    Jackson County is bounded on the north by Douglas, east by Klamath, south by [the] California line, and west by Josephine County. It is practically 65x48 miles, and contains something over 3000 square miles. The northwest boundary of the county lies along the range that separates the waters of Rogue River from those of the Umpqua. This mountain is high, in many places rugged and almost everywhere heavily timbered.
    The east boundary lies practically along the axis of the Cascade Range, and is marked by the range lines between ranges 4 and 5. The south boundary is latitude 42 north, and lies parallel with and in large part just south of the summits of the Siskiyou Range, which in places rises to an altitude of between 7000 and 8000 feet above sea level. These mountains are also heavily timbered. The west boundary crosses numerous mountain spurs that converge toward Rogue River from the north and south.
    A little west of the center of the county lies its principal agricultural area--the Rogue River Valley. Mount McLoughlin, sometimes called Mount Pitt, stands near the eastern boundary of the county, and is a beautiful, snowy peak 9700 feet high. Ashland Butte stands just within the county, near its southern boundary, and has an altitude of nearly 8000 feet. Other peaks of these two ranges rise to a great height and furnish innumerable streams of never-failing water supply, as pure and clear as the dew drops of the  morning.
    It will be seen that the summits of these three great mountain ranges furnish three of the boundary lines of Jackson County; to wit, the north, the east, and the south, whose streams rush, converging, toward the central portion of the county, where the waters gather to form Rogue River, flowing thence westerly to the ocean. Each of these numerous tributaries has margins of greater or less extent of agricultural lands which are also tributary to the main valley.
    The lowest level of the valley is where Rogue River crosses the west boundary of the county, and is about 1000 feet above the sea level. The greatest altitude at which agriculture or horticulture is made profitable in this county is perhaps about 3500 feet above sea level. Between these two levels great variety of products is obtained, not dependent on altitude alone, which is only climatic in its differences, but also on the soils, slopes and opportunities for irrigation.
    The mountains occupying the southern and westerly parts of the county, westerly from the head of Rogue River Valley, are of a granite formation, while those to the north and east are volcanic and of more recent formation. The great height of these mountains induce a heavy snowfall at and near their summits, while snow seldom falls on any account in the lower valleys.
    The streams leaping from such heights transport immense quantities of detritus to the valley; from the one region decomposed granite, and from the other the product of disintegrated volcanic matter, building up at one side of the valley a granite soil and at the other side, largely of adobe and volcanic ash, while toward the center or lower portions of the valley the two soils are mixed. Those who are familiar with these soils know the difference of production, under similar conditions of climate, to be found in the two.
    The granite seems best adapted to peaches and well adapted to horticultural pursuits generally, and is known as the home of the peach. The lower portions of the valley, possessing a mixture of the two soils, are well adapted to horticultural pursuits, and where the granite docs not predominate and in the sections containing a loam produce in large quantities of splendid quality all of the cereals adapted to the climate. The soil that is chiefly known as adobe produces the strongest fruit trees and the longest lived, and is the best adapted to the growth of cereals. The Rogue River Valley has an area perhaps, including the streams with agricultural margins flowing into it, of 600 or 700 square miles, and is frequently designated as the Italy of Oregon. Its climate is the most equable to be found on the Pacific Coast; the average rainfall, as shown by many years' record. is about 20 to 24 inches. The weather is seldom colder than 10 degrees above, or hotter than 90 degrees above. Severe storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, or blizzards, are unknown. The productiveness of the valley and of the county is conceded by all who know it to be easily equal to anything on the Pacific Coast. The great numbers of streams furnish a never-falling supply of water, where needed for irrigation; we never have the extremes of heat or cold, drought nor extreme humidity that furnish the objectionable features in so many other regions.
    Jackson County is especially noted for the abundance, great variety and excellent quality of its fruit. The peaches from this region have taken the premium at some of the great expositions of the country within the past few years, and particularly the Columbian Exposition at Chicago. The variety of fruits consists of apples, pears, peaches, plums, prunes, apricots, nectarines; and of berries are the blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants, and other varieties. Blackberries and strawberries, like peaches, seem to reach perfection here, and also on the hillside slopes where the soil is of a clay grapes not excelled in the world are produced in great abundance. In fact, the peculiar variety of soils which we have, the warmth, the sunshine and the pure water have made of Rogue River Valley and the Applegate Valley, and other valleys in Josephine County, a section not excelled in the world for a great variety of fruits such as are at all adapted to this latitude.
    Being surrounded as we are by high mountain ranges, the atmosphere of this section is to a very high degree pure and healthful, therefore, no region in the world excels it in this respect. The many attractions which nature has so lavishly spread here are producing a natural result in a rapidly growing population. The immigration for some years past has been very rapid, and of a class most conducive to the highest social and moral conditions of a community. No portion of Oregon is better supplied with schools, and all of the church organizations seem to be represented. The mountains surrounding the valley are high and picturesque, and nearly everywhere heavily timbered, with the finest quality of sugar pine, yellow pine, various varieties of fir and other woods and timber of great commercial value. Manufacturing establishments will find here in the future an excellent place for investment, the streams furnishing the cheapest quality of power. These mountain fastnesses, also, afford the most picturesque haunts for summer outings and places for recuperating health, or avoiding the heat of lower regions. The streams are filled with trout, which, living in water directly from the snow, are of the best varieties, finest quality. Game abounds in the mountains, but not in quantities that prevailed a few years ago.
Mining a Chief Source of Wealth.
    The mining industry of this country is one of the chief sources of the wealth of Southern Oregon. From the earliest days of Pacific Coast settlement, the gold fields of Southern Oregon have been noted and Jackson and Josephine counties have furnished from their placer mines millions of dollars in the yellow metal. The placer mines are not worked to the extent  now that they used to be, yet there are many hydraulic propositions that during the winter season when water is plentiful yield large returns. Within the past few years the development of quartz mining has been rapidly pushed, and today there are a large number of quartz propositions that are paying. In the neighborhood of Gold Hill there are a great many quartz ledges being developed, some running very high, and from which quite a large return has already been made. The Ashland mine, near Ashland, is being worked at a depth greater than any other mine in Southern Oregon, the depth already obtained being something over 700 feet. The ledge has been fully demonstrated to have an extent, permanency and a richness fully justifying the hope and aspirations of its progressive and energetic owners. The Shorty-Hope Mining & Milling Company have large mining properties within a mile of the Ashland mine, upon which extensive work has been done, and from which large returns have been realized. This mine is owned chiefly by New York capitalists, while the Ashland mine is owned chiefly by Montreal capitalists. Each of these claims has a 10-stamp mill; both are well equipped, and have everything that is needful for successful operation. In the  neighborhood of Jacksonville there are other quartz propositions now being operated, and still others being prospected. Enough has already been done and developed to demonstrate that the quartz mining for gold in Southern Oregon is as yet only in its infancy. The Klamath group of mountains, of which the Siskiyous form an important part, consist of a formation contemporaneous in age with the high Sierras of California, and the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon. The formation and peculiar characteristics of each are the same. Each has furnished a field, in its own special locality, for the mines of the Pacific Coast, and the great propositions in a mining way, so far as developed, point to the assurance that these three are among the great mining regions of the United States. The mines of Jackson County are chiefly in the Siskiyous, which are seamed and broken by ledges containing gold, silver and copper. Many of these ledges are of a free-milling character, and are made eminently profitable by the present method of working ores, by the process of stamp mills, while many others are known as base ores, and will require smelting or chemical process to extract the values. Tests, however, are being made from hundreds of ledges of various kinds, and doubtless in the near future proper method of securing the values of each will be discovered. As a mining region Southern Oregon and Northern California present inducements not to be found in any other mining region perhaps in the world. Alaska, with its newly developed, or partially developed fields, presents a phase in its rigorous climate and distance from commercial marts which makes the working of its mines tedious, dangerous and expensive. Siberia presents the same difficulties. Australia, removed by thousands of miles of ocean, cannot possibly be reached by the man of modest means. Southern Oregon, with a climate that has entitled it to the appellation of the Italy of America, with valleys that produce everything that a miner could wish, to which easy access from all the mines is had, has eliminated from the miner's tribulations those things that have been difficulties in nearly all other mining regions in the world. Copper is being found now in many sections of Southern Oregon, and being prospected with excellent assurances of reasonable return. The present requirements, brought about by electrical developments, has pushed copper into the front as one of the most valuable metals, and the region under discussion presents many assurances that here will be found in large quantities the metal desired.
Other Mineral Resources.
    There are many other mineral products to be found in Jackson County; coal has been found in many places, but as yet, considering the facilities for transportation and the quality of the coal found, has not presented inducement for the investment of capital. Near Ashland, large beds of kaolin exist, and recently have been located in part by men interested in that line of product with a view of early development. This kaolin has been tested at Akron, O., and at other places where such clay is worked, and is pronounced to be of an excellent quality, while the quantity seems to be almost inexhaustible. Fire clay and mineral paints abound in many places. Graphite of a quality suited for lubricants is also found in large quantities. Asbestos is found in small quantities and of reasonably good qualities, which, by proper efforts, might be developed into paying quantities and of commercial quality. Seams and veins carrying large quantities of cinnabar are found in almost every direction, and in some places in the county small quantities of quicksilver have been extracted. The mountains surrounding these valleys furnish an excellent range for stock, which, owing to the exceeding mildness of the winters, have an attraction for stockmen not to be found in other sections.
    The Southern Pacific Railroad traverses the county from the southeast to the northwest, passing through almost the extreme length of the county, and affords the only line of transportation which the people of Southern Oregon have, except those counties lying directly on the coast. Perhaps the only drawback which Southern Oregon at the present time experiences is the fact that we have but one railroad and that this company is not especially anxious to concede that which should be conceded to a region tributary to so important a degree as this region is. While the said company have certainly made, or apparently have made, concessions in the way of freights in some directions, it is a noticeable fact that it costs almost as much to ship a carload from any point on the railroad south of Portland or north of San Francisco to Ashland as it does from either of those cities to Chicago. It seems to the people of this region very reasonable that advantage should not be taken by a railroad company of an isolated position which to the extent above stated Southern Oregon has, but that said company should be as anxious for a complete development of the resources of all regions lying  along its line as they are to secure the traffic from other sections to which they have some competition.
Several Prosperous Towns.
    Ashland is the chief town of Southern Oregon, having a population of 3000 or perhaps something more than that. It is notable for the beauty of its surroundings, for its rapid growth, its pure water, its healthful climate, its school advantages, and for the mines that are tributary to it. It occupies the heart of the peach region, and has been termed "Peach-Blow Paradise." The growth of this little city for the past two or three years has not been due to any boom, but has been remarkable. It is the site of a state normal school, of an important Chautauqua association, with beautiful and extensive grounds, and capacious auditorium; it has splendid school buildings, and has on its enrollment over 1100 school children. It occupies the position as central division station on the Southern Pacific Railroad, between Portland and San Francisco, and its payroll from said company reaches well up to $20,000 a month. It has many beautiful homes, public buildings, and much public spirit.
    Medford is the second town in size in Jackson County, occupies a central position to the agricultural region, is a place of much enterprise, is rapidly growing, does an extensive business, and is well equipped with schools and other things required to make a prosperous and lively town. Medford's position will always give it an importance in Southern Oregon. A large ditch is now in course of construction which is intended ultimately to carry the waters of Butte Creek around the foothills of the valley for irrigation purposes, and to supply Medford with the necessary quantity of excellent water for all purposes, domestic and irrigation.
    Jacksonville is the county seat of Jackson County. For many years it was the metropolis of Southern Oregon. It is beautifully situated five miles west from Medford, with which it is connected by a short line of railroad owned by private parties. Jacksonville was the old mining center of this portion of the state, and, like Kerbyville, once had a glory which has since largely departed; notwithstanding this. Jacksonville is one of the most pleasant, healthful and beautiful locations that can be found on the Coast. Its vineyards and those in the immediate vicinity give to Oregon very largely the credit which is her due in the culture of grapes and the possibilities which will be attendant upon a complete exploitation of that industry, when there shall have been a much-needed competing method of transportation from this valley to some point on the coast, which doubtless in the future will be accomplished.
    Gold Hill is in size and probable possibilities the third place in the county. Its people believe that it will in time grow to be a metropolis. There is no doubt but that Gold Hill is at the present time and with proper spirit may continue to be the principal gold mining center of Jackson County. It is beautifully situated on the banks of Rogue River, has all the advantages of climate accorded to Rogue River Valley, excellent water, good health, and a large agricultural region tributary to it. There is a large ditch in progress of construction, which, when completed from its initial point on Rogue River to Gold Hill, will have a length of nearly 90 miles, and if completed on the plans and specifications started will not only furnish that region and the country lying along it with excellent water and with quantities sufficient for mining and irrigation, but will also furnish an avenue for the transportation of the  immense quantities of lumber that must in the future be cut along the line traversed by it. The timber resources of upper Rogue River are practically inexhaustible and the quality of the timber for commercial purposes unexcelled. From this source Gold Hill hopes much.
    The other towns in the county are: Talent, five miles west of Ashland: Phoenix, three miles further on; Central Point, four miles north of Medford; Woodville, nine miles northwest from Gold Hill, and Eagle Point, lying nine miles east of the railroad and situated in the beautiful Butte Creek Valley, a portion of the Rogue River Valley.
    Each of these towns exhibits the thrift and growth so plainly noticeable throughout the whole valley.
    It would be impossible in the space allotted to this article to go further into detail in pointing out the advantages and attractive features of Jackson County. Strangers who have visited it and remained any length of time are always loud in its praise, and the people who live here are sufficiently appreciative of the advantages we have to believe that the praise given to the county is justly its due. In fact, a thorough knowledge of its mountains and valleys tends to induce a poetic sentiment, which can not be avoided by one who becomes familiar with it, and for fear that I might wind this article up with a stanza or two or poetry, I will close it now abruptly.
    Ashland.                                                                            C. B. WATSON.         
Morning Oregonian, Portland, January 1, 1902, page 22

OREGON BETTER THAN MINNESOTA.
Mr. G. H. Howland Tells His Minnesota Friends
of the Good Things Which Abound Here.
From the Blanchard, Minnesota Register.
    G. H. Howland this week has a brief but interesting letter in the
Register, written at Medford, Oregon, December 30. It will be perused with pleasure by Mr. Howland's many old neighbors and friends in this county. He writes:
    Through the columns of the Register, I will keep my promise to old friends.
    The first question you would ask, "Do you like Oregon?" Yes, better than Minnesota. The other day when we read a letter from back there, and knew how cold you were having it, I said to my wife, "I am glad we are not there." We have been here over one year and the climate is delightful. There has been only about twenty-five days in that time that we have not seen the sun some time during the day. Not much rain. When it does rain, it comes generally in the night. But little fog, always a little breeze, but the wind never blows hard. Have some frosty nights, but does not get colder than 20 above and very seldom hotter than 90 above.
    This section is called the Rogue River Valley. It is about twenty-five miles long, and from four to fifteen miles wide, with several smaller valleys leading into it. There are four towns, Ashland, Jacksonville, Central Point and Medford, the latter about the center, population 2500, eighteen years old.
    All kinds of cereals are raised here. Wheat on good land yields from thirty to forty bushels per acre, price 50 cents. Oats sixty to 100 bushels per acre, price always 50 cents. Barley forty to seventy-five bushels per acre, price 50 cents. Corn twenty-five to forty bushels per acre, always 50 cents. There is no grain shipped out. Hay is a paying crop. There is wheat hay, wild oat hay, there's volunteer and alfalfa--the latter cutting four to six tons per acre, brings $8.00 to $12.00. I am selling now for $10 at the barn. Fruit of almost every kind, apples, pears and prunes principally. There is one man who has 160 acres into apples and he cleared above all expenses $30,000 this year. I know of another who cleared $1000 off six acres, then sold for $2400. He paid $1500 for it a year ago. Fruit farms sell well. An "eighty" sold for $15,000.
    Several hundred carloads are shipped from here every season. Of timber there is a great supply in kinds and quality. There are great tracts of sugar pine in this country that will run from 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 to the quarter. This is worth $40 per thousand here on track. There are mountains all around. There are a great many rich gold mines, the output being about $250,000 to the five banks in this valley, besides there is a great deal the banks do not handle. There are also copper, quicksilver, asphaltum and asbestos, and coal and oil indications are good. They are being prospected for. There are building stone and granite quarries. The stone for the United States post office at Salem is being taken from this valley.
    I wish if there are any Blue Earth folks that come to the coast and are dissatisfied would come to this valley before going back.
    For fear I will take up too much space, also tire you out, I will stop. I will be glad to answer any questions that you may care to ask.
G. H. HOWLAND.           
Medford Mail, January 17, 1902, page 2


OREGON LETTER.
ASHLAND, OREGON,               
March 13, 1902.               
Editor Republican:
    A few lines from the Pacific Slope may be of interest to your readers. We have most delightful weather in Southern Oregon this winter, up to the first of February. Since then we have had a great deal of rain, and much snow in the mountains. When I say "Southern Oregon," I use a sort of Oregonian speech peculiar to itself. That phrase does not correctly designate the geographical locality we mean when we speak of it. It simply means Josephine and Jackson counties. Coos and Curry counties which lie off against the coast are right-called "Southwestern Oregon." Klamath and Lake counties, which lie next to the California boundary, and west of a line dividing the eastern and western half of the state, are, in spite of the geography and the dictionary, called Southeastern Oregon. The summit of the Cascade Range of mountains being the dividing line, instead of a line halfway across the state from east to west. The same thing holds true in the northern part of the state. The Willamette Valley being known as Western Oregon, while all of that vast empire lying east of the summit of the Cascades is known as Eastern Oregon, though the line dividing "Western" from "Eastern" is not a third of the way across the state from west to east. Southern Oregon shared in the pioneer life of the state. Until 16 years ago this part of the state had no railroad, the Southern Pacific extending no farther south than Roseburg. Since then all is changed. The old stagecoach, bringing mail once a week, has given way to "overland," and the "Flyer," two superb vestibule trains each way daily. Ashland, the little hamlet on the old Oregon & California stage line, halfway between Portland and San Francisco, has become a town of 4000 people, the end of a R.R. division, where 250 employees of the Southern Pacific make their homes. It has become a town which claims the admiration of every visitor passing through this coast country. In early days Jacksonville, the county seat, was the center of Southern Oregon life. First settled in 1852 by prospectors for gold dust, it soon became a town of miners, and one of the largest gold dust shipping points in the state. In the '70s it was a crowded town of 4000 population, with all the energy and push of a mining center, but now there are scarcely 800 inhabitants. It received its death blow when the S.P. railroad was built, missing Jacksonville about 5 miles. It is thought to be a question of but a few years when the county seat will be moved, either to Ashland or Medford. In a few weeks Ashland will appear its loveliest, the peach orchards being in full bloom. The almond trees are in bloom now. Ashland is indeed a beautiful town. A beautiful mountain stream, Ashland Creek, dashes through the center of the city, not only making the town picturesque in the extreme but furnishing an abundant supply of ice-cold, sparkling water for house and irrigating purposes, as well as for power for mills and factories. The moral tone of the town, which has long been acknowledged to be superior to any other Southern Oregon town, has greatly increased during the past year, under the rule of "no license," which went into effect one year ago the 15th of last January. A rare treat is given the people of this part of the state every summer by the Chautauqua Association, which is one of the established institutions of the city. The best talent that comes to this coast is secured for Ashland. The place is well supplied with churches and schools, there being nine denominations represented here, and three large public school buildings, including the high school, beside the Southern Oregon State Normal School, which is situated at the edge of town.
    Southern Oregon will always, and under all conditions, be an attractive country. Its scenery is of unrivaled beauty--a succession of mountain pictures in association with lovely vales and abounding waters. It has a warmer sun and a brighter sky than the more northerly parts of Oregon. It has all the charm and beauty of California, and it has what California has not, a sun and an adequate rainfall. Its elevation of from 500 to 2000 feet in the valley, and from 2000 to 7000 feet in the mountains, gives to its atmosphere the bracing quality which goes so far toward creating and sustaining human energies, and one comes quickly and easily to understand the charm which holds the imagination and the sentiment of those whose homes are here in a bondage from which they would not willingly be free. As I write I look from my study window, and see fruit trees in bloom, green grain fields beyond the town, and lifting my eyes slightly, I see the snow-clad mountains in every direction surrounding the town--the snow in places extending down the mountainsides to within a mile of the city. My letter is already too long. People are coming to the coast this spring by the thousands. I send kind greetings to all readers of the Republican.
        Very truly
                J. T. ABBETT.
The Warren Republican, Williamsport, Indiana, March 27, 1902, page 4
EDITORIAL.
Gold Hill--Its Future.
    The object of this article is to call attention to the many resources around Gold Hill that will eventually make it one of the most important manufacturing centers in Oregon. Few people know that Gold Hill has future prospects far better than any other town in Southern Oregon. Mr. J. J. Houck, one of our most enterprising citizens, started work this week on his electric light plant which, in itself, marks a new epoch in the advancement of our town. He agrees to furnish the town with three 40-candlepower lights almost for nothing and the business houses and private residences at a far less cost than can be done with gasoline or coal oil. He will also be in a position to furnish all the surrounding mines with power enough to operate the heaviest machinery. As our mining resources become more extensive and the demand is greater the plant can be increased to almost any capacity. This may seem like an idle dream, but when you stop to consider the fact that five hundred thousand inches of water is at all times available in Rogue River, and Mr. Houck's ditch, while furnishing enough power for the present, can be enlarged to almost any extent at little cost, the project becomes entirely feasible. Many people, even here in our midst, fail to realize the immense power which can be developed from the waters of Rogue River, nor do they stop to consider the fact that nowhere else in this country can it be done for such a small outlay of capital. Up the river is the finest body of timber in this state. In the Meadows district are copper, coal and cinnabar deposits being developed, which will, some day, command the attention of capital and cause large sawmills to be built, smelters to be constructed. Shingle mills, paper mills and furniture factories will spring up, employing hundreds of men, and as Gold Hill is the natural outlet for all the manufactured products, we will have a city here unsurpassed by none in Southern Oregon.
    When these new industries spring up the question of transporting the raw material must be considered, which will necessitate a railroad and will also open up a new farming country to market.
    Mr. Hoskins, an experienced horticulturist, is demonstrating beyond a doubt that we have an ideal soil and climate for the production of small fruits and berries and is at present engaged in setting out his place to these profitable articles, putting in thirty acres in strawberries alone.
    Now all the above will be of immense benefit to Gold Hill, and we must do something to interest capital in our midst. The writer of this article has been a resident of Gold Hill many years and in that time has noticed a big improvement in the town. We look for a much larger improvement in the next six months. There are parties here now who are willing and anxious to erect a brick building for a bank, something that we need badly.
    While a great many are enthusiastic over our mining outlook we must not forget these other resources lying dormant at our doors but must do all in our power to hasten the time when we will have a large manufacturing community here. Remember, even if you are not benefited financially at the outset you are bound to profit by the town's advancement. Come, throw off that pessimistic sneer and let us all put our shoulders to the wheel and make this one of the best and liveliest towns in this grand state of ours.
 Gold Hill News, May 31, 1902, page 2
A BRIEF SKETCH
of the
FAMOUS ROGUE RIVER VALLEY, JACKSON COUNTY,
SOUTHERN OREGON
Issued by the Medford Board of Trade
    To homeseekers and intending settlers, the Board of Trade of the city of Medford, Jackson County, Oregon, in brief outline presents a few of the many inducements which are offered to those seeking a change of residence from the cold, rigorous winters and the torrid summers, to a climate where nature has done much toward making existence both a profit and pleasure.
THE ROGUE RIVER VALLEY.
    This valley, which takes its name from the picturesque and historical Rogue River, is one of the most beautiful, fruitful and healthful valleys in the state of Oregon. The Rogue River is a sparkling, icily cold stream, rising in the Cascade Mountains in the northeast corner of Jackson County, Oregon, flowing in a southwesterly direction for half its distance, and thence running nearly due west to the Pacific Ocean. Its waters are supplied by melting snow and are always pure and cold.
    Properly speaking, the Rogue River Valley is not a single valley, but a series of valleys, tablelands and hills, mixed and commingled in wild, romantic confusion apt to bewilder and lead the stranger to erroneous conclusions. Many have been thus mistaken by supposing that a certain range of hills was the limit of the valley land. Under such conditions it is well for immigrants, capitalists and others to spend two or three weeks' time in Medford (the central city of the valley) and from this city visit various parts of the valley and thus form a correct idea of the topography and physical features of this famous valley.
HOW TO REACH THIS FAMOUS VALLEY.
    The visitor, emigrant or intending settler arriving at Portland, Oregon, will take the train of the Southern Pacific railroad, purchasing ticket for Medford with stopover privileges, and will be carried southward through the Willamette Valley. Along this entire valley the country wears one aspect peculiar to itself. But upon crossing the Calapooia Mountains into Douglas County the most casual observer cannot fail to note the sudden change and deep contrast noticeable on every hand. The formation of the hills and valleys, the trend of the mountains, the flow of the streams, the character of the soil and its varied products are marked by differences as great as if they occupied different continents. Passing through the northeastern corner of Josephine County, the visitor enters the most western portion of Jackson County. Here nature seems to have taken a holiday, and, running wild in all manner of fanciful notions, has made a desert here and a garden there, over there a valley, beyond a hill, sending out from one fountain salt water, from another soda, another sulfur, another iron, and from another the pure, sparkling waters, ever so refreshing to man and beast. She has deposited in one mine lead, in another iron, another copper, in another gold; forming here a bank of coal, there a quarry of limestone; yonder marble, granite, cement, banks of potter's clay, and graphite to write the history of all Christendom. And, as if jealous of her jewels, she has thrown around them ranges of lofty mountains, capping their peaks with eternal snow and draping their sides with a magnificent forest, and spread over it all the canopy of a mild and salubrious climate. Such is a brief presentation of some of the varied characteristics that will greet the stranger in this peculiarly antique land as he journeys to Medford, the metropolis of the valley.
SOIL OF THE VALLEY.
    The great diversity of soils and the admixture of the elements composing one class of soil with those of another grade renders it exceedingly difficult, in the space at our command, to describe it so that one not acquainted with its peculiarities and the climatic influences can form a rational conclusion concerning its merits. The soil of all sections of a country seems to be adapted to the climate, or the climate to the soil. These two conditions appear to be admirably adjusted here. There is no frost to loosen up or pulverize the mineral elements, but this work is done by chemical action, caused by the admixture found in nearly every grade of soil.
CLIMATE.
    Possibly no subject can interest the homeseeker more than that of climate. If such be the case, no section will bear the scrutiny of close observation or scientific investigation and give so favorable results as Jackson County. In its climate this delightful region has the combined advantages of other sections, without the accompanying drawbacks. It enjoys the warmth of summer and the frosts of winter without extremes in either. Having rainfall ample for all purposes, it escapes the continual rains of the Willamette Valley. The annual rainfall ranges from 20 to 30 inches, averaging about 25 inches. The extreme limit of the thermometer in summer is 106º, though it seldom exceeds 90º, while in winter it seldom sinks as low as 10º, the average for winter being about 40º and in summer 70º. Snow falls in winter to the depth of three or four inches, and occasionally from 6 to 10 inches deep, but it seldom remains but a short time--a few hours or a few days only. This is in the valley at an altitude of from twelve hundred to sixteen hundred feet. In the mountains and valleys having a greater altitude there is more snow and ice. It rains earlier in the fall and later in the summer [at greater altitudes], so that a person can select nearly such conditions in climate as will suit his peculiar condition or fancy.
RESOURCES.
    The next important question after climate is that of resources. To answer this question favorably two conditions are indispensable. First: The country must possess the latent elements of wealth; and, secondly: Those latent resources must be available, that is, the material elements necessary for the support of a great commonwealth but be of sufficient quantity and variety to diversify the labor required in their development. It is also necessary that those resources should be within the reach of the willing hand of industry. Land is the basis of all wealth; agriculture the basis of civilization; and diversified industries the key that retains wealth in a community. Examine Jackson County and the country around Medford on this hypothesis. She has 1,658,880 acres of timber, grazing, mineral and agricultural land. From this land may be produced all that is necessary for the support of beasts and men. Her vast forest, comprising every variety of wood necessary for the wants of ripe civilization, awaits the echo of the woodsman's ax, the buzz of the saw, the mellow hum of the planer and the merry clatter of arms of iron and fingers of steel. To aid the advance of civilization and give it permanence there are stored large banks of potter's clay, beds of cement, veins of coal, quarries of limestone, sandstone, marble and granite, mountains of iron sufficient to bed a continent, and mines of gold, capable of yielding, when developed, circulating medium for a grand, prosperous commonwealth. These are some of the latent elements of wealth, some of the factors of a progressive society, which only await the magic touch of the willing hand of industry to cause them to bud and blossom and bear rich fruits of a progressive Christian civilization.
    Wheat, rye, oats and barley grow well on all soils and yield fine crops. The straw is generally bright and clean, free from rust or mildew and the grain full, plump and well-matured. Owing to this fact the wheat of Rogue River Valley is sought after and always commands the highest market price. The best lands will average 30 to 35 bushels of wheat and from 40 to 50 bushels of oats per acre. Common grade land will average 20 to 25 bushels of wheat and 35 to 40 bushels of oats per acre. Fields under the modern, thorough system of farming often produce 50 to 60 bushels of wheat per acre and a corresponding amount of oats. Tame grasses, such as timothy, clover, bluegrass, alfalfa, etc., are not a success on common uplands. But on bottom lands, where the soil is damp, or such as is generally used for meadow land, or where the land can be irrigated, all tame grasses grow in the richest profusion. The poorest sandy, gravelly soil, favored by irrigation, will produce three or four crops of alfalfa each season. It is a frequent fact for the land around Medford to produce three crops of alfalfa each year and without irrigation.
    Corn grows well on all good soils and yields on an average of from 40 to 60 bushels per acre. The summers being dry, less labor is required to keep the land free of weeds than in other sections. This section affords fine opportunities for the raising of hogs, and nowhere can quicker or more profitable returns be made from an industry of this character, as the mildness of climate and the absence of epidemic diseases, coupled with a ready and accessible market, ensure immediate results. There is no section where hogs can be more easily or profitably raised than in Rogue River Valley.
    What has been said of hogs can be said of poultry. They are remarkably healthy and profitable, and many of our people make handsome profits from this industry and our women find themselves ever supplied with needful "pin" money.
STOCK RAISING.
    The mildness of the climate and the absence of any prevailing disease among stock makes this an inviting field for stock-growers. It is a well-known fact that the colder the climate the greater the amount of nourishing food required to sustain animal life. Very few persons furnish shelter for their stock in winter. Stock ranging in the interior foothills seldom require feeding in winter. In the valley where it is more densely settled and the native grass more exhausted, more hay for winter feeding or more tame pasturage is required. Some of the best horses ever grown on the Pacific Coast were the product of this country.
TIMBER.
    The timber forests are of fine and grand proportions. Here we have the sugar pine, the fir, the cedar, and the various woods needed by a progressive society, and the people from all sections of the country are rapidly taking up "timber" claims and syndicates purchasing large tracts of the virgin forests.
FRUIT AND FRUIT CULTURE.
    The success attending fruit culture is no longer an experiment. By direct analysis the soil has been found to contain all the elements required to produce fruits from the semi-tropical to the hardiest varieties. Over these favorable conditions hangs a climate coordinated and adjusted to the nature of the soil. During the past year the yield of fruits has been enormous and the profits large. Many fruit ranches have changed hands to newcomers, and hundreds of thousands of trees have been set out to new fields, while thousands of acres, heretofore given over to cereals, have been planted to fruit and soon will be bearing. This is the "home of the celebrated Newtown" pippin, the Spitzenberg, Ben Davis, Jonathan and many of the other varieties. Rogue River Valley apples command the highest prices in the markets of the world, and most of our apples are purchased in the orchards and engaged for shipment to Europe and Asia and other foreign ports. The pear finds the valley its natural home and yields annually large and profitable crops. We have early and late varieties, and all do exceedingly well and there is no more certain income than from a well-ordered fruit ranch. We ship hundreds of carloads of green and dried fruit during the season and seldom are we able to have the best for home consumption, so great is the demand for our fruit products. In the larger book, to be issued by the Board of Trade of Medford, will be found more particular information concerning this chief industry.
IRRIGATION.
    So far as all general crops are concerned, irrigation is not practiced nor it is necessary, but with the aid of water, timothy, alfalfa and other tame grasses may be grown to great perfection, while the yield of other crops, such as berries and small fruits, may be greatly increased, and several crops may be produced. The Fish Lake Ditch Company has, under construction, for irrigating, manufacturing and electrical purposes, a large ditch which will supply water and power to a large section.
MEDFORD.
    This, the "queen" city of Rogue River Valley, is the most centrally and naturally located of all the towns of the valley. It is situated on the west bank of the Bear Creek, on the line of the S.P.R.R.--in the very heart of the valley--surrounded by a country of surpassing beauty, rivaling in picturesqueness the grandeur of the highlands of Scotland, equaling in loveliness the beauty of the alpine valleys. It has a population of nearly 2500 industrious, wide-awake citizens.
    The business houses of Medford are nearly all of large dimensions and solidly built of brick and are filled with large stocks of varied assortment and at prices differing little from those of the largest coast cities. All branches of trade, industry and professions are ably and well represented. Medford is a city of "schools and churches." All the denominations are represented and have comfortable accommodations and buildings.
FACILITIES FOR ACQUIRING HOMES AND PRICES OF LANDS.
    The average Oregonian who has had his choice in selecting land will say there is no government land worth the price and labor of entry and cultivation. There are now vacant thousands of acres of land superior to lands settled long ago in many of the states east of the Rocky Mountains. Rolling hill and narrow valley land may be found situated along the waters of the various tributaries of Rogue River on which families could find comfortable homes, and where from 10 to 60 acres on a quarter section might be successfully improved. In fact much of the best land that now lies in the mountains is destined to become, when brought under cultivation by the woodman's axe, the farmer's plow and the orchardist's skill, the most desirable and valuable of the valley land. Improved farms range, on or near the line of the R.R. and in and around Medford, from $35 to $100 per acre. Land ten or twenty miles distant from Medford sells for from $5 to $20 per acre. The railroad has large tracts of unimproved lands, and it is purchasable at reasonable figures on the most favorable conditions. The improved fruit ranches range from $100 to $500 per acre. We would not advise anyone to come expecting to secure government homesteads other than such as are mentioned above, but we assure them if they decide to cast their lot in this land of sunny slopes, blooming roses, gentle zephyrs, luscious fruits and where freezing frosts and chilling blasts disturb not and where the body is nightly refreshed with sweet slumber during the entire year and where Nature seems to have lavished her choicest gems and scattered her charms to woo and win, that our arms will be open wide and our welcome will be true and our friendship a tie which bindeth fast.
    Any further information concerning this famous Rogue River Valley will be cheerfully given by addressing a letter to the Board of Trade of Medford, Oregon.
Respectfully Submitted,
The Board of Trade of Medford, Jackson County, Oregon.
"A Few Facts Concerning the Famous Rogue River Valley, Oregon," [1902], SOHS 1963.181.4; M44 A5


    At Portland there is a large and very fine union depot with pleasant waiting rooms supplied with all modern conveniences, including a dining and lunch room. With just time for breakfast we again take a Southern Pacific train for a ride across the state of Oregon south to our journey's end, where we arrive at one o'clock the next morning, just a week from the time we left Bolivar. A large group of friends await our arrival including three generations, and again the man in the moon witnesses the
happy reunion of long separated kindred.
    After a few hours sleep we go out in the morning to see if five years have wrought any changes in the town of Ashland, Oregon. The same foothills surround. They are decorated with more cottages and peach orchards. The mountain peaks back of them still show their familiar heads, the canon fringed with fir and pine, deep and narrow, still echoes with the murmur of waters, fresh and clear, tumbling over the smooth boulders on their way from the snow-crowned butte ten miles
away. The orchards are loaded with peaches, red and yellow, and prunes of purple hue, and the yards are decked with various-hued roses, chrysanthemums and dahlias.
    The population has more than doubled, and building has nearly kept pace with the increase. The climate is quite like that of California, only a little cooler and a little more moisture. The sun shines a great part of the time. The early settlers came from the Middle West, Iowa and adjoining states. It is claimed that lung troubles are benefited here, and many come on that account and so advertise the climate, etc., to others. There are more people than there are houses for at present and many live in tents, not only in the town, but in the suburbs and outside until they can build or buy homes.
    The fields are brown and dry, but the dried vegetation has had but little storm on it and stock thrive on it. Cattle men are prospering. Their business resembles the oil business in some respects; their stock has a cash value always and affords a fair profit. Many live in town and go out to their ranches, some spend nearly their whole time out, coming in only occasionally.
    Most merchandise sells higher here than in the East. Footwear is about the same, clothing some higher, hardware, paints, and paper about one third higher, sugar sells seventeen pounds for a dollar, eggs thirty-five cents per dozen, butter thirty-five cents per pound, kerosene oil thirty cents. All prices are made so that no change is given less than five cents, and even the banks make change in the same way. If a check calls for twelve cents one gets ten cents, and if it calls for thirteen cents fifteen are given. The Breeze reaches us on Wednesday and is indeed a welcome visitor. The boys can hardly wait for an opportunity to scan its columns and get the news from home.
R. L. ANDRUS.
Ashland, Oregon, Oct. 29, 1902.
"Letter from Oregon," Bolivar Breeze, Bolivar, New York, November 13, 1902, page 2
Useless Exaggeration.
    Nathan Tuttle, a timber locator, more or less known in Southern Oregon, has written a letter to the Potter Enterprise, of Coudersport, Pa., in which he sings the praises of Southern Oregon in a manner calculated to give people an impression of this country which is bound to create a disappointed feeling in the minds of those coming out here with the expectation of finding conditions as Mr. Tuttle depicts them. Mr. Tuttle's enthusiasm for Southern Oregon has evidently caused him to slightly exaggerate the many advantages of the country. Mr. Tuttle says that this is the land of plenty, the greatest fruit country in the world. This is all true, but he further states that it is the greatest stock country in the world, which is not a fact, although stock of all kinds are successfully raised here, but we do not lay claim to having the greatest country in this line. Mr. Tuttle also says that fish are so plentiful that they are caught on ripples with pitchforks, loaded into wagons and fed to the hogs--this is not true of Southern Oregon for three reasons, first, because the fish commissioner wouldn't stand it; second, the fish are not so plentiful as that, and third, it is not policy to feed fish to hogs, because bacon or lard with the slightest taint of fish about it smells like an ancient fish market, and nobody can eat it. In Klamath County, where the climate is as different from that of Jackson County as it possibly can be, at certain seasons of the year a species of mullet run up Lost River from Tule Lake in sufficient quantities so that they may be caught by the wagonload, but that is not in Jackson County. Mr. Tuttle speaks of seeing twelve deer hanging on one pole, killed by one man in one day. It is safe to say the game warden never saw that sight. In relation to the timber Mr. Tuttle informs his friends that there is not much of it left, but that he has a few claims upon which he is willing to locate his friends. He also mentions that he accidentally ran across the man who helped survey this country, and through him learned of the location of a number of good homestead claims in the timber belt. As this country has been surveyed on the installment plan--so to speak--and a dozen or more different men have been in charge of the work, Mr. Tuttle has evidently been "deceived" by some unsophisticated Oregonian. Mr. Tuttle while here has been following the occupation of a timber locator, and has located a number of his eastern friends on claims, not to their entire satisfaction in some cases.
    Jackson County is all right. It is the land of fruit and flowers, big game and bigger timber, but the newcomer must not expect to be able to find a sugar pine timber claim right on the line of the railroad, catch twenty-five-pound salmon with a pitchfork in every ripple on Rogue River, nor dig gold in his front yard.
 Medford Mail, December 26, 1902, page 2


Last revised June 9, 2024