Jackson County and the Rogue River Valley, Oregon- Jackson county is bounded on the north by Douglas and Josephine counties, on the east by Klamath, and on the south by the California state line. Its total area is 1,809,200 acres, all but 200,000 acres of which is surveyed land. The population of the county at the present time is about 11,500. The surface of the county may be divided into three great divisions, as follows: the mountainous, the hilly and the level lands contained in the valleys. The higher elevations of the county, embraced in the mountainous portion, are of value principally for stock grazing. The lower elevations contained in the hilly portion of the county are covered with dense forests of timber, and the low lands contained in the valleys are highly fertile and will produce anything indigenous to the temperature zone, and all fruits or plants of a semi-tropical nature attain the highest state of perfection in these rich valley lands. The character of the soil varies in different parts of the county, and it is not an unusual thing to find several different kind of soil on a farm of even 160 acres in this part of the state.

            The best part of Jackson county is contained in the famous Rogue River valley, the most productive part of Southern Oregon. This valley is about 35 miles in length and maintains an average width of about 20 miles. It occupies the central part of the county and is crossed by the main line of the Southern Pacific railroad, which furnishes excellent transportation facilities to the farmers in this section. The valley derives its name from the river of the same name, which flows through it. Other important streams, which drain a large area of the valley, are Bear, Little Butte and Sam’s creeks. The soil of the Rogue River valley is especially adapted to diversified farming. The climate is practically the same as that of Northern California, the frigid winter blasts which sometimes sweep down over Eastern Oregon being tempered here by the warm moist breezes constantly blowing here from the ocean.

            The Rogue River valley is essentially a fruit growing belt. All kinds of semi-tropical fruits do well here, and the Portland market is principally supplied with peaches, melons and other fruit of this nature from this famous fruit district. Near Jacksonville are a number of very fine vineyards that are kept in a high state of cultivation, and wine made from the grapes of Southern Oregon vies in quality with some of the best productions of California wine produces. All the cereals, including wheat, rye, oats, barley and corn, yield large crops on the lands of the valley. The bottom lands of the valley are used largely for the growing of timothy, clover and blue grass. Alfalfa produces here from two to four goods crops without replanting.

©Shauna Williams

     The present population of Jacksonville is about 900. The main dependency of the town for support is on the agricultural and mineral resources of the country adjacent. This part of the state has long been noted for its heavy output of gold, and while mining is not today carried on as extensively here as it was before the era of railroads, the gold output of the mines here is still heavy. During 1892 the bank of Jacksonville handled about $150,000 in gold dust. The Sterling Mining Company has put in a plant at a point seven miles distant from Jacksonville, and the output of this company's mine is reported to be very satisfactory. Placer mining claims the principal attention of the miners of this section, the quartz veins here being but little worked up to the present time.

     The business interests at Jacksonville are principally in the hands of the men who settled here many years ago. The people lead a happy and easy existence, and no great disposition is shown here to encourage immigration. The country around Jacksonville is rich and is capable of supporting a much larger population at this point than is now found here.

     Public school at Jacksonville is taught in a four-room building. Four teachers are employed in the school, and the average daily attendance of scholars is 175. In addition to the public school, the Catholics conduct a private school which is attended by about 40 scholars. The Presbyterian, Methodist and Catholic denominations own church buildings at this point. The Jackson county courthouse, erected at Jacksonville about 10 years ago at a cost of $40,000, is a large, handsome and conveniently arranged structure, and it is one of the finest buildings in Southern Oregon. Jacksonville supports one weekly newspaper, The Times, one hotel and a single livery stable. The assessed valuation of town property is $150,000 and the bonded indebtedness is less than $10,000.

     Ashland is on the main line of the Southern Pacific, 343 miles south of Portland and 430 miles north of San Francisco. It is the central division station between the two largest cities of the Pacific coast. Ten miles south of Ashland the Siskiyou Mountains rise abruptly to an elevation of 8,000 feet. Ashland creek has its source in these mountains. It is a stream which carries a considerable volume of water, and rushing down the mountain side with irresistible force, it furnishes ample power for all manufacturing purposes in the city itself. Water for domestic use in the city is taken from this creek, and this water is of the purest quality. This stream already furnishes power for running a five stamp quartz mill, a large flouring mill, two sash, door and blind factories, and the electric light plant at Ashland. All classes of mercantile business are well represented here, and the local houses carry stocks of goods larger and more complete than are usually found in a town of the present population of Ashland. The large dry goods store of Messrs. D.R. & E.V. Mills, and the furniture store of J.P. Dodge, the latter of which carries a stock of goods valued at about $6,000, are notable examples of Ashland's activity as a business center.

     Ashland takes a pardonable pride in the excellent system of public schools maintained here. Three well designed school buildings furnish ample accommodations for school purposes. Two of these buildings are located respectively in the north and south end of the city, while the third provides room for the scholars of the central district. the schools are divided into primary, secondary, grammar, and high school departments. The schools are in charge of a principal, under whom are nine assistant teachers. All the teachers in the public schools here hold the highest grade of Oregon state school certificates.

     The people of Ashland enjoy the benefit of a perfect system of arc and incandescent electric lights. The city also has a good water-works system, and a well organized fire department. Prominent among the fine buildings of the city are a new two story brick city hall, a three story brick opera house, and the Hotel Oregon. This latter building is a handsome three-story brick edifice, constructed at a cost of  $30,000, by a local stock company. Ashland, in addition to the Hotel Oregon, contains two other large hotels, and three hostelries of a less pretentious character. A free reading-room is maintained here, as well as a gymnasium. The town supports two good weekly newspapers, The Ashland Tidings and The Valley Record. Handsome church edifices are owned at Ashland by the Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational and Catholic denominations, and the churches here are well supported.

     The county in the immediate vicinity of Ashland is especially adapted to the raising of fruit. Peaches, prunes, plums, pears, apricots, apples of the larger varieties, and blackberries and cherries, of the smaller fruits, do the best here. The Rogue river melon crop has attained a widespread reputation. Hundred of acres of fine peach orchards are within plain view of the people of Ashland, and ever year notes an increase in the acreage planted to peaches in this section. The demand for Jackson county peaches increases with the supply of this fine fruit, and Ashland, as the center of the great fruit industry of the county, has earned the sobriquet of the "Peach-blow Paradise."

     The mining interests of the section of which Ashland is the trading center, are worthy of special mention in the present article. For many years past the rich placer gold fields of Southern Oregon have attracted wide-spread attention. Recently valuable discoveries of rich mineral-bearing quartz have been made near Ashland. The Patton ledge, three miles distant from the city, is now being worked by a party of Portland capitalists under the name of the Ashland Mining Company. A five stamp quartz mill has been in successful operation at Ashland since November, 1892, and the gold brick turned out of this mill each month since it was started has represented a value of between $6,000 and $6,5000. Joseph A. Wilson, of Portland, is superintendent of the mine, and this gentleman is authority for the statement that the width of the vein near the surface of the mine was 18 inches, while at a depth of 385 feet the vein had widened out to 8 feet. This tendency to an increase of width of the vein is noted as the depth of the shaft increases. The Patton ledge is but one of the many paying veins of quartz that have been discovered in the vicinity of Ashland. Near Ashland are also vast mines of granite and sandstone, especially valuable for building purposes. Six miles south of the city a sandstone quarry has been operated for the past three years. Stone from this quarry has been shipped largely to Portland, and much of it has been used in the construction of some of the finest buildings of Oregon's metropolis.

     In the immediate vicinity of Ashland are located a number of mineral springs. A value attaches to the waters of theses springs second in importance only to the famous Apollinaris. Ten to fifteen miles distant from Ashland are numerous soda springs whose well-known curative properties have justified the expenditure of large sums of money in establishing comfortable places of resort in their vicinity. Within the corporate limits of Ashland are located the White Sulpher Springs, at which large bath-houses have been erected, and these baths are regularly patronized by large crowds of Ashland's people. The citizens of Ashland are thoroughly awake to the many advantages which their city enjoys, and they are making every effort to build at this point one of the most prosperous centers of population in Southern Oregon.

     The Bank of Ashland, an illustration of which is shown on this page, is one of the strongest financial institutions in Southern Oregon. The bank was established in 1884, with a paid-up capital of $50,000, which amount was increased, in 1889, to $100,000, all paid up. The officers of the bank are: W.H. Atkinson, president; F.H. Carter, vice-president, and E.V. Carter, cashier. The bank does an increasing business with each successive year, not only with the mining and agricultural interests of Jackson county, but it also enjoys a large patronage from the Klamath Lake county, which is 60 miles east of Ashland. Letters of inquiry concerning Ashland, and Jackson county, addressed to the Bank of Ashland, will be cheerfully answered.

     The Ashland Flouring Mills, located at Ashland, have a daily capacity of 75 barrels. These mills are run by water power, they have a full roller process, and the grade of flour manufactured is considered the best in the market. Besides supplying almost the entire local market, the Ashland mills ship a large part of their product as far north as Roseburg, and as far south in California as Redding. The proprietors of the Ashland Flouring Mills are W.E. Jacobs and W.J. Virgin, both of whom are thoroughly practical flouring mill men.

     Real estate in Ashland, and farming lands in the immediate vicinity, are held at reasonable prices when the natural advantages and developments already made are considered. Mr. G. F. Billings, an enterprising real estate agent of Ashland, is authority on realty values throughout Jackson county, and he is a thoroughly reliable gentleman from whom to obtain information concerning this section of Southern Oregon.