Josephine County, Oregon History

Winter 1852-1853
    The winter of 1852-53 was so severe that hostilities on the part of both the Indians and the whites was temporarily haulted. The first snow fell in October and trails were blocked before winter supplies had been packed into Illinois Valley. A miners meeting was held at Kerbyville where each man reported the extent of his supplies. Those who did not have sufficient provisions to carry them through the winter went to Jacksonville. By mid November all trails into Southern Oregon were blocked. Flour rose in cost to $1.00 per pound and the supply was quickly sold out. Tobacco sold readily at a dollar an ounce, while salt was traded for gold at ounce for ounce.. One miner in the Illinois Valley paid $16.00 for an empty five pound salt bag, from which he cut small pieces to chew for the flavor. Board at the hotel rose to $16.00 per day with guests providing meat from the surrounding countryside wildlife. The high boarding cost was gladly paid for the privilege of having venison cooked with salt. (Submitted by Sally)

Grassflat
    Grass Flat was a real town in 1850's. About three miles up the Althouse from Browntown and on the west side of the creek is the old town site of Grass Flat. The town received its name from the grassy bench of almost entirely level land on which it stood. Opposite the south end of the famous Frenchtown bar, which lies on the east side of Althouse. The general course of Althouse
creek is from the south to the north. The bar lies parallel with the course of the creek. On Grass Flat in the middle and later 50's there were saloons, hotels, a butcher shop and corral. Cattle were driven in from different parts of the outside country and butchered and the beef  sold to miners. In after years when the town had been abandoned and the majority of the buildings and ceased to exist the writer (Wm Mackey)  and his sister being little children played around the corral where old steer heads and cattle bones and horns were scattered in profusion. On the first day of January 1859 it began to snow and continued to snow for 72 days. The cabins at the head of Althouse where the snow was the deepest were buried and the snow was tunneled to get around from cabin to cabin. When it then froze the miners walked on the crust.
(Submitted by Sally)

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