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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2025)
Applegater Summer 2025 Log Town Cemetery: A historic hidden gem at risk The Applegater Board of Directors welcomes three new members! BY GABRIELLE PULLEN BY DIANA COOGLE We are thrilled to announce that Ash Martell, Heather Paladini, and Chris Loeffler have all joined the Applegater Board of Directors. Originally from Idaho, Ash Martell lives in Williams and works part-time at the Williams Fire Department in a public relations capacity. She has a bachelor’s degree in theater and brings to the board secretarial skills and experience. She “understands deadlines” (thank goodness!), and she has done PR, advertising, and design work. Perhaps most important, she lists among her skills that she adapts well and likes to learn. She says she is the kind of person who would say, “I’d like to take that on.” As proof, she immediately agreed to head up a committee for the Applegater’s volunteer appreciation party, even before she became a board member! You might already be familiar with Heather Paladini’s name, as she is our new bird columnist. (See page 14). Heather also lives in Williams. She started and continues to run the Wild Oak Preschool in Williams. When she was looking for property in the area, she says, she picked up an Applegater and fell in love with it and, by extension, with the Applegate. She brings to the board her experience with grant writing, secretarial positions, and fundraising. Her passions are nature, the environment, and bringing people together. Chris Loeffler, who is also from Williams, comes to the board with a wealth of business, writing, publishing, and outreach experience, both from his previous job with Musician’s Friend in Medford and in his work with Cub Scouts and food drives for the homeless. His strength in project management makes him an asset in many areas of board duties. Go to applegater.org and click on “Board of Directors” for more biographical information about these three new board members. I am excited to be working with them. What a boost of energy and enthusiasm! Thanks to these three people, to the others already on the board, and to all of Ash Martell Heather Paladini Chris Loeffler you who help make the Applegate such a great place to live. Diana Coogle Chair, Applegater Board of Directors diana@applegater.org Starry, starry nights BY CHRISTINA AMMON A new group advocating for dark skies has formed in the Applegate Valley. Applegate After Dark was formed to celebrate the region’s starry skies and to spread awareness about the ecological, economic, and aesthetic benefits of dark skies. The group was inspired in part by the recent designation of the “Oregon Outback” as The Largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the World. The Oregon Outback is in the eastern part of the state, in Lake County. The designation is expected to boost tourism to the Eastern Oregon region. Stargazing is an increasingly popular travel motivator as access to dark skies becomes increasingly scarce in modern life. Of particular focus for our local group is the Provolt Recreation Site on Williams Highway in Grants Pass. The lack of artificial lighting in this area of the 3 Applegate makes it an ideal site for star parties. The group is currently collecting data on dark skies throughout the Applegate. The group also plans to conduct lighting assessments and assist interested homeowners and business owners in reducing their light pollution through responsible lighting practices. Group member Sam Dennis is motivated by energy efficiency. Approximately 30 percent of all outdoor lighting goes upward, where it isn’t needed. “When I see light going where it’s not doing anything useful, it’s like seeing somebody watering the sidewalk,” Sam says. If you are interested in star parties or getting involved with Applegate After Dark, contact Liz Shen at liz_shen@ hotmail.com. Christina Ammon christina@footlooseintheapplegate.com Log Town Cemetery is easy to miss. It’s on Highway 238, up the hill from Jacksonville, nestled among trees, where the road, as it straightens out, invites the restless to drive too fast. This small, historic burial ground provides a safe haven for the remains of early settlers and ancestors of the pioneering Applegate family. It’s hard to believe, but the site remains unprotected as a historic landmark, leaving its legacy vulnerable. The Log Town Cemetery Association, a nonprofit formed in 1939, owns and operates the cemetery, which is maintained exclusively by volunteers. For decades, volunteer Scott Traina has led the overwhelming task of maintenance—clearing, digging, organizing, and unraveling the extensive puzzle of who lies where. This ensures that, as people bury the sons and daughters of the Applegate there, no new additions infringe on the past. Inspired by Jackson County landmarks like the Jacksonville Historic District and Hanley Farm, which secured preservation grants, this article calls for grant writers, volunteers, and advocates to ensure Log Town’s legacy endures as a protected historic site. The graveyard dates back to the 1850s. The plots are unfenced, the headstones weathered. Some are illegible, and some graves are still unmarked, leaving the mystery of whose forbears have been laid to rest there. Without maintenance, the site will quickly succumb to overgrown vegetation, erosion, broken headstones, and a faceless history. In 2016, private donations allowed the Log Town Cemetery Association to install a fence. Rogue Valley Genealogical Society and Jackson County document known burial records. But without funding or organizational support, Log Town’s condition is fragile. Yet, volunteer numbers are limited, and Traina seeks new stewards. He currently has a new sexton in training. Log Town is a vital link to the Applegate Valley’s past. The Applegate family— Charles, Jesse, and Lindsay—blazed the Applegate Trail, which is part of the southern Oregon Trail, in the 1840s. Many buried in the Log Town Cemetery are their descendants or contemporaries. Their graves are landmarks of local resilience. Preserving Log Town ensures that these stories of pioneer perseverance endure. The cemetery is only six miles from the Jacksonville Historic District, a National Historic Landmark since 1966, which maintains its gold rush- era buildings through grants. But only protected historic sites are eligible for those grants. Why isn’t Log Town a protected historic site? Its rural location and size reduce visibility to the public. The process of nominating a site to the National Register of Historic Places requires historical documentation to confirm plot ownership, but records are often illegible. Log Town headstone of Cordelia A. Pearce. Maintenance is unsustainable for the cemetery’s few volunteers, many of whom are retired. Although rural cemeteries nationwide face this challenge, this one is special. It was named after the nearby Log Town settlement, a bustling hub for miners and travelers to the Applegate Valley. In the 1860s, there were stores, a meat market, a hotel, a church, a school, and three saloons. During the gold rush, Log Town was probably a stagecoach stop on the road to Buncom, just a few miles away, with its mining camp, supply center, and post office. On the Applegate Trail, Robber’s Rock, a huge rock not far from the cemetery that is referenced in local historical accounts, is said to have been a hiding place for thieves preying on the stagecoach travelers during this era. The California Stage Company’s route started operation in 1860, connecting Jacksonville to Log Town at the mouth of the Applegate. Grants already funding preservation of historic landmarks in Jackson County include: Jacksonville Historic District: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and Certified Local Government Grants Hanley Farm: Oregon Heritage a n d Na t i o n a l Tr u s t fo r Hi s t o ri c Preservation Grants Medford Downtown Historic District: Save America’s Treasures National Park Service Grant Gold Ray Dam Site: The Oregon Historic Trails Fund Phoenix Pioneer Cemetery: 2020 Oregon Lottery Grant Traina’s work has kept Log Town Cemetery alive, but the community must act. Grant writers, volunteers, advocates, and new board members can ensure that the legacy of the Applegate and its ancestors endures. Please call 541-973- 5139 to help save the Log Town Cemetery legacy now. Gabrielle Pullen gabrielle.pullen@gmail.com Gabrielle Pullen is a history buff with great respect for the stamina and resilience of our forebears. Come visit! Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Beer and wine on tap or to go. Family-run Open 7 am - 7 pm Weds - Sat and 7 am - 3 pm Sun. Closed Mon and Tues. 181 Upper Applegate Road Jacksonville, OR 97530 541-702-2662
