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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1914)
mnronn r rn Tinman. Mrcnronn. ortcciot. TnmsmY, ,lxttAry t, inn. ji , . r5 r Jackson County Building Road of Three Natioiis .' i i (lly V. A. Kltlrudgo, Itunlilunl Knglnnor.) During July tif (hla ycnr tho county court of Jaelmon county ntilliorlmd a preliminary nurvcy to bo Hindu ovor thn Hlsklyou tnoiiiitnlnn liy Mr J H, Howard. Litter In tho inoiitli tliu county court, liy formal iictlon, re quested tlin Hlatu Highway KiiKlncur. Mr. II. L, llowlliy, to tnkn complete charge of. nil work proposed to bo iloiio under thu bond Until), On Hup. lumber nih, tint pmiplo voted In fnvor of IioiiiIIiik Jnrhnoii county for ir.OO.. ()U0 by uti overwhelming iimjorlty Tlilit In tlin flml Instnnrn In which an dectlou Imtt been held for a similar purpose under tliu terms of tliu now law authorUlug tliu nuviirnl counties to bond themselve for road work, Tlin proportion which wan submitted by tliu county court upon populir pittltlou, wait carried hy n majority of thrco to uuu, TJio California Htatu lltKtiway Do pnrtmonl him already iiimlu a survey and coutiucted hur north and south trunk roud up the- Hacrnmonto valley with thn I'uclflu Highway throiiKh Jackson county and will probnhly be gin eotintrortlon early In tho spring. llcKlnuing at the California-Oregon statu Unit, our road will folow nloiit; tin. hillside, at an elevation of about , .'150 feet above tint alley and con limit's to cllmli on a (1 per cent grado for about one mile. Then follow a mile of nmd with Just miftlclent grado for good draluaKU. Near tliu end of thin stretch tif road In a spring which rutin (lit )car around and wilt he brour.lit Into a ronrreto trough at tliu upper edgn of the road for thu tut of team and nuto. Tor tho next one and one-half mllen tho road fol lows tho teep hillside on a 0 por cent Krado. Tho rurvca aro all easy and thu country open, tliim mak ing It a safe route In nplto of tho nteup hillside. At thu end or till Krado wit count upon it bench which In nearly thn lanii) elevation nit tho inutnlt at thu pan. We trawl along till shelf with IlKht grade and long easy curve for two mile. I'rom this point we are able to look southward and sen Mt. Hhnsto and tho allcy In California. At our left wu look down Into the deplli of the Mil ley at most at our feet and morn than a thousand feet below Here and there thn bottom of tho nlluy U dotted with farm house surrounded bv r.reou fluid nnd tree. Thu sparsely wooded ilope of thn valley' floor afford 'Kood pasturage for cattle and snoop thu nddliiK to thu rural ccu at our feet. I'rom Urn toiirlHi point of vlow thU la an Ideal stretch o road for lm ha thu two extreme of scenery In tlow at once thu grand our of thu rock nnd cliff Immediate ly above and below him, and at till feat, n quarter of a mile below. Ilei thn valley and thu pastoral scene, 'Across thu valley may hu Keen tin Ioiik ribbon of Kleel of the Southern j In thn laud of wondei for ho hm Pacific railway when thu nun Is re-1 trawled In only a nhort tluiu from fluclud from their surface an thu. the rugged mountain lop to tho boat. wind In and out around thn hill lu'tKul alluy of apple and pear or an effort to net to thu floor of the I chard, valley with a eanv a uradn an not '. About n mile of pavement In tho lhle. . 'city of Medford, thu mutropoll of Along thin atrutch of rood wn have' Southern Oregon, will bu utilized. I another spring of water o cold thtt I Hot ween Medford and Central It mnkon ono' teuth hurt and In niiffl- I'olnt the road will follow the present dent (unntltte o keep a llttlu stream ' route, but nil ahnrp cornera will bo ruunliiK durliiK thu hottent wealhnr. i rounded off beforo tho purmanrut Then nil nt oncu wn run up to tho' pavement I laid. Tho present inn pann and look down Into tho beaut'-! cadnni lmo will he of big asslHtnuce. fill Hogue river valley- over mllen of j After leaving Central I'olnt tho wooded iiiountaliiH nnd cllffa and thu 'road ngnln approaches thn foot hllla floor of the vnllny away be)otid with land na wo pax through tho pas over Mt. I'ltt In thu distance Thu rond follow the ildge for r. abort distance when a view of both tho valleys ouo Into Oregon and thn derful panoramic vlow, i other Into California -inn IhiiIiIo I Farther on tho road crosses Hogu thou It dropn over and commence to river, piusc through Gold Hill and run down along tlju hillside toward ' thencn on down along tho i Ivor's ' the railway station of rllsklynu at.edgu to tho town of Kogun Itlvcr. tliu north untinncn of thu long HI' It linn been tho effort of the engl tunnel. Throughout the dlnlnncf1 ncer to bo locnto I hit Pacific HUM from tho summit to tho foot of the j way so an not only to mnko tho moat It 1 1 1 tho grade la between it I pur cunt I permanent road with tho leant mono. and a C per cent most of tho way. j but also to talto ndvantago nnd show , Thero nro no curve with it rndliu off to thu tourist travel of tho world, ahortor than ono hundred foci nnd 'much of tho dlverHlflod and wonder when tho wliolo curvo In not In wight 'ful scenery of Itoguc, rlvur vnlloy. LL. m y,'.-rt f'uiiklriiclloii Heme In Jim knoll J TUOAD --tF jbOCT J8XB OLD G"RAE(t SSxL)SrlKK (hen our sharpest curve have a rnd itln of 200 feet. On tliu route It will hu necessary to crons tint railroad twlcuroncu at Dollarhldi) crossing and again at Hteluman. In both of these rase tliu highway will par over thn rnllwiiy on a coueretu brldgu. At Hlcluiiinu a novel, but nry neiiMnry, piece of coiiBtructlon I eeu when thu road not only fincH over thu railway hut turn three quarters of n circle and pnssr under Itself. This wan dune to save thn expense of making a fill farther down which would havo used thousand of )ard of material. Two mile morn of gradu nnd thn wn count to tho floor of tho valley and run along amid tho farm scenes which wo looked down upon from the summit two thousand feet above It lends past n number of mineral springs famous from thu earliest da) when early nuttier used to travel long distance to obtain thu hnalthful effect tif tho wuter. Thu road passes through Ashland, a beautiful city, at thn dgo of tho foothill of tho Slskl)gu mountains. well pnwd and beautifully nltuattd At tliv north rlty llmltn avoids thn now dangerous railroad crossing by passing under thu rail roinl. A half mlli' farther on thn road toward Medford wu pas between two hot spring which aro steaming hot all winter long. It I expected that a sanatorium will soon bu built here, lest showing thu water to have wonderful health properties. Iletween Ashland and Mudford tho road passe through probably most thickly nettled part of Itngue river valley nnd when paved with1 concrete or bltumliiou material will " liimko travel nnd freighting vory cay! land pleasant between cities. Thu tourist will nurely feel himself to' bo thn lllnckwell hill theio In quite n stretch of road from which tho rlvor, valley hind, and orchard form a wont i ' -i,)JK .j5. ,? ,Vi .. 1 " i . . . .' ' ItV.y 1 V J & i iljlMiigr !"? Auto Truck rulllntf Wagon Loaded With Cruslicil Hock tho liiiiiiiiHiBiiiiiiHiiHK.JiiliiH Iff - jT - S mmmm'mmmmBmmi &v. --. &' LLLLLLLLLLiflKlaML&'BBK.WflLLVILLB W' r iL&r LLLLLM I IIIIIIM Ml MlbMliM it. A. f-, V--f, gs . & i JfiWvHBI i V k ( BBnM 'lame'K HMH M i VB N urJ I I .mmhkt .9. nms smt l jm z. 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Howard, I'loucrr Knglnecr and Road Building Illy J S ltowi.nl ) t'p to tSCS wl'-n .luckson countx cAUmdud f i om a point west of tlrnnt ramt to Stain's mountain on the east, or about .loo mile long east and west and about 100 mllen uverago width north nnd kiuiIi, with this vast territory nnd u sparse population and a limited tux roll, about thu bent that could be ilouo In tho way of toad wan to survey a traverse lino so ua to Bhow tho rond location and placo It on the map, and tho opening up 4 mBV J ' for Head llulltliut: J' Wtl 3WTIOM OP TWCKVOBK ltontl HulldiT of S iillicrn Oicgon in Pioneer Days and Improvement of the roads wan left to tho district road uporvsi n. About tho host thoy could do was tc brush out the road and put In a fjw polo bridge nnd cuhertf. I'udor llioro elrcunihtaucos no mat ter how groat the skill of tho sur veyor or englneor. thiio wan no u portuiilty for making a practical demonstration ot hi nbllitlen, what- Postal Roads Oregon wan the flint of the states to apply for moiuy under tho terms of tho Hourne bill, when by tho fed eral government appropriated $ 10. 000 to $20,000 put up by .luckson county for Improvement of rural de livery postal londH. Work was begun lust October un der Major W. A. OroKsdnnds, senior engineer of tho bureau ot highways, 1 department of agriculture. Blormy weathur Interrupted the work, al though good progrqys.aa made dur 1 lug thn tlnio of conttructlcn. I Tho rock was quarried at tho Orlfflu orcok uuarry nnd hauled by traction ongino and tho county dump enrtH na far as threo mllen. Wotk will bo resumcil In Feliruary Menn j whllo coucreto culverts nro being j eroded by S. A. Howard, who bo curoj tho I'outruct, HB' Iffln JACKSON COUNTY IrKrrlHKC r!il " ' t. Niimjft:viaiKHr w -ci&is. lSBiJ MSI vit-p c tf- -n i w.m ow?.x; . V. A. Klttrcdge, Iteslilcut Higliwuy riiglucer. ever he might have had so far as things earthy wcro concomed. HU talents might as well havo been' stored with his other treasures In heaven. In 1S72 when what U now Kla- Major W. A. Crosslunds, Senior 'gnlueer llulldlug Postal lUtfUwnyH, , .1 WW 63 " math and Lake counties began to sottlo up and tho traffic between Ashland and Klamath Kails, became heavy an lmpuratlvo demand for a hotter road over tho mountains was heard, and with small aid from tho stnto Jackson county commissioners ordered mo to make a survey of a road from Abhlaml to Liukvllle, and over such grades as tho county would bo able to build. In conformity with such orders 1 run tho road from a point seven miles south of Ashland eastward across and up Emigrant creek and thouco a grade up and across tho Green Spring countatu and down nnd across Keo.no crook, and thenco on across tho Cascade mountains to Kla math Falls. Tho grades wore ou about 10 per cent, wherfl tho old road the grados wcro 30 or 40. ThU was tho first attempt ut graded roads In Jackson county oxcopt In ono in stance, that of tho grade from Jack sonville to tho Applegate side, Tno road from Jacksonville west rua up Illch gulch nnd Dowoll gulch and up over tho hill, many places with a grado ot 3D per cent. So about 1SGS aftor prolonged arguments with the county court, I obtained permission to run a grndo ovor tho Jacksonville hill, I run tho .grade liqo In loss than n day on a 10 por cent yrudq and tho road supervisor oportod It out that same soason, That Is tho present grado over tho Jacksonville hill, h grade ot G per cent could ho built, but In doing so no part of tho I present road could bo used and tho expense would bo greqt, so probablv uo change will bo uiadu for borne time yot. About 187S tho old road over tho t east bldo of- the. mountains to Cres cent City whrt Its 30 nor, cent KMdo . had been inifussabh? and abandoned for several years, and with little prospect of an outlet by railroad, tho counties of Jackson and Josephine, In Oregon, and Del Nor to county, In California, employed me to lay out u now routo to Crescent City. I com menced nt the east foot ot tho ,Mc Gruo mountain soven mllos wont ot Waldo, and run up and ovor tho coast rango ot mountains and down to Patrick crook, thonco across Smith rlvor and over to Crescent City, a distance ot about SO mllos, with a maximum grado qf C por cent. I re duced the grado from that ot tho old road two-thirds and t'.iortenod tho distance 18 miles. That Is tho pro out travolod road to Crescent City and was said at tho tlmo It was built to bo the best mountain road on tho coast. Autoa have made tho trip from Crescent City to Medford tho present soason In sovon hours, a din tanco ot 120 miles. Flfty-thrco years ago I drove tuy ox team over tho-HUklyou toll road at tho end of my 2,000 mile drlva from Illinois, and I found the'alnioU ! ! iini'ii i ii ! m 'I (Conttuued on Page Four.) ,u,
