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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1959)
10 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Sunday, April 5, 1959 Appieg cates Among First White -Men in Kogue Valley (Editor's note: This fol lowing summarized history of Medford was compiled and written by Seth Bullis recently. Sources of infor mation include city and county records. "History of Medford About 1933" by Miss Jane Snedicor, Wallins history written in 1884, and 'The Applegate Trail" by Walter Meacham, 1947.) By SETH BULLIS Perhaps the first white men to traverse this valley were those of the party of Jesse and Lindsey Applegate (some I 15 men) who started from the Willamette valley in 1846 to find a "southern route," free from possible English aggres sion, and also the difficult - Columbia river passage. The large party brought back by them through Nevada, Tle Lake and south of Mt. McLaughlin had no thought of pausing here, no matter how attractive it must have appeared after the Humboldt desert. It was September, 1846. However, other men came, and more after the discovery of gold on Jackson creek built up the town of Jacksonville, as the second established com munity in Oregon (after As toria). Take Up Claims When the land was thrown open to donation land claims. Napoleon B. Evans and Reason B. Packard took up claims that comprised the original townsite of Medford. The creek, originally Stuart (or Stewart) creek, from a nMir killed nearby by In dians, but later bearing the commonplace name of Bear creek, was forced here at ttfe "Middle Ford." When the railroad was re buffed by the self-satisfied citizens of Jacksonville in its request for a $25,000 bonus, on the ground that no railroad would fail to touch the largest town in southern Oregon, it was built on a tangent from where it emerged from the Rogue River canyon at Tolo to Phoenix, called "Gasburg" by the stage drivers because of the loquacious hostess at the stage station. Townsite Promoted Thus in 1883 a townsite was . promoted with the railroad which the railroad engineer, David Loring, named' after Medford, Mass., through the name of Middle Ford confused the background of the name for years. , By now the land had been acquired by others; C. C. Beek man owned the southwest cor ner, C. Mingus the northwest, I. J. Phipps the northeast and C. W. Brobeck the southeast. A prominent promoter of the town was J. S. Howard, whose soa was railroad surveyor, but the actual plat was surveyed for dedication by Charles Prim signed the original dedi cation. Twenty acres in the center were given to the railroad for depot and yard purposes. In addition, every other block, the even numbered ones, was turned over to the trustee, Mr. Prim, to be sold for the bene fit of the railroad, as a bonus. The railroad was, and is, the Oregon & California. The land deal was handled by its sub sidary, the Oregon and Trans continental company. Present Park However, Mr. Howand per suaded the company to give the present park to the city, while Mr. Beekman sold to the . city the library block for $200. Tne passenger depot was planted for years squarely in the middle of the present Main st. All this in 1883-84 when the railroad was built from the north as far as Pho- nix. That winter some 40 wood en buildings were built, plus foundation for a single brick building, a store and assembly hall on the site of the present hotel at Main and Front sts. The first hotel, the Torrey House, was built that year at Main and Riverside, then call ed State rd. On Feb. 24, 1885, the Gov ernor signed the incorporation papers for the town of Med ford and five trustees were promptly elected. The first or dinance made fighting and rioting unlawful, the second prohibited the loitering of minors on the railroad (Jepot platform; it was a typical Western TV town. Fire Protection Fire protection started in 1886 when the town purchas ed its first equipment of lad ders, buckets, and ropes. The town got too congested for individual wells and the trustees borrowed money in 1884 to start a water system. A ditch was built from Bear creek, south of town, to the city park and pumped into elevated tanks there. Later, this pumping plant was moved to Bear creek opposite the end of Eighth st. The first water distribution system was built in 1889. "Mountain spring" water came July 1, 1927. The bond issue was voted Oct. 8, 1925. First Electric Plant Ashland and Grants Pass were older, larger towns and had electric plants ,by 1890, but the younger Medford did not get its first electric plant until the summer of 1894. Previous to that, the town had contributed oil for three street lamps on Seventh st (Main). The town contracted in August, 1894, for four "arch for the streets at $10 each per month. In 1900 the city purchased the lectric plant; in 1904 it contracted with Condor Water and Power company for ser vice to its plant at 3 cents -per kilowatt hour. That company had just built its plant at Gold Ray, a plant which Was thought to be so big that the valley never could absorb its capacity. In 1908 the city sold its electric system to the pow er company. Jacksonville Railroad Jacksonville got its railroad when, in 1890, a railroad was constructed after Jacksonville had contributed $15,000 and Medford $7,500. The latter sum was advanced by a' group of Medford citizens, later re imbursed in warrants by the town. A street car system was installed in 1914 but after a few years it suffered the fate of other small town transpor tation systems. The Jackson ville railroad also succumbed, in the early 1920's to automo biles and trucks. Mud on Main st. got deep; board walks were 'first con structed by the town, later the responsibility was transferred to property owners. Pave ment came later, with more than 20 miles of paving laid in 1910. Through the 90's the main tenance of the individual san itary installation was constant matter of town board mandate, until in 189 8. the first sewer System was installed. . The first religious services were Union Sunday Schools, but in 1885 the first church was organized. Most of the early church sites were donatr ed by public spirited citizens. From 1885 until the county courthouse usurped the corner of Oakdale and Main in 1933, a school building of increasing proportion was maintained there. School buildings have kept pace with the growth of the town. The commercial pear in dustry dates from the first planting, south of Medford, in 1885. A pear planting boom from 1907 to 1910 gave the in dustry a tremendous impetus. The' chamber of commerce, first the Commercial club, in 1895, and an aggressive wom en's club from 1904 deserve ed much to the city welfare. Medford, except for the period of World War I, has never been static. Every in dication is that tomorrow's history will relate steady pro gress for this community, blessed with the right sort of people and the best climate and water in the nation. Evangelist to Start Revival Services Evangelist Dean McKay, Seattle, Wash., will begin a series of revival services to day at the Medford Evangelis tic Center, Esquire ' theater building, according to the Rev. Ray McCoy, director of the local Center. The services will begin at 7:45 p.m. each day and be held through Friday; April 10. Mr. McKay was formerly the assistant to the Rev. Ralph Sanders of the Old-fashioned camp meeting broadcasts and has been a missionary to Mexico. Fire Control Meeting Set at IV Station Cave Junction-The Illinois valley ranger station has scheduled a fire control meet ing April 10 at l p.m. at the station for all lumbermen and independent contractors who buy national forest timber. The purpose of the meeting will be to explain the fire pro tection requirements in the timber sale contracts and to outline plans for the ap proaching fire season. A dairy cow requires about 150 more manhours of labor per year than any other kind of farm animal. Medford High Ends 14th in Contest Eugene - Mediord High school has been announced as the 14th place winner in the Oregon Mathematical contest for 1959. School ranking is deter mined by the total of scores of top three students in each school participating in the contest. The score for Medford this year was 117. Winning the contest was Tigard High school with a combined score of 292. Individually, one Medford student placed high in the contest. Jack Lee Haring was 35th with a score of 41.5. James Franklin Hays of Cra ter High school was 26th with a score of 44. The national contest is spon sored annually by the Mathe matical Association of Ameri ca and by th Society of Ac tuaries in each, state. In Ore gon this year, 79 high schools participated with approxi mately 3,250 students competing. today is only 'APBIL 5 NMFBROMSTHENfst DEP0S,TELVby "THE 10th AND THEY EARN MORE JACKSON COUNTY FEDERAL WINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATION wam Medford major credit for the healty growth and civic pride of a Medford which has always been a city leading the way in civic and cultural good liv ing; fortunate because the ; most capable citizens have al- j ways been ready to give their time and talents, without! monetary recompense, to the ; needs of the community, both i governmental and cultural. Further evidence of this stability is that the city (it was i reincorporated as a city Feb. 7, 1905) successfully handled the impact of Camp White with its 35,000 soldiers during World War II; with its hundreds of soldiers' fam ilies to house and its thousands of men turned loose nightly in town for recreation. After evacuation of the camp, the only "ghost town" visible was the camp itself, and most of that was soon utilized by the Veteran's Domiciliary and by industry which has contribut- 186 Permits Are Issued by City For Buildings A total of 186 permits, the largest number, reportedly, in any one month in recent years, were issued by the Medford ; biulding department in March, j according to the department s ; monthly report. .Total valuation for the per mits is reported to be $828, 387, more than twice the $406,958 valuation for per mits in March, 1958, and over four times the $173,737 valu ation for the same month in 1957. Some 69 permits were is sued in March, 1958, and 68 were issued two years ago. Twenty -four permits for new residences, with a total value of $308,200, were is sued last month. .,. Other major permits were issued for a new $82,183 church,a $35,000 City of Med ford reservoir atop Barneburg Hill; a $95,000 business struc ture in the East Jackson st. shopping center; a $50,000 service station in the shopping center, a $15,000 service sta tion at another location and a $20,000 duplex. Eleven permits with a total valuation of $150,610 were is sued for businesses being re modeled or repaired. Eighteen permits for remodeling or re pairing residences were also issued. Residents took out 30 elec trical permits and 52 plumb ing permits last mouth, City inspectors reported making a total of 1,145 inspections. To tal fees, collected last month amounted to $3,004.14. IM3m, llt'V " '"Y Kill M IfllM ran mi m lumim i Ltarn how to hypnotize tax collectors rx Get money at ..where it's almost fun to bon'ow mmey! . At "Moneyland" (your nearby Pacific Finance office) you may borrow the one thing tax collectors are inter ested in-money. What's more, your request for money will be handled quickly and courteously. So whatever you need cash for-to pay taxes, to reduce monthly payments, to take a trip-come to "MoNEYLANtt." It's the place to borrow money for any purpose. NEW FINANCING PLAN! In addition to our personal loan service, we can now "finance" (buy contracts on) most anything you want to buy on time-automobiles, furniture, appliances, etc. Investigate competitive rates available before buying. 1 Ir is 16 DfVISIOR OF PACIFIC FIIAMCI South is MONEYLAND PocrfftRnotiwloon Central Phone SP 3-5308 Jim Elbert, Manager Open Weekdays: 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Mondays until 8 P.M. Closed Saturdays LOOK FOR THESE FEATURES! BIG NEW FEATURES BIGGER . . . STRONGER UNDERCARRIAGE New track roller frames and diagonal braces rollers. Bigger track links, pins, bushings and LIFETIME LUBRICATED ROLLERS AND IDLERS Oil, sealed in reservoirs during assembly is retained by floating ring seals, cation is eliminated until rebuilding time. Roller lubri- DRY-TYPE AIR CLEANER Reduces air cleaner service to five minutes Removes 99.8 of dirt from engine air. DOUBLE REDUCTION FINAL DRIVES Reduce load en transmission, bevel gear and pinion, steering clutches and brakes, vide almost TWENTY INCHES ground clearance. BIG RETAINED FEATURES 1. OIL TYPE FLYWHEEL CLUTCH The oil clutch has given D8 owners thousands of hours of trouble-free peratien. clutch is a major advance in tractor design. 2. OIL COOLED STEERING CLUTCHES AND BRAKES Filtered and cooled under pressure cool steering clutches and brakes. 3. YOUR CHOICE OF DIRECT DRIVE OR TORQUE CONVERTER Direct drive equipped with 6 speed forward and reverse transmission, has 3 speed transmission. Tate Torque Converter Pro- COMMON LUBE SYSTEM FOR TRANSMISSION, BEVEL GEAR AND STEERING CLUTCHES. Uses engine type oil, filtered, cooled apd under pressure. ENTIRE power train is pressure lubricated with 1 00 filtered oil. BIGGER! MORE POWER! 4. LIVE POWER TO WINCHES AND CABLE CONTROL- Power directly from engine assures good working speed ef rear mounted attachments. 5. IN-SEAT STARTING Operators like the convenient D8 starting system that helps to get the machine en the jet quickly IT'S ALL NEW! TAKE A GOOD LOOK! On Display Now At Your CATERPILLAR DEALER SEE IT NOW! No. Pacific Highway Medford CAT AND CATERPILLAR ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF THE CATERPILLAR TRACTOR CO. OPEN HOUSE TUESDAY 8 a.m. Till Dusk Everyone Welcome
