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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1962)
SUNDAY. Fort Jones Museum Holds Treasures of Scott By DORIS ROBINSON Mail Tribune Correspondent Fort Jones-Thtre is a quaint and interesting museum in the community of Fort Jones which holds historical treas ures of the Scott valley area. Fort Jones is about 18 miles southwest of Yreka, where in early days an Army Fort housed about 300 men at one time. The museum was started in 1947 by a group of five Fort Jones men, W. T. (Mike) Davidson, George Melne, Har ry Bryan, Arland Walker and Eddie Edgecomb. The land on which the museum stands was donated by Eddie Edgecomb and adjoins the Edgecomb store. John E. Dempscy was the architect. Manuel Quadros, Fort Jones stone cutter, di rected the work and county crews erected the building. It was officially dedicated in May, 1049, by the Siskiyou County Historical Society. Native Siskiyou Store The building is constructed of stone native to Siskiyou county. The varieties include lava, marble, granite, jasper, jade, limestone, quartz, sand stone, petrified wood and ob sidian. There are also a can non ball, Indian mortar and pestle and sandstone which has sea shells of the prehis toric age embedded in it, and grist mill wheels taken from an old flour mill. Beside the north wall and near the entrance to the mu seum is the famous Indian Rain rock cemented Into a base. The rain rock is a two ton piece of stone which was uncovered accidentally by a road crew working with a scraper at Colville on the Klamath river. It was dug up and laken to Fort Jones in 1055. The rock is covered with Indian mark ings and pitted with holes. Indians have explained that It Is a ceremonial rock and used by their ancestors to bring rain when their crops needed it. They did not wish it to be moved from its rest ing place at Gotvllle. Pound Holes in Rock Legend has it that the In dians pounded holes into the rock, wilh such force that there was a terrible flood, so the rock was burled Jn order this might never happen again. Another legend is that weather conditions changed sonn after the rock was un covered and laken to Fort Jones, and the Indians bogged that it be covered or buried again. The rain rock's fame spread over (he United Stales and many letters were written ask ing the men who built the museum that they cither cover or uncover the rock as need for rain or dry weather pre sented Itself in the different localities. Yreka residents viewed the rain rock In a 49'cr parade one year and to insure fair weather a tarpaulin was erect ed over the flat bed truck like a roof. There are many stones and legends about the rain rnck. all interesting, and many people believe them. Blamed for Fire, Flood For instance it was in Sep tember, 1055, that the Hay stack fire burned hundreds of acres of forest, and it started down the Klamath river. In December of the same year, a flood look lis toll of life and property. Many people claimed it was because the rain rock W'as uncovered that year and moved from its rest ing place. t The museum Itself is small, containing two rooms. In back of the building is an enclos ure where an old buggy, sur rey, wagon and threshing ma- FBI Arrests Three Wanted Men in Area Mcrifnrri FBI agent, in conjunction with area law enforcement agencies, made three arrests last week of men who had been sought on federal warrants. In cooperation with (Ink) Hill Chief of Police Hill Young, agents arrested Fred erick Gerald Pole, 32, form erly of mine's, who was wanted in thai stale on a charce of grand II. eft and em bezzlement. The federal war rant charged unlaw ul flight to avoid prosecution Jackson county sheriff's of ficers and FBI agents ar rested Dewey M. Mullen. IB, who is wanted in the state of Washington on a burglary charge. He was arrested on a warrant charging unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and his bail was set at $111.0110. Agents, and Mrdiord police arrested Hay Duanr Benncy. 24. on a charge of transport ing a stolen auto from Los Angeles. Calif., to Medford. All three men were ar raigned before U. S. Commis-; sioiier Frank Van Dyke. i SEPTEMBER 2. 1962 FAMOUS RAIN HOCK This two-ton chunk of stone was dug up and taken to Fort Jones in 1955 where it stands near the entrance to the museum. The rock is covered with markings, and area Indians explain that it ...... ; IL i WSSftiMM UNUSUAL PAINTS Among items on display at the Fort Jones museum is this picture of an old miner painted by Clara Barney, who used berries, acorns and manzanita for her colors inslcad of actual paints. Museum officials after been offered more than $2,000 for the painting. chine are stored for viewing. Inside the first room show cases line the walls where dozens of Indian baskets are displayed. It Is believed to he the largest single collec tion of baskets, and of the dozens of baskets no one pal tern is duplicated. The Indians used manzanita and acorns to color the designs. There are only two known Indians left who know the art of weaving baskets. It is a tedious and exacting art since only certain grass reeds and Petitions Request Formation of Fire Protection Area New pel il inns containing 240 signatures requesting for mation of a Talent Rural fire district are being checked by I he Jackson county assessor's olfice for proper legal de scription of the proposrd dist rict boundaries. County Com missioner Chester Wendt said Friday. The county clerk's olfice must check signatures for voter registration, then a pub lic hearing and election will be called, Wonrit said. Generally, the proposed district would cover the Talent and Phoenix rural areas, according to John Tompkins, Talent.' who is spearheading the district for mation. Mediord attorneys Robert Ileffernan and William Wellington are handling the; legal work involved. j Board ol Directors Residents of the areas in-! volved will vole in a board ; of directors to administer the fire district Ihe same time the ' election is held on formation of Ihe district. Tentative plans call for pur-! chase o three pieces of (ire- f i h t 1 n g equipment; Iwo pumpers and one cruiser. The pumpers would have water tanks of 550 to 750 gal lons. The cruiser would be a four-wheel drive pickup truck : carrying a 350 gallon tank. Not less than five full-time men would he hired by the district. The fire chief would ! he on 24-hour rail. The rest ' four Coses of Disease Reported in County Only four eases of commu nicable diseases were report I'd to the Jackson county health department last week, according to lb A. F.rm Mer ket. county health officer. Two eases of measles were reported, one each in Medford and Jacksonville. Medford and Central Point rach re ported one case of whooping cough I roots are used, and these must be boiled and dried and treat ed correctly before woven into intricate and beautiful patterns. Indian Beads Displayed There are also on display long strings of Indian beads, moccasins, arrow heads and an albino animal skin used in their ceremonials, plus many pictures of Indian chiefs and tribesmen. On another wall is a col lodion of guns, some dating back to 1852 and I860. There of the personnel would be volunteer firefighters. "It's possible we will have Ihe main station in Talent and later, substations located at strategic points," Tomp kins said. Jackson May Start Operation Plans White City-Domiciliary Di rector C. T. Jackson expects to install some of the plans of operation which he found successful at Ihe Clinton, Iowa, domiciliary, when he was in charge of that station, he told representatives of the VA Volunteer Services at a recent meeting. The Clinton Domiciliary, being identical wilh White City as a home for disabled veterans, is no different in its major plan of operation, he said. Jackson said he was here at the tune the military camp was closed and recalls Ihe absence of trees and grass. The director emphasized Ihe valuable contribution of the volunteers In their service to veterans and said he hoped to be able to assist in doing "tne best job possible for mem bers " This was his first meet ing with the VAV'S. lie said his office is always open to any volunteers who wish In stop in when they arc at the domiciliary. WHSTE TRASH" t W is a ceremonial rock that was used by their ancestors to bring rain. Many persons blame unearthing of the rock for a change in Siskiyou county weather and have urged that It be covered up again. are Civil war muskets, pow der pouches, bayonets and swords, shell boxes, pistols and revolvers. And of more recent history there is the gun used by the Bright brothers, Coke and John, who are said to have killed three men from Yreka in 1B35. There are two old Bibles, one dated 1858, and pictures of early day settlers whose descendants still live in the area. Also in the museum are two old organs and a nickelo- dian from an early day saloon owned by a man named Hen derson. It was found in the attic of the Henderson home by Dave Parker who moved into the home. It was donated by Parker. There is a Singer sewing machine made In 1867 which was packed over the Salmon mountains in 1871 to the Black Bear Mine. First While Child There is a large picture of Narcissi Davidson, who is said to be the first white child born In Scott valley, in 1858. She became a nun known as Sister Mary Bernard. Two early day doctors were Dr. Charles Cowan and Dr. Milllkens. Their old medicine cases are on display. Other old articles are cof fee mills, a lemon squeezer, sausage grinder and typewrit ers, and a Jack Frost ice cream freezer; antique vases, bottles, lamps and a spinning wheel; Charles McDermit's Army uniform and an early day school teacher's wedding dress. Her name was Ann Mahan. There are some beautiful hand-made quills made by a Mrs. Davidson who was born in 17KB and made the quilt Medford High To Sponsor Marine Band in Concert The Medford High school hand is again sponsoring the United Slates Marine band, which will appear in two con certs Oct. lfl in Hedrick Jun ior High school, according to Irv Mirick, director of the band. Letters' have been mailed In interested fans inviting them lo become patrons of the con certs. Anyone not receiving an invitation and who wishes to become a patron may do so by contacting the high school, Mirick said. Since John Philip Sousa took the United States Ma rine band on its first national tour in 1801, the musical or ganization has toured a sec tion ot the country each year, rotating to various geographi cal areas so the largest num ber of people might see and hear it. The a p p e a r a n r e of the j bandsmen in full dress uni form is matched only by the' faultless execution of its pro gram ot marches, light class sics and popular music. There is music for every taste, from i the opening with the National Anthem, lo the concluding se lection. "Marine Hymn." The annual tours are made at no expense to the govern ment, each sponsoring organi zation sharing in the over-all tour costs. The U. S. Marine band con certs in Medford are to hrlp raise money for the traveling and uniform funds ot the Med ford High school band. ' MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOHD. OREGON 14 alii 1? I f 1 ' " 0 o 'w ' DATES TO 1856 These old Bibles at the Fort Jones museum date back to the mid 1800's, one to 1858. The picture behind them is of the Luttrell family, a father and tops on the road from Indiana to Scott valley in 1854. The trip took seven months. There are many paintings, but two valuable ones were painted by an Indian woman named Clara Barney. She did not use paints, but stains from berries, leaves and man zanita for her colors. Picture of Miner One picture is of an old miner, and the museum has been offered more than $2,000 for it by people visiting the , TOOTH Slf4SJ4 RUBBING H i MSH EjSjg ALCOHOL O 1 A - f PRICES EFFECTIVE TODAY ONLY SUNDAY w HLUUnwi. , K """J'11" I SEPT. 2-PAY LESS WILL BE CLOSED ON LABOR DAY I reg?39c gj J ji REPLLENTSSPRAY Patio . " " 3 MODESS SHOES 7Z- j '' '' I gP' dynachrome fcsjjl 111 w P5'.' ment. ( I irtli 35 MM . TSUI Sr i2s . lesor rr,y Jr? k W dayiite w f sc I value jt 4 88 29 9S ") u film rgrrf ' risio 1 3pair is v"" J f jM'l L M l.25 FANCY DOLL, 12-mch 87c j U9 j&fflg? f JLxI jf 30c SNELLED HOOKS, H.I 13c t,iR glSSc SPONGE PACK .,43c imS j SiirrtTl !.? Stanley pint Cl fa X'lWSa STAINLESS STEEL U POPCORN tJEAM MSSr vacuum tegi z'zv oTi Wrntu minti-VM BOTTLE till AV ark ' i Uh2tfS I I I 7 v FLOSS V f: Ft&'Zfli C0ATSiCLARK easy on Peppermint l j SPRAY NOUGAT CANDY $ I HGRIFFIN Ht'Sf lliA! Hfc j ff liquid $ 59c MUM MIST 33c If 0UB" ' aced I anut n I Shavings SU ' POLISH NVU4 1 1.00 DUSTING POWDER x0 63c mm ' r t 1.59 CREME SHAMPOO m'tU 99c Mirror J 2,00 DESERT FL0WER "H uoj H 83c IPANA TOOTH PASTE 53c mt II museum. The other picture is Clara Barney herself, which she painted by viewing her self in a mirror. Many people also have tried to purchase this picture. She was an In dian healer and one of her descendants now lives in Hap py Camp. A display case for rocks is in the center of one room. It is made of stones native to Siskiyou county. It was built by George Melne to hold his gold exhibit and was tak I i five sons. They were early day settlers in Siskiyou county whose descendants still live in the area. en to Treasure Island to the World's Fair. It was made by John Dempsey, and was donated to the museum. The gold exhibit is in Yreka. There are many other inter esting displays. The museum Is open daily 10 a m. to 5 p.m. during the summer. Mrs. A. T. Robertson is in charge, and recruits la dies of the community to spend a half day at the mu seum to greet the public. Their time is donated. Valley Petty Larceny Cases Handled by Court A series of cases involving . charges were Rose Marie La petty laceny charges was Grave, Norma Quoqueze and heard in Jackson county dist rict court Friday. Edward Gordon Griffin Jr., Denair, Calif., was sentenced to no davs in the county jail on charges of siphoning five gallons of gas from construc tion machinery in the Ha cienda subdivision, Phoenix. He pleaded guilty to the charges. Imposition of sentence was suspended for 12 months for three persons accused of tak ing a portable sewing ma chine and miscellaneous cloth ing from a home on Elk Creek rd. Pleading guilty to the SOUTHERN OREGON DISTRICT DENTAL SOCIETY takes pleasure in welcoming to the Medford area Dr. Wayne A. Frostad with offices at 842 East Main and Dr. Richard Whitlock wilh offices at 57 North 2nd, Central Point Area Norman Weslev Tribbett. all of route 1, box 686, Trail. Raymond John Hill, 49, Cleveland, Tenn., was sen tenced to 30 days in the county jail on charges of at tempted petty larceny. He pleaded guilty to entering a car in downtown Medford, and "taking possession of a fishing reel." FINANCE CENTER New York - This city re placed Philadelphia as the fi nancial center of the U.S. sometime between 1830 and 1840.
