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History
"Its Gold!"
What began as a whispered discovery between two packers traveling
though the Oregon Territory soon became a cry heard throughout
the West. The year was 1851 and within months thousands of
miners were lining the creeks of Rich Gulch seeking their
fortune. The rush was on and the boomtown, which came to be
known as Jacksonville, emerged.
By the
winter of 1852 Jacksonville, then known as Table Rock City,
had grown from a makeshift mining camp to a bustling town
of over 2000 complete with saloons, gambling halls, shops
businesses and a bank. Among those drawn to the area was Peter
Britt. His search of gold eventually gave way to a passion
to chronicle the times through his talents as a photographer.
Fortunately for us, the lives, the landscapes and the legends
of the day were captured through his lens.
For decades
Jacksonville, which had become the county seat, flourished
as the commercial and cultural center of Southern Oregon.
It wasn't until 1884, when the railroad was routed through
the neighboring town of Medford, did the prestige of Jacksonville
begin to wane. As residents and businesses moved away to those
communities along the rail lines, Jacksonville settled into
a new role-that of an agricultural center.
The combination
of the County Seat being moved to Medford in 1927, the Great
Depression and World War II had serious economic impact on
Jacksonville. But never a community to give in, residents
and business leaders sought to preserve the heritage of Southern
Oregon's first town. Jacksonville although no longer a boomtown,
discovered a new way to lure those with the pioneer spirit,
capturing it's colorful past and inviting a new generation
of explorers to experience it.
In 1966,
Jacksonville was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Over 100 buildings in Jacksonville are on the National Register
of Historic Places. With a dynamic vision of the future that
simultaneously incorporates its glorious past, Jacksonville
is booming once again.
Ask someone
who's recently visited Jacksonville what they think, and you
may hear a very familiar phrase....."It's Gold!"
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