MEDFORD, Ore. – Friday marks the 520th anniversary of the day in 1492 when Atlantic trade winds blew Christopher Columbus’ fleet ashore in the Americas. It’s also the 50th anniversary when a huge Pacific windstorm blew ashore on the pacific coast in what many call the storm of the century for the Northwest. When people … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Nixon’s Speech
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – The Presidential election race may be passing Oregon by this year, but 60 years ago one of the landmark moments in U.S. Election history happened, and had it’s roots right in Southern Oregon. The presidential campaign of 1952 had World War Two hero General Dwight Eisenhower and California Senator Richard Nixon … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Logging Museum Experience
CHILOQUIN, Ore. – Almost every county, and many communities in Oregon have a museum of some kind, dedicated to preserving and displaying local history, but there are not too many in Oregon that are outdoor museums. One of the few is right here in our area, north of Klamath Falls near Chiloquin. Logging has been … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Dairies Deliver
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – When many people think back to their childhood, a popular image of the milk deliveryman comes to mind. It was a popular service in the Rogue Valley and the Klamath Basin that disappeared 2o years or more ago. For decades, the Klamath Falls Creamery, maker of Crater Lake brand dairy products, … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Forts
TALENT, Ore. – When you look at a map of our area, you may notice several small communities or places with the name fort in them. While there are no forts there today, the story behind those names reflects the turmoil associated with the early settlement of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Historian Jan Wright … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Gold Hill Rail & Timber
NEAR GOLD HILL, Ore. – The first few decades of the 20th century were times of great growth and development all across Southern Oregon. Mines were re-opened, cities and orchards were growing, and timberlands were feeling the woodsmen’s axes and saws for the first time in our area. This brushy trail along a hillside on … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Lost Forest
CHRISTMAS VALLEY, Ore. – The big pine forests of central and south central Oregon have attracted settlers, lumbermen and recreationalists for generations, but there is one Ponderosa pine forest in our area that seems to be out of place in Lake County. It’s called the “lost forest”, and remains something of a mystery. The “lost … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Pokegama Log Chute
NEAR COPCO LAKE, Ore. – 120 years ago, lumbermen from the East coast and mid-west were discovering what a green gold-mine the forests of the Northwest were. Some of the biggest timber reserves were in the mountains between what is now Ashland and Klamath Falls. On the rugged hillside between the Upper Klamath River and … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: The Model Town
GILCHRIST, Ore. – A big part of the growth of Southern Oregon was the development of the timber industry in our area. In the early 20th century, several large timber companies bought thousands of acres of timberland and built mills, railroads and towns. Company towns have been a part of the American landscape for nearly … Continue reading »
Oregon Trails: Explosion in Roseburg
ROSEBURG, Ore. — Almost all of us have a day that sticks in our memory as something we’ll never forget. Like the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, 9-11, or the day President Kennedy was shot. Next Tuesday, August 7th, marks the day in 1959 that many Southern Oregon residents will also never forget. It’s the … Continue reading »
