Army Builds Wagon Road from Jacksonville to Fort Klamath

by Alice Mullaly

Excitement was high on June 15, 1863, at the Jackson County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Ore. Farmers and business owners from all over Southern Oregon gathered that day to form a new company to build a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains to Central Oregon. Mining was declining in Southern Oregon and new markets were badly needed. The John Day gold fields were just getting started and would provide that market. The meeting was a great success with $800 raised and D. D. Munger [MUNG-gur] hired to manage the location and construction of the road.

But the U.S. Army built the wagon road instead, because Fort Klamath needed supplies from the Rogue Valley. Capt. Sprague and 20 men of Company 1, First Oregon Volunteers, spent the next three years surveying and building a military road across the Cascades a few miles south of Crater Lake that joined the road to Jacksonville.

Renewed prosperity came to Southern Oregon when the military road was finished in 1866. Heavy freight wagons, along with miners, and herds of cattle, sheep and pigs, used the road from Jacksonville to Central Oregon.

Later, better roads replaced the military road, which was abandoned.

Originally written January 26, 2009, for the JPR program, As It Was.

Sources:
Oregon Intelligencer, June 20, 1863; “Discovery and Exploration of Crater Lake: 1853-1885”, Crater Lake National Park Administrative History, http://www.nps.gov/archive/crla/adhi/adhi1a.htm

1906, Three Men Die in Gold Mine Explosion Near Jacksonville

By Dennis M. Powers

A newspaper story in January 1906 called a deadly explosion at the Opp Mine near Jacksonville, Ore., “one of the most serious accidents in the history of Southern Oregon mining.”

Located on Reservoir Road close to Highway 238 and the town of Jacksonville, the Opp Mine ran deep with 12 ledges of golden veins. A nearby 20-stamp mill crushed the ore. Three men lost their lives in the explosion between 5 and 6 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon. The nightshift came on duty and discovered the bodies.

The three miners were working inside a tunnel with a machine drill and had driven 18 holes into the hard rock. One was already loaded with powder. The procedure was to “shoot” all of the holes before leaving a shift, so they had brought in a giant box of powder to load the other holes, setting it down a distance away. It’s not known what caused it, perhaps roof rock crashing down on a dynamite stick, but the powder box exploded.

A coroner’s jury later held that the deaths were accidental and a continued risk in the gold mines.

Written for JPR's series, As It Was.

Sources: “Fatal Explosion at Opp Mine,” January, 1906, Gold Hill News; records and files of the Gold Hill Historical Society. Online: “Jacksonville.” InfoMine Inc.,
http://technology.infomine.com/articles/1/1379/history.mining.oregon/jacksonville.oregon.aspx; “The Opp Mine: Historical Gold Mine.” Loopnet. http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/15834229/685-Jacksonville-Reservior-Road-Jacksonville-OR/

A Recollection of Holidays in Jacksonville in 1874

Post Submitted by Karreen Busch

            How did you pass the holiday season this year?  Did you attend a family gathering, or a public event?  What events were held in your town on December 25?

            Today, you might look to the internet or news broadcasts to find answers to these questions.  If you lived in Jacksonville in 1874, however, you would find an account of Christmas in the Oregon Sentinel newspaper.  On December 26 of 1874, the Sentinel printed this article to relate the town’s happenings at Christmastime to its readers:

CHRISTMAS IN JACKSONVILLE

For many days the citizens of our town were universally engaged in preparations for the proper commemoration of the annual holidays. The anxious longings of the little folks were appeased by the distribution of gifts from numerous Christmas Trees scattered among various private residences in all parts of town. But the principal features of attraction were the exercises indulged in at the churches. The first was that at the M.E. Church, under the auspices of the teachers of the Union Sunday School, of which Mr. Wm. Hoffman is Superintendent. The church was brilliantly lighted and jammed full at an early hour. The exercises consisted of singing by the scholars of the school, with prayer and remarks by Rev. M.A. Williams. Then followed the lighting up of a large and elegant Christmas Tree, which was loaded full of choice presents for the scholars only. Cakes, candies and nuts were then given to the scholars by the teachers in the order of classes, and finally the entire audience were treated to a liberal supply of most excellent cake. After that the presents were distributed from the tree among the scholars, each receiving something according to the fancy of the giver as it was taken from the tree. The method adopted in this instance was something unusual, and gave universal satisfaction. The elegantly ornamented tree was the combined production of nature and the Sunday School Misses Kate Hoffman and Mollie McCully, assisted by lady teachers of the school and various male members of the Church. The crowd dispersed about 9 o’clock, and the occurrence will be remembered as one of the most pleasant affairs of the kind happening in Jacksonville.

            However you spent your holiday went, we hope it was merry.  Have a safe and Happy New Year as we welcome the year 2011.

Recipes to be Thankful for!

Post Submitted by Karreen Busch

            Looking for something new to try for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner?  Maybe you should try something old instead.  That is, an old recipe…  We’ve found three ideas from historic Jacksonville families that might just add that something extra to your holiday dinner table.

            Emil Britt, son of Peter and Amalia Britt (of Jacksonville, for whom the Britt Festival is named), presented his mother with an 1870 cookbook entitled “Common Sense in the Kitchen: A Practical System of Cookery” in 1882.  The book is in the Southern Oregon Historical Society’s Research Library, and contains a multitude of recipes and tips from the 19^th century.

            Turkey is a Thanksgiving staple, and in Amalia Britt's cookbook, there are helpful tips for roasting your turkey:

ROASTING POULTRY: Turkeys.

When your Turkey is properly trussed for dressing, stuff it with the following ingredients: Take four ounces of butter, or chopped suet, some grated bread, a little lemon peel, parsley, and sweet herbs chopped together, pepper, salt, and nutmeg, a little cream, and the yolks of two or three eggs; work these all well together, and fill the craw with it. Let your fire be very brisk, and when you put it down paper the breast, and let it continue on till near done; then take it off, dredge it with flour, and keep basting it till it is done. If it is a large turkey, serve it up with gravy alone, or brown celery, or mushroom sauce. If it is a turkey-poult, serve it up with gravy and bread sauce… A middling sized turkey will take more than an hour, a small one three quarters of an hour, and a very large one an hour and a half. In dressing these, as well as fowls, always let your fire be clear and brisk.

“The Smith Family Heritage Cookbook” is a family history through recipes.  Originally published in 1980, the cookbook was updated in 2009 by Dana Smith Tuley.  Here’s the Smith’s family favorite dressing for holidays:

Smith’s Southern Style Dressing

12 slices white bread               4 cups cornbread, crumbled

2 cups diced celery                  2 cups diced onion

2 cubes butter                          2 t. sage

1 16 oz. can creamed corn      2 cups chicken broth

Cut the bread into 1 inch pieces and mix with crumbled cornbread.

In large skillet on low heat, melt butter and sauté celery and onions until well done. DO NOT BROWN! (This procedure takes a little while, but don’t hurry by turning the heat up).

Add the hot chicken broth to bread and cornbread along with corn and sage. Salt and pepper to taste. If mixture is not moist add a little more chicken broth.

Bake in 9x13” baking dish until golden brown at about 350˚ for approximately 50 minutes.

The Smith family has lived in the Rogue Valley, in Jacksonville, Ruch, and the Applegate Valley, since 1882.  The cookbook is available for purchase at the Research Library or online at sohs.org, and includes other dishes like “Almond Christmas Balls” and “Southern Chicken or Turkey Casserole” that would work well for holiday meals.

And, of course, what would Thanksgiving be without dessert?  We found a recipe for apple nut bread in the Hanley family archives.

Apple Nut Bread

½ cup butter

1 c. sugar

2 eggs, unbeaten

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

2 tblsp. sour cream

2 c. sifted flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 c. chopped walnuts

1 c. chopped unpeeled apples

Topping:

2 tblsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cut butter into sugar and blend together until smooth; add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in vanilla and sour cream. Sift together dry ingredients; add nuts. Combine dry ingredients and nuts with creamed mixture. Stir in apples. Put mixture into greased and floured 9” x 5” x 3” pan. Sprinkle top of loaf with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake in 325˚ oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Makes one loaf.

            This recipe, from 1950, takes advantage of the apple harvest time on the Hanley Farm.  The “Recipes from the Hanley Farms” packet is also available for purchase in the Research Library or at sohs.org.

Happy Cooking and Happy Thanksgiving!