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Medford Pioneers: Profiles of some personages and personalities of early Medford. Snafu, the Foul-Mouthed Parrot A feathered World War II veteran makes his name in Medford as a "cussing tropical woodpecker." Michael Angelo McGinnis Educator, mathematician, syphilitic madman, M. A. McGinnis founded Medford's first newspaper, the Medford Monitor. Ashba Logan Johnson The Rogue Valley's first booster, he invented and disseminated the phrase "The Italy of Oregon"--before making off with the Sunday school's treasury. Oregon's first Socialist officeholder was also Medford's first councilman to be framed by the mayor. Pastor, Wild West show promoter, womanizing editor on the lam--C. B. Carlisle published Medford's second newspaper, the Southern Oregon Transcript. Charles Wesley Broback Broback made time to co-found Medford when not riding herd on his passel of trouble-magnet sons. The Swedish blacksmith built the first building in Medford--before the town even had a name--and was witness to its naming. Dr. Roland Pryce An early Medford physician, he struggled with alcoholism and tuberculosis before a poignant death in the arms of his Gold Hill bride. Clara Belle Purucker "Auntie" Purucker shepherded over 1800 Medford babies into the world in her South Orange Street maternity home. Charley Strang He arrived as Medford began in 1884 and ran his drug store on Main Street for over 50 years. He reminisces about Medford's beginnings and Bear Creek. Fred Heath Another druggist, though only since 1909. He talks about the Orchard Boom, in full swing when he arrived, and running a sideline orchard. Clarence Meeker He owned the M.M. Department Store, created in 1894 from the ashes of the New York Cheap Cash Store. He describes the birth of the Orchard Boom. N. S. Bennett He arrived in 1889; his Eden Valley Nursery provided many of the fruit trees that once populated the Rogue Valley. Asahel C. Hubbard A scion of Fortunatus Hubbard, he and his brothers grew a farm implement dealership into the oldest hardware store in Oregon, Hubbard Brothers. Everett G. Trowbridge He almost turned tail when he saw the dusty town of Medford in 1908, but saw opportunity and began the manufacture of Mission furniture and lamps. Richard I. Stuart From New York City newsboy to construction contractor of the Craterian, the Natatorium, the Elks Club, Hotel Jackson, Medford National Bank and more. Wallace Woods He worked in several lumber yards in Medford--including its first--before starting his own in 1894 and providing the material that built the town. William F. Isaacs ''Toggery Bill" was a pioneer Medford haberdasher, Rogue River booster, and fishing guide to the stars. William A. Gates "Peoria Bill" Gates outgrew his circus ambitions and brought modern grocery merchandising to the Rogue Valley when he co-founded the Groceteria. John H. Butler Butler traded a can of kerosene for two acres of land, helped found the Medford Furniture & Hardware Co., built the Woolworth Building--and lost it. John T. C. Nash The clipper ship captain survived Indian attacks to find a fortune in gold--and used it to build a hotel in downtown Medford. George Horatio Chick The mine promoter may have been on the up-and-up--but he sure managed to leave a lot of unhappy people in his wake. John C. Mann Lured to Medford in 1910 by a booster pamphlet, he stayed to found a venerable merchandising firm--Mann's Department Store. William Ulrich He built the Railroad Saloon and stayed to become Medford's pioneer insurance agent and founder of the Southern Oregon Pork Packing Company. James Sullivan Howard He didn't do quite everything he's credited with, but his efforts were crucial in turning the townsite into a town. Franklin Lafayette Cranfill Coming to Medford in its first year as a 40-year-old carpenter, he built Cranfill & Hutchison into a venerable Medford dry-goods emporium. Weeks & Orr John and Fred Weeks and their in-law Eugene Orr in 1892 founded a Medford furniture company that continues to this day. Gore-Ish The Gore and Ish families played a prominent part in early Medford and in the development of the area long before the town was thought of. William I. Vawter The attorney founded Medford's first bank and built a mansion at the corner of Main and Holly that figured prominently in its social history. The history of Medford's first tailor and the Holtan family, as told by Marguerite and John Black. Though he was never a judge, Judge Colvig was for many years Medford's biggest booster. He arrived at the height of the Orchard Boom and soon became president of the Farmers and Fruitgrowers Bank, safely seeing it through the Great Depression. The fearless editor of the Medford Tribune occasionally paid a price for his editorials. He never practiced in Medford but bought the Nash Hotel and developed the Blue Ledge Mine, soon becoming mayor and Medford's biggest booster. Notes and photos on Ansel A. Davis and the Davis & France Medford Roller Mills. The railroader should have been Medford's most hated man, but he managed to become the opposite. Medford's pioneer Ford dealer, mayor and pillar of the community. Last revised October 28, 2009 ©2007-2009 Talky Tina Press, Medford, Oregon |
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