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Medford, Oregon  Dates for significant (and not so significant) events in Medford history. Medford Bibliography The beginning of a bibliography of newspaper and magazine articles about Medford. Medford Building Notes Photos and locations of historic Medford buildings, along with some notes on their histories and aliases. Medford Business Bibliography A guide to Sanborn Fire Insurance map locations for, and hundreds of local newspaper articles about, Medford businesses. Southern Oregon Index Indexes many of the pages below. Also useful for identifying people referred to only by initials in the old newspapers. Southern Oregon History Links Links to other people's tools for researching Southern Oregon history. An index to the thousands of references to Southern Oregon miners and mining. If you ever find a copy of The Oregon Mining Journal, please contact me! An index to men selected as jurors and listed in the County Commissioners' Journals--often listing their occupations and places of residence. An extremely detailed view into farm, livestock and household practices of nineteenth-century Southern Oregon. Index to the Register of Married Women's Property A name index to the above Register. Southern Oregon History Pages: Diary of W. J. Dean, Talent, Oregon, 1912-1919 The Deans held regular seances; the diary actually contains a transcript of one conversation with a ghost. Dean also shares tales of his frontier days, including his eyewitness account of a lynching. And then there's the episode in which Mr. Dean is abducted by aliens--in 1915. W. J. Dean Biographical Notes Notes and references on the diarist's life, including the text of his 1885 indictment of the educational system. Reminiscences of Orson Avery Stearns The Stearns family came to the Rogue Valley two years after the first white settler. Stearns' gossipy manuscript, transcribed here, is our best source for what those pioneers' life was like--and how the settlers misbehaved. Also an eyewitness account of the naming of Gassburg and a profile of Phoenix pioneer Samuel Colver. Life in the Mining Camps William Mackey's wild tales of the 1850s camps on Althouse Creek in Josephine County. Who Was the First White Child Born in the Rogue Valley? This page won't make it much clearer. Mrs. Harris and the Indians The famous story of the Rogue River Indian War, but never so well told. The Gore Stockade In 1853, during the first Rogue River Indian War, the Gore family and their neighbors built a fort inside today's Medford city limits. Tyee George and Skookum John The Indian troubles of 1859-1863, told by pioneer W. J. Plymale. Contemporary comments on and complaints about how we may or may not have spoken here on the western frontier. Clues to what people ate and when. How We Drank Oregon began its experiment with Prohibition four years before the rest of the country; otherwise it was about the same. Sixteen pages. Tales of hunting, gambling, wild life and loose women and baseball in Southern Oregon in the 1860s through early 1900s. Communing with nature--and shooting it--in Southern Oregon in the 1850s through 1890s. The story of the biggest and baddest grizzly of them all. Great baseball, boneheaded baseball, crooked baseball in the Rogue Valley leagues of the early 1900s. As it turned out, the ambulance wasn't needed. In 1869 Charles Dickens' magazine had a correspondent reporting on the character and culture of Oregon and California. Far Western Miners Far Western Gamblers Far Western Man Far Western Chinese Far Western Judges and Juries Far Western Lawgivers and Preachers Far Western Newspapers A reporter in 1886 braved the depths of Portland's Chinatown and wrote this illustrated report. A 1923 visitor describes the valley, battles the fog and worries about his lost luggage. A newspaper columnist gives insight into ranching life and practices--and Orchard Boom real estate sales techniques. The Railroad Comes to Central Point Notes on the Oregon and California Railroad's arrival in Central Point--and the town's failure to secure its next railroad opportunity. Notes on the history of the oldest community on the Rogue Valley floor. Rogue Valley Intercity Rivalry Sometimes it got ugly. They're bulky, weighty, and hard to lose. Too bad that isn't true of their history. Beats me; you figure it out. I know she was a man, probably a gold miner, and old enough to know Chinook, but beyond that . . . Update: mystery solved. Notes on the history of the tributary linking Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford and Central Point. Return with us to the thrilling days of yesteryear, to a day when two young heroes just said "Enough." The transition from horse to gas was not an easy one, and not without its casualties--and humor. Jackson County was a pioneer among Oregon road builders, but it wasn't easy and it wasn't cheap. Conquering the Rogue Valley's landmarks in the early part of the 20th century--and living to tell the tale. Reminiscences and newspaper accounts of childhood in Medford and environs. What did Rogue Valley kids do on Halloween before trick-or-treating was invented? Whatever they could get away with. An oxymoron? Um, sometimes. . . . Medford's Lost Years, 1883-1892: For all practical purposes, Medford history has always begun in January of 1892, when the surviving run of the Southern Oregon Mail begins. Medford's first nine years are a historical "black hole" that the pages below attempt to fill. Please show me where it says "Middleford." (3MB) A page with every shred of evidence about the naming of Medford--including the genesis of the myth. James Sullivan Howard called himself the "Father of Medford." Ed Phipps, however, was witness to the birth and remembered it differently. Medford News from the Dark Ages There was no Medford newspaper until 1885 and, other than a few scattered copies, Medford papers before 1892 haven't survived. Here's Medford news gleaned from other valley newspapers. The Medford Monitor, 1885 Only two copies of our first newspaper, the Medford Monitor, are known--and no one has read them for 123 years. They're digitized here, and there's an index! Medford City Council Minutes, 1885 The minutes from Medford's first year as an incorporated town. First order of business? Riots. Second? Keeping those darned kids away from the depot. An 1885 brochure touting the valley to prospective immigrants. The Medford Monitor, June 11, 1886 Here's everything we know about a lost copy of the Monitor. Medford City Council Minutes, 1886 The minutes from the Medford council's second year. The Monitor was succeeded by the Transcript, another rare pre-1892 Medford newspaper. C. B. Carlisle's boosterism runs rampant in this "extra" edition. The minutes from the Medford council's third year. An illustrated transcription of an 1889 brochure touting the Orchard Home district southwest of Medford. More Medford History: Medford's most authoritative history--especially now that I've begun correcting it. Medford News 1883-1974 Fifty-four pages. Medford news gleaned from magazines and valley newspapers. Dates for significant (and not so significant) events in Medford history. Newspaper and magazine articles about Medford. Medford Building Notes Photos and locations of historic Medford buildings, along with some notes on their histories and aliases. Sanborn Fire Insurance map locations for, and hundreds of local newspaper articles about, Medford businesses. Medford Theaters and Theater Stories Twenty-two pages. Histories and dates for most of Medford's theaters. Thirty-six pages. Dozens of articles describing Medford and the Rogue Valley, 1883-1949. From the Mayor's Desk Status reports and complaints from Medford mayors. Medford Pioneers Forty-two pages. Notes on pioneer politicians and merchants--and one bird--of Medford. Medford Mascots Some celebrated, and not so celebrated, dogs and cats in early Medford. Barnum vs. Reddy vs. Putnam The time when William Barnum threw a hatchet at Mayor Reddy--and it landed on George Putnam. The Motorcar Bug Bill Miller's article about Medford's first car. Medford Water Systems Before Medford had "a mountain spring in every home," there were admonitions in Ashland to "pull the chain--Medford needs the water." History of the Medford Post Office Notes on Medford's postal history. Clues to small and medium-sized mysteries about mostly Medford topics. How Medford celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 1934 and 1935. A brief history and photographic account of a forgotten treasure--an 1890s hotel preserved in amber for the last 35 years. The famous humorist's surprise visit in 1931 resulted in national exposure--and local chagrin. The mysterious and tragic story of our first architect, who coincidentally lived and worked in the Palace Hotel 1895-96. A Brief Biography of Pinto Colvig Silent-movie gag man, pioneer animator, creator and voice of Goofy: Medford boy makes good. There's a great bio of Pinto on IMDB, but mine has some previously unpublished information. The valley's only downtown shootouts took place in Medford. This one involves moonshine, robbery, torture and extortion. Mr. Haight teaches music and plays piano for silent theaters, country dances and vaudeville acts--and struggles with his demons--in this remarkably candid diary. Diarist Fred Alton Haight (see above) was a Pythian; these are my sketchy notes on the history of the lodge, compiled from the Medford Mail Tribune and lodge minutes. Spine-Tingling Two-Fisted True Tales of Terror in Medford Mayhem and heroics on the streets of early Medford. Medford didn't grow by itself; it took a lot of talking--some not entirely accurate. In 1905 Medford built the state's first "exhibit building"--a trackside museum designed to lure passengers into the clutches of the real estate agents. Medford's Cannons We've had two. When the Orchard Boom went bust in 1912, the search was on for a scapegoat. There was a down side during the boom too. Interactive page! You get to decide. Wild and Wacky Medford Pranks, practical jokes and outrageous lies, as reported in early Medford newspapers. Medford Under Canvas Many Medford "histories" say the town began as a tent city. There's precious little evidence for this, however. Mad for the Bicycle Medford went crazy for the bicycle in the 1890s. Some of it did, anyway. Bikes and cars aren't much good when the mud is up to your hubs. Random, evocative glimpses of what it was like to live in Medford 100 or so years ago. A few of the more interesting lives--and grislier deaths--of "residents" of Medford's Eastwood Cemetery. Notes on West Medford Notes on western additions to the original townsite. Even with a bridge across Bear Creek, it took twenty years to really start building east of it. Then--look out. Clean Up South Front! Drunks, brawlers, wackos, footpads, winos, prostitutes, hucksters--Front Street attracted them like a magnet. The many conflicting versions of the Viola Miller/Laura White/Fay Freeman affair. A pick-and-choose history. Medford Banking News Some notes from The Pacific Banker--a start on a history of banking in early Medford. Medford's Gala Golden Anniversary How will you celebrate your golden anniversary? Here's the full story of how Medford celebrated its 50th. Construction of an enormous WWII Army cantonment nearby was not easy on Medford. Medford's best-documented fire--lots of photos. You'd think changing the Medford city council's meeting day--so you could watch The Phil Silvers Show--would make a better story. 
©2007-2010 Talky Tina Press, Medford, Oregon. |
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