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The tiny Oregon town of Jacksonville has a rich 150 year old history. In 1861, a couple of muleteers spied a glint of yellow in Rich Gulch, off Jackson Creek. Before the ensuing southern Oregon gold rush ended, Jacksonville had grown into a prosperous county seat. In all, $34 million in gold dust–worth almost $2 billion today–tipped the scales at Cornelius Beekman’s bank.
The bank and Beekman’s modest house remain meticulously preserved. “It’s like Beek–that’s what everybody called him–went home from work one evening and didn’t come back,” says Terri Gieg, who narrates trolley tours that start at the bank. “The scales where he weighed all that gold are still there.”
Peter Britt, a Swiss immigrant who arrived in 1852. Britt’s house and gardens are gone, victims of fire and neglect, yet his influence is everywhere. He planted the area’s first wine grapes and later lent his last name to the town’s renowned summer music festival, staged on the grounds of his former estate. There are few pastimes more pleasurable than spreading a blanket at dusk and savoring a “Brittnic” of local wines and foods while performers–classical pianist Emanuel Ax, country legend Willie Nelson–electrify the warm night air.
Britt wore many hats: horticulturist, vinter, painter, shrewd investor, and prolific photographer of Jacksonville’s settlers and streetscapes–a legacy that has proved crucial in recent preservation crusades. The whole of Jacksonville’s downtown has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
To do and see: Applegate Valley Wine Trail, Britt Festivals, Self-guided tours, Trolley tours
Eats: Carriage House Restaurant, Jacksonville Inn, Mamma Mia Gelateria
Sleeps: Jacksonville Inn, Magnolia Inn, Nunan Estate, TouVelle House
A portion of this article was re-printed from the September/October 2010 VIA magazine.
Hanley Farm is a 39-acre Century Farm that offers visitors a chance to learn about the history of agriculture in the Rogue River valley. The property includes a house built in the 1850s, barns, gardens, and exhibits of farm equipment.
The farm is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, from May through September for picnics and self-guided tours. It is open the first Saturday of the month for house tours and special, themed events. This year, on Friday afternoons, the farm is offering visitors a roadside stand for folks to purchase vegetables and fresh eggs.
A couple special events happening at Hanley Farms include the following:
Saturday, August 1: The farm’s “first Saturday” event will focus on Native American history and activities.
Saturday, September 5: Hanley celebrates the end of the season with its annual Harvest Festival.
All through October: Pick out your favorite pumpkin at the Hanley Farm pumpkin patch every Saturday!
If you’ve always wanted to snoop beyond the Hanley house’s velvet ropes and learn more about this fascinating family, there’s a tour that is offered for groups of 10 or more. The three-hour tour includes refreshments in the old 1857 barn and a close look at the letters and stories left behind by this pioneering family. For more information, contact the SOHS Programs Department at 541-899-8123 ext. 229.
The Farm is conveniently located for our Rogue River rafting guests. The address is 1053 Hanley Road (Hwy 238) between Jacksonville, Oregon and Central Point, Oregon.
Oregon Museum: “People who visit our museum are often stunned by the depth of our collections. What began as a hobby in the 1930’s for a little boy and his family, has grown into the internationally known, Favell Museum,” says Pat McMillan, the Museum’s Director.
Pat explains, “The collection began during the 1930’s, long before restrictions on gathering native American artifacts were enacted. Ruth and Eugene Favell would take their son, Gene, with them out to find arrowheads and any other artifacts they could discover. They were, in their time, truly amateur archaeologists. By the early 1970’s the Favell family collection had grown so large that Gene open the museum to preserve and store the collections. Even the ground where the museum is built is historic. Oregon’s Klamath Indians fished and camped by the river on these grounds.”
By the time the Museum opened in the early ’70s, Pat tells us that Gene began collecting art by western artists that reflected the institution’s philosophies. Up and coming contemporary western artists like John Clymer and Frank McCarthy have pieces in the museum. Over the years the Museum acquired and exhibits paintings from Charles Russell and E.S. Paxson. The Museum’s fine art displays are a significant roll call of the Cowboy Artists of America.
Since early 2004, the Museum has been a private, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and displaying these amazing artifacts and pieces of artwork. Approximately 20,000 visitors each year walk through the doors and are astonished by the breath and depth of the exhibits.
The Museum is open year-round (with the exception of holidays) Monday – Saturday from 9:30 a.m. thru 5:30 p.m. It is located in the southern Oregon town of Klamath Falls. If you would like to explore the Museum’s website just click on Favell Museum. Or, you can call the main office at 541-882-9996.
Oregon Mill: Owner Debbie Russell laughs, “Bob and I never dreamed we would owners of a water-powered grist (grain grinding) mill. But in 2005, we bought the Butte Creek Mill and the property around it and, while the change has really turned our lives upside down, it is really rewarding. We feel we’ve brought this southern Oregon historical landmark back to life.”
The Butte Creek Mill is located in the southern Oregon town of Eagle Point. The 1872 mill is fascinating on a number of levels. First and foremost, Butte Creek Mill is the only water-powered grist mill in operation this side of the Mississippi. The Mill’s giant stones (they weigh 1,400 pounds each!) that grind the grains were quarried near Paris France, brought by ship, carried over the Oregon mountains by wagon, and found their resting spot at the mill over 130 years ago.
The Butte Creek Mill is not a water wheel operated mill, rather the water in the millrace flows into a penstock (trough) twelve feet deep, where its weight provides pressure to activate the turbine that runs the wheels, belts, and pulleys. This movement also turns the huge millstones that grind the grain. To reach the grinding stones, the grain is fed into a hopper that in turn feeds it into the “eye” of the stones. In about three hours, it is ground to flour or cracked wheat depending on how the stones are set.
Visitors can enter the first floor of the Mill and watch the miller working. Moving downstairs, one can explore the interpretive center that explains the history and the water wheel grinding process. Located nearby in the old cheese factory, the Russells offer antiques for sale and welcome visitors to roam between history and collectables. There is even a “General Store” that is cozy and cute where you can purchase freshly ground grains and flour or even a beautiful loaf of Applegate Valley Artisan Bread (Applegate Valley uses Butte Creek Mill’s grains in their incredible breads).
You can visit Butte Creek Mill every day of the week or order from them online. The mill is located at 402 Royal Ave N., Eagle Point, Oregon. Call 541-826-3531 for more information.
Photo credits go to the Butte Creek Mill.
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