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Where many states seem to be making voting as difficult as possible, Oregon keeps making it easier. Residents who are U.S. citizens can register to vote by mail or online. If they are not registered voters, they are automatically registered when they obtain or renew an Oregon driver’s license. And then registered voters have a three week window to return their ballots by mail or in a drop box—no standing in line on a weekday, possibly before or after work, to have a say in th

Jacksonville is “celebrating the Shamrock” this month so Historic Jacksonville, Inc. is going Irish by highlighting one of our early settlers, Patrick J. Ryan. In the 1840s, over half of the immigrants coming to America were Irish. Patrick J. Ryan, a 13-year-old native of County Tipperary, Ireland, was one of them. He arrived in the U.S. in 1842. Ten years later, he joined the westward immigration, crossing the plains and reaching Southern Oregon in the fall of 1852. Ryan

Most of Jacksonville’s original wooden buildings were destroyed in multiple fires, but a few remain. At least two of these landmarks were the work of master builder David Linn. One, the 1854 St. Andrews Methodist-Episcopal Church, was a product of his early Jacksonville career. The other, the 1881 Presbyterian Church, came towards career end. In between he built a fort, public and commercial buildings, houses, staircases, furniture, mining equipment, and coffins. Linn was b

Many of Jacksonville’s early merchants were Jewish, fleeing wars and persecution in their homelands by immigrating to the United States. Most of the town’s Jewish merchants moved on to Medford, San Francisco, New York, and other cosmopolitan centers when the railroad bypassed Jacksonville in the 1880s in favor of the flat valley floor. They saw it as the end of local business endeavors. Customers could now acquire goods from San Francisco or Portland more cheaply. These merch

When William Hoffman arrived in Jacksonville in the fall of 1853, he brought his own gold—six marriageable daughters, a treasure indeed to the many bachelors who had been lured to the Rogue Valley by its promised riches of mining and free land. Unlike these young adventurers, Hoffman was not a fortune seeker. He was 51 and already well established in business, politics, and community when he left it all behind in Indiana and brought his family on the arduous six-month journey

The Judge Frank TouVelle House, located at 435 North Oregon Street in Jacksonville, is considered one of the best examples of Craftsman-style homes in the Rogue Valley. A special January 1, 1929 edition of the Medford Mail Tribune featured it in a section titled, “Rogue River Valley has Many Beautiful Ranch Homes.” Today it’s a well-know “bed and breakfast,” and this year, owners Shawn and Jamie Kerr are celebrating the 100th birthday of the house. Frank LeBlo

Jackson County greeted the Chinese with a $2-per month Chinese mining tax levied in 1857 and doubled in 1858, and Oregon included a provision in its original 1857 state constitution stating that “no Negro, Chinaman, or Mulatto shall have the right of suffrage.” No non-white was allowed to testify against a white settler until 1862, and when Chinese residents were eventually given voting privileges, they were charged a $5 poll tax. Chinese engaged in trading were charged $50 p

The story of Jane and John McCully appears to have been one of opposites attracting. Jane has been described as “courageous, valiant, dauntless, adventuresome, and plucky”—worthy virtues for a pioneer lady and perhaps a partial reflection of her Scottish heritage. She was born in 1824 in Alloway, Scotland, home to the Scottish poet Robert Burns. When she was 11, she immigrated with her family to America where they settled first in New York, then in Indiana, and eventually in

The small, relatively plain, headstone in the Catholic section of the Jacksonville Cemetery simply reads Jane Holt—an ironic “grand finale” for Madame Jeanne DeRoboam Laugier Guilfoyle Holt, one of the larger-than-life characters in 19th Century Jacksonville. Born in Bordeaux, France around 1820, some stories portray Jeanne with an aristocratic heritage. Other tales say she was of middle class plebian origins. We don’t know when she emigrated to America, but she appears to

For over 50 years the name Helms was synonymous with the Table Rock Billiard Saloon, first that of Herman Helms, then that of his son Ed. However, when a 24-year-old Johann Herman von Helms arrived in Jacksonville in 1856, three years after immigrating from Holstein, Germany, it was not the Table Rock Saloon—it was the Table Rock Bakery. At the time the bakery was co-owned by William Hesse, C.H. Miller, and a fellow German, John Wintjen, and known as Hesse’s Table Rock Bake

Did you know that Jacksonville was the first West Coast group of buildings added to the National Historic Register? In 1967 it was one of eight initial towns designated as a National Historic Landmark City by the U.S. National Park Service. Over 100 historic structures were identified as comprising Jacksonville’s National Historic Landmark District, and over 600, both inside and outside of city limits, were identified as contributing to the character of the town we know and l

Although Cornelius Beekman may have been the wealthiest and most prominent man in pioneer Jacksonville, wealth and prominence did not guarantee popularity. In fact, when the railroad by-passed Jacksonville in favor of Medford in the 1880s, Beekman—previously a local hero—became something of a local pariah. For years, Jacksonville had looked forward to the coming of the railroad that would link Southern Oregon with the larger population centers and markets of Portland and Sa

Cornelius C. Beekman was arguably the wealthiest and most prominent of the pioneers who settled Jacksonville. Although most closely associated today with banking and the bank that bears his name, banking was only one of his many enterprises. Early in his career, after saving $3,000, Beekman looked for other investment opportunities. On one of his trips to San Francisco he sought advice from the officers at Wells Fargo. When asked if he had tried to buy Jackson County warran

Cornelius C. Beekman was arguably the wealthiest and most prominent of the pioneers who settled Jacksonville in the mid-1800s. From humble beginnings as a carpenter and express rider, he built a business empire of banking, mining, and real estate interests. Like many young men, Beekman was lured west by the promise of gold. He arrived in San Francisco in the fall of 1850, an eager and fearless 22-year-old with only enough money remaining from his trip to pay for a day’s boa

Cornelius C. Beekman was arguably the wealthiest and most prominent of the pioneers who settled Jacksonville in the mid-1800s. From relatively humble beginnings as a carpenter and express rider, he built a business empire of banking, mining, and real estate interests. He was also a public servant. Beekman was repeatedly elected to Jacksonville’s Board of Trustees and served as Mayor for several terms. He was “school director” for nine years and instrumental in the construct