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Have you been enjoying Britt Festival’s fabulous summer season? If you’re a Jacksonville resident you may know that the Festival grounds are part of the estate of Swiss-born Peter Britt, Oregon’s first photographer. He arrived in Jacksonville in the fall of 1852 with a 2-wheeled cart of photographic equipment, a yoke of oxen, a mule, and $5 in his pocket. He filed a donation land claim on acreage that is now the Festival grounds, the lower Britt gardens, and a portion of t

Do you remember when 1-Hour Photo Service became popular? Jacksonville’s famed pioneer photographer, Peter Britt, offered the service in the mid-1800s—100 years before it became trendy again! And it seems that Britt’s exotic gardens were not only a regional horticultural and tourist attraction, they were also part of his 1-hour service. Historic Jacksonville, Inc. came across the following notice in a June 17, 1865, “Oregon Sentinel” newspaper: “PHOTOGRAPHY—Those who wis

Jacksonville’s current Pioneer Village at 805 North 5th Street is the namesake of an earlier 5-acre Pioneer Village constructed by George McUne between 1961 and 1964. For over 20 years, McUne’s Pioneer Village was an adventure into Jacksonville’s past with authentic buildings from nearby locations that were filled with the historic relics McUne collected. In the village stockade, visitors watched western fights and “black snake whip” demonstrations. They took pony rides and b

The house at the corner of North Oregon and C streets now known as the Plymale Cottage was originally constructed for local saloon keeper, Henry Breitbarth, possibly by contractor and furniture maker, David Linn. When Breitbarth was unable to pay off his debt, the property reverted back to Linn. When Linn’s planing mill and furniture factory burned in the fire of 1888, it also destroyed William and Josephine Plymale’s home which was located where the Jacksonville Visitors’ Ce

Did you know that the Jacksonville post office is the only independent post office in Jackson County with its own superintendent—a story all to itself. And it’s the oldest continually operating post office in the county since opening in 1854. It’s been located in almost every building in Jacksonville’s historic downtown. With mail now being sent to Portland for processing and people concerned about mailed in ballots in the upcoming election, for the next History Trivia Tue

And so we continue the saga of the Jacksonville Post Office. Beginning in 1922, Jacksonville employed an extended series of women post masters: Flora Thompson (1922-27), who had previously worked as a stenographer in the sheriff’s office; Alice Hoefs (1928-1932), formerly a saleswoman; Lulu Saulsberry—shown here (1933); Ella Eaton (1934-38), who later became the town telephone operator; Ruth Hoffman (1939-1942), Eastern Star Matron; and Mary Smith Christean (1943-1952). Short

We’re into the 1950s so are nearing the end of the wandering Jacksonville Post Office saga. Around 1954, the post office was again relocated—this time 2 ½ blocks down the street from the Masonic building to 220 E. California. A Jacksonville resident who grew up here remembered the move clearly. “It was my job to pick up the mail on the way home from school. The boxes had dial combinations, and I had to learn a new one. I loved Wednesdays when the Saturday Evening Post ca

When Jacksonville Postmaster Lynn Houston Valentine resigned in 1963, the Post Office Department proposed to make Jacksonville a substation of Medford, citing the potential for improved service for less money. (Does this sound a lot like mail currently being sent to Portland for processing?) Residents, businesses, and organizations actively opposed the proposal, saying they were perfectly happy with current service. Opponents published an “ad” in the October 22, 1965, Medford

We’re almost to the end of Jacksonville’s wandering post office saga! After the “Friends of Historic Jacksonville” successfully retained the Jacksonville Post Office’s status as the oldest continually operating independent post office in Jackson County, the postal service decided it needed a new, larger building. In 1967 they chose a lot on N. Oregon Street by the old train depot, but they proposed a plain, government-designed, cement block building—a far cry from Jacksonvill

We’ve finally come to the end of our Jacksonville Post Office saga after chasing the post office’s location beginning in 1854 through most of the buildings in downtown Jacksonville. The structure current residents know as the town post office, located at 175 N. Oregon Street, was officially dedicated on May 4, 1968. And what a celebration it was! The all-day event kicked off with a “buckaroo breakfast” at the original Pioneer Village, a coffee for U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, a