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The first “post offices” on the West Coast were essentially contracts with individuals or businesses who were authorized to handle the mail and deliver it along a designated route. Individuals were usually “express riders”; businesses were typically stage companies; and the “post office” was probably the express office or stage stop. Mail might be addressed to a general area and could turn up at any local “post office,” so individuals making trips to town might ask for mail

For the next few weeks we’re continuing to track the history of the Jacksonville post office, the oldest operating post office in Jackson County. Supposedly the first actual Jacksonville post office building of record was the brick building at 110 S. Oregon Street that now houses the Cotton Broker. In 1861, Israel Haines (shown top left) and his brother Robert constructed this 1-story brick building at the corner of California and Oregon streets, replacing a wooden building

Continuing our saga of Jacksonville’s post office, in 1870, Max Muller was appointed postmaster of Jacksonville. As well as an honor, this was a good business opportunity. For the next 18 years Muller served as postmaster and his place of business was known as the “post office store.” Initially the post office was in the Muller & Brentano “groceries, candies, nuts, and stationery” store at the corner of California and Oregon, now home to the Cotton Broker. At some point after

We’re continuing to track the history and multiple locations of the Jacksonville post office, the oldest continually operating post office in Jackson County and the only one not a substation of Medford. Postmaster Max Muller saw major fires burn 2 of the post office buildings he supervised. After the 1874 fire he moved the post office to 125 W. California (now the J’ville Tavern), which had been constructed as a “fire proof” brick building. But fire again burned the post of

It’s the next installment in our saga of the Jacksonville post office, the oldest continually operating independent post office in Jackson County since being established in 1854. In July 1888, the Democratic administration appointed Henry Pape, Sr. to the position of Jacksonville postmaster. Pape, one of the town’s substantial German citizens, was a popular saloon keeper. For almost a decade, Pape was a partner in the News State Saloon, but by 1876 Pape had set up his own s

It’s 1898 and the Jacksonville Post Office has moved again! John F. Miller, Jr. is the new Postmaster, and he’s moved the post office one building—from Pape’s saloon in the Masonic building into Schumpf’s barber shop next to Miller’s hardware store. By 1907, the barber shop has been replaced by a millinery shop. Currently this building at 157 E. California Street is occupied by Rebel Heart Books. Hair, hats, or books—the post office was in a very “heady” location!

Historic Jacksonville, Inc. is continuing its saga of the Jacksonville post office, the oldest continually operating independent post office in Jackson County! It’s also 1912, and Postmaster John F. Miller has moved the post office into his former hardware store at 155 W. California Street, now home to the Jacksonville Company. Miller’s father had been Jacksonville’s first gunsmith, and this 1874 brick building had originally housed his father’s “Hunters’ Emporium.” However,

We’re continuing our saga of the Jacksonville Post Office, the oldest continually operating independent post office in Jackson County. In late 1912, Postmaster John F. Miller, Jr. chose to take a break from his duties after 14 years of service. His wife Mabel was appointed Postmistress in his stead but died suddenly within weeks of being named. The grieving widower resumed the role on an interim basis until June 1913, when Lewis (Louis) Ulrich, the Jacksonville Nugget’s “pet”

Although Jacksonville’s historic Presbyterian Church building at the corner of 6th and California streets was not completed until 1881, the local presbytery had been formally organized in 1857by Reverend Moses Williams, the first Presbyterian missionary in Southern Oregon. In the interim, Williams conducted services every third Sunday of the month in various locations throughout the Rogue Valley, including Jacksonville’s Methodist Episcopal Church, schoolhouses and private ho

The historic Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of 6th and California streets, is one of Jacksonville’s most striking examples of Victorian Gothic architecture. After 24 years of the local Presbyterian congregation meeting in various locations throughout the Rogue Valley, plans for their own “religious edifice” got underway in 1878 when William Hoffman and C.C. Beekman purchased the land. The design of the building may have been inspired by one of the architectural pa