|
|
Jackson
County
Roads Refer also the page on Medford
Streets--and don't miss the Sticky
Stories.
 A country road in an unidentified state. Mary O. Carey, in "Talent Pioneer Saw First Mail Sack Delivered," Medford Mail Tribune, June 4, 1934, page C6 ROADS.--The citizens of Table Rock valley have constructed a good substantial wagon road from Chavner's free bridge to Sams Creek. Those wishing to visit the White Sulphur Springs in that vicinity will now find it a pleasant drive. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, March 28, 1863, page 2 THE ROADS.--The roads are very heavy between this place and Jacksonville, and the stage drivers are having a rough time of it, being compelled to remain on the box about 21 hours out of the 24. We think that 60 miles is too long a drive for one man, and the agent should have a "swing driver" put on this long and difficult route. We urge this for the better comfort of the drivers. The Semi-Weekly Union, Yreka, California, December 9, 1865, page 3 ROAD SURVEY.--Mr. B. F. Myer, of Ashland, has been engaged with a corps of assistants in surveying the road from this town to the southern boundary of the state. The survey is completed and the plats will soon be on file in the Clerk's office. The distances from here to the state line are as follows: To VanDyke's, seven miles; to Phoenix, nine miles; to Ashland, sixteen and a half miles; to Tolman's twenty and a half miles; to the Mountain House, twenty-five miles; to the Toll House, twenty-eight miles; to the line, thirty-four and three-quarter miles. It is quite a crooked road to travel, having over one hundred and seventy angles in that distance, and those who travel it can hardly lie under the imputation of being on the "straight and broad road." Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, November 9, 1867, page 2 It's a far cry from the day when our roads were built by main strength and awkwardness, as the feller said. When the grades were built by hand, with the aid of scoop scrapers and later fresnos. When creek gravel (we had no rock crushers then) was hauled to the job with teams and wagons having 12-inch planks for sideboards and two-by-six floors, with handholds whittled on each end so we could raise each one up and turn it on its edge to dump the gravel under the wagon. Them were the merry days, fellers. The wonder is we managed to get as good road as we did with the tools at hand. Arthur E. Powell, "Musings," Central Point American, October 30, 1947, page 1 Road History
By RALPH WATSON Do
you remember, or did you ever stop to think, that the bicycle is the
grandpapa of the Oregon State highway financing system?
Did you ever hear of the Century Club, a bunch of strong-legged and sound-lunged, rugged pedal pushers who had achieved the distinction of pedaling their bikes for a "century run" (100 miles in a day); guys like Fred T. Merrill of Portland, Watt Shipp of Salem and a long list of others. Their favorite run was from Portland to Salem and return, or vice versa, during which endeavor they struggled up and coasted down the New Era Hill and other of the tough spots along the road. So manfully did they pedal and so earnestly plead, that the 1901 legislature took pity on their straining extremities and passed a law providing for the construction of "bicycle paths on either or both sides of all public highways of the state for the use of pedestrians and bicycles." To finance the construction an annual tax of $1 was levied upon "all persons riding bicycles." The bicyclist paid the $1 to the county clerk and received a tag which, the law decreed, "must be securely fastened to the seat post of each and every bicycle." Any untagged rider caught on the pathway or riding without the tag on the stern post after April 1 was to have a warrant issued against him with which the sheriff would seize the bicycle and sell it for the amount of the tax, and costs. The "object and intent" of the law, the legislature said, was "to provide for a highway separate from that used by teams and wagons." So that statute of 1901 was the precedent for and the granddad of the present system of automotive licenses, gasoline taxes, fines and penalties which were established a decade later and dedicated to the task of constructing the state highway system. Excerpt, Central Point American, September 1, 1949, page 3  An Oregon country road circa 1905. When Road Work Was
Compulsory
By RALPH WATSON
Did
you ever hear that when the state was young "every male between the
ages of 21 and 50 years of age except persons who are public charges or
too infirm to perform labor" had to do two days' work on the public
roads of the county in which they lived, or pay $2 for every $2,000 of
taxable property they owned or go to jail and serve it out?
That was what the legislature of 1860 (the first legislature under state government) decreed. That same session slapped a $5 poll tax on "every negro, Chinaman, Kanaka, or mulatto for the use of the county within which he may reside." PAY OR JAIL The county clerk issued a receipt which was intended to be "a protection to such taxpayer from again paying the same to any other county." Failure to pay put the delinquent in jail and at work on the public roads of the county at the rate of one day of "faithful labor" for each 50 cents included in the total $5 tax. Back in those rugged days the county court divided the county up into road districts and appointed a road supervisor in each. The supervisor made "an alphabetical list of all persons liable to perform labor on the public roads" within his district on or before March 15th of each year and gave the list to the county clerk. The county clerk "affixed to each name the amount of taxable property owned by each. Then the supervisor notified each property owner to get busy "at 8 o'clock a.m." at a definite date and place and "give one day of work for each and every $2,000 assessed for state and county purposes," or pay $2 for each day so charged against him, or go to the county jail. BREAD AND WATER That system rocked along from 1860 to 1899 when the legislature got still tougher and provided that "all able-bodied persons" sentenced to the county jail "whether for a fine or to serve a sentence for a definite number of days" should be liable to work on the public roads, under the "full power of the county court," with the provision that those serving a definite sentence should work out the "full time" of the sentence at the rate of $1 a day. It was added that "not less than 8 hours shall be considered a day's labor." Any prisoner refusing to work was to be "denied all food other than bread and water until he signifies his willingness to comply," in which event he should make up for all lost time. It was not until 1901 that the legislature authorized the counties to levy, annually, not to exceed 10 mills on each $1 of assessed values on real property within the county with which to finance county road construction. It was not until 1919 that the legislature commenced to whittle off goodly percentages of the state highways road user funds, originally dedicated for construction of state main highway routes alone, and divert them to be used by the counties (now 19 percent of the total) and to the cities (first 5 and now 10 percent). STATE HAS LESS These diversions, while they have materially advanced the financing of county road and city street construction, have decreased available funds for main line state primary and secondary highways proportionately. In the period reaching from 1917 to July 1, 1949, a total of $9,572,828 of road user funds has been allotted to the cities of the state for their individual use in street building and upkeep, and now, under the semi-annual 10 percent allocation of the 1949 legislature, is advancing approximately $1,500,000 additional every six months. The counties since 1920 (to July 1, 1949) have been allocated a total of $62,771,101; a grand total contribution of state highway funds for local betterment of county roads and city streets, and proportionate reduction of direct property road and street taxes of $72,343,929. Medford News, September
30, 1949, page 8
A Graphic History of Road
Building in Southern Oregon
Ashland Daily Tidings, June
18, 1924, page 2An interesting recital of the evolution from trails to modern highways, in which is combined many important bits of history of the development of a great district. THE ROADS OF JACKSON COUNTY HISTORY
Gold was discovered
at Jackson Creek in the fall of 1850. At that time there were no
settlers in Rogue River Valley. In 1853 the mining excitement had
brought in thousands of people, and the streams of southwest Oregon
were teeming with hairy miners. People soon felt the necessity of law
and order. A petition was sent to the territorial legislation asking
that Jackson County be organized. The petition was granted and a
commission was appointed with the necessary authority. They were sworn
in by the postmaster at Jacksonville on the 7th day of March 1853.
Government Instituted
The first
business was the
creation of precincts and appointment of justices of the peace and
constables and the constitution of a county court and commissioners,
with county clerk and sheriff and such other officers as were required.At that time the boundaries of the county were not definitely fixed, and the territory extending to the summit of the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west they were so continued [sic]. No definite boundary was fixed on the north, and the commissioned exercised its jurisdiction over portions of what is now Douglas and Coos counties and embraced the whole of what is now Josephine and Curry counties. Trails Established
The first
duty of the new county
court was to establish "trails." There were no wagons in the country
until after the gold discovery, and the miners only needed trails. But
in 1853 a good many settlers had located in the valley and roads were
wanted. The first road located was easterly from Jacksonville to
connect with the "Government Trail" leading into California. That is
the road that now comes from Jacksonville to the Pacific Highway
between Medford and Phoenix. The next road established was from
Jacksonville to Willow Springs, where was a lively mining camp. This
was in 1853.It is not my purpose at this time to give consecutively the roads that were established by the county court of Jackson County. Suffice it to say that the location of "trails" received the larger part of their attention for the first few years. Road Completed
At the
time of the discovery of
gold on Jackson Creek, the mining developments had resulted in a very
large and prosperous mining district at and in the vicinity of Yreka in
northern California. This section was so isolated by the heavy
mountains separating it from the Sacramento Valley that they were
forced to look northward for a route over which to secure supplies.
They learned that the Umpqua River was navigable for small craft from
its mouth to Scottsburg, and Congress was memorialized by the Oregon
Territorial Legislature for an appropriation to survey and build a road
from Scottsburg to Stuart Creek (now Bear Creek) in Rogue River Valley.
This was also in 1853. $120,000 was thus secured and the survey was
made, following practically "the Old Oregon Trail" and terminating near
where the viaduct on the Pacific Highway crosses the railroad near
Tolo. This road was completed by Colonel Joseph Hooker [omission]
Civil War fame) in 1854. Inasmuch as pack trains were exclusively used
in carrying freight and the trail was fairly good over the Siskiyous
for this purpose, no effort was made to improve it for a time. This was
known as the "Government Trail" and occupied a line practically to a
crossing near which the Southern Pacific railroad now crosses the
Siskiyou Mountains. In the early sixties, a private company secured a
franchise to establish a toll road over the Siskiyous. This road was
soon occupied by the stage lines running from Sacramento to Portland
and by degrees was made practical for all traffic and continued as a
toll road until the building of the Pacific Highway.Trail Across Cascades
The first
trail across the
Cascades between Rogue River Valley and the Klamath Lake country was in
1846 marked out by a party of fifteen men headed by Jesse Applegate and
Lindsay Applegate, which had suffered the terrors of the emigrant route
down the Columbia River. Their efforts were wholly in the interests of
other immigrants who were seeking Oregon, and whom they desired to
relieve from the hardships they had suffered. It was one of the most
unselfish undertakings narrated in the early history of Oregon. The
Mexican [War] was then on, but they did not know it, and they had to
cross into that country in rounding the lower Klamath Lake. California
was then a part of Mexico. This little company of hardy adventurers, on
an errand of mercy, followed practically the line now occupied by the
Pacific Highway from a point near Grants Pass to a point about six
miles above the present city of Ashland, where they turned to the east
and followed the stream now known as Emigrant Creek, until they reached
the summit of what we know as Green Springs Hill. Here they launched
into that wonderful forest which has become famous for its sugar pine,
yellow pine and fir. To them it was a terra incognita, and we have no
record that white men had ever before trodden its gloomy solitudes.
Near where the little town of Keno now is they forded the Klamath River
at a wild and turbulent succession of cascades. There are few men now
who would have the hardihood to venture such wild undertaking as that
stream presents. Thence they climbed some rising ground and looked with
astonishment over a great expanse of country covered with lakes, swamps
and level, sage-covered plains, with barren-looking mountains affording
variegated framework about a wonderful picture. We have no record that
white men had ever beheld the scene which they looked upon. They
followed what then appeared the only route, southward for perhaps 25
miles, until the border of the lake and marsh bore eastward and they
followed it to Lost River (then nameless) and with the aid of an Indian
they had captured they crossed it at a natural bridge and continued
their journey into an uninviting wilderness toward Great Salt Lake. It
is not my purpose to detail the incidents of their journey, though it
was told to me by Uncle Lindsay Applegate himself and by other members
of that historic party. Suffice to say that they returned through the
wonderful forest between here and Klamath Falls with the first party of
immigrants that ever saw the beautiful vision of Rogue River Valley.
They came down Emigrant Creek, hence its name.Years rolled on, and "the Oregon Country" gradually filled up as the hardy sons of adventure hunted out its secrets and built other trails through its mountains and valleys. Road to John Day
In 1862
gold was discovered in
"the John Day Country" about the Blue Mountains, and men rushed
thither, as they have wont to do since gold worked its way into the
affections of men. Though the mines of southwest Oregon were rich,
fabulous stories of wealth turned many a miner to that region. A small
company of men formed at Jacksonville and cut out a road up Rogue River
to Union Creek for passage to the John Day mines. It was a rough and
hastily constructed road but answered their purpose. They noticed that
to the northeast the mountain seemed lower, and in that direction they
headed their way through a succession of glades, and without any
knowledge of the wonders they were passing they crossed the summit
between Crater Lake and Diamond Lake.Infantry Company Organized
This was
in the days of the great
Civil War. Soldiers were withdrawn from the frontiers to swell the
ranks of the Union army and settlers in all the sparsely settled
portions were called on to volunteer their services to guard the West
from Indian ravages. Every settlement contributed its quota.A company was enlisted in this valley and ordered into the lake regions east of the Cascades. In May 1865 this company entered the great forest. It was an infantry company, consequently they marched on foot followed by pack trains with supplies and equipment. They traveled practically along the line traversed by the Applegate company of 1846 which by lapse of time and lack of use had almost become obliterated. At that time there were no settlers in the Klamath Basin, though a treaty had been enacted with the Indians and a small garrison had been established at Fort Klamath in 1856 and in 1865 was occupied by volunteers that had been raised in this valley. Captain Sprague was in command, and O. A. Stearns, now a resident of Ashland, was first sergeant. Realizing the necessity of some route of connection with the valley upon which they had to rely for provisions and assuming it best to avail themselves of the line already cut out up Rogue River by the John Day miners, Capt. Sprague detailed a portion of his men, under Sergeant Stearns, to connect the fort with the miners' trail at Union Creek. Over this line communication was maintained with the valley. This was in 1865 and formed the nucleus of the present Crater Lake Highway. It is not my purpose to attempt at this time a history of these stirring times further than is necessary to outline the early building of roads. In 1867, the war being over and federal troops relieving the volunteers, it was incumbent on the volunteers to find a better way to return to the valley with their accumulated impedimenta, and a route was mapped out from the fort to the head of Butte Creek, but was not used, as Uncle Lindsay suggested that he thought a better way could be found over his 1846 route and offered his service to pilot anyone whom Captain Sprague might detail to go over it. Again this duty fell to First Sergeant Stearns, and in company with Lindsay Applegate they crossed the mountains and mapped out the route to the head of Emigrant Creek. In this exploration they improved over the old route in many places, and this was chosen as the route for return from the fort. The Road to Klamath
While in
the lake country Stearns
was struck with it as an eligible country for a settlement and selected
a homestead about eight miles this side of where Klamath Falls is, and
before leaving the country put up his notice of homestead. This was the
first actual settlement in the Klamath Lake Basin. The next day O. V.
Brown made a settlement at Spencer Creek. That same year George Nurse
settled on Link River and established a ferry over the river where the
Klamath Falls bridge now stands. Nurse also built a shack which he
called a hotel and established a little
store and called the place "Linkville." This was the beginning of
settlement in the Klamath Lake Basin, to be followed rapidly by others
in the establishment of a cattle and horse region. Stearns occupied his
homestead for many years and became one of the most prominent men in
the new settlement. The Applegates and others occupied great areas of
this virgin grass-covered region, and it was not long before they
realized the necessity of a road to the valley, for they only looked
upon their country as a stock country and felt the necessity of drawing
much their supplies from Rogue River Valley. As that country was part
of Jackson County their attention was directed to the county court.
Again it fell to O. A. Stearns to initiate an effort to that end, and
in 1869 Stearns
prepared and circulated a petition to the county court to establish a
road from Ashland to Linkville. The petition as presented the
county court was doubtful, but [they] finally consented to cause a view
and survey to be made, provided the petitioners would put up a bond to
pay the expense of the view and survey if it was found not feasible.
The bond was forthcoming, and $600 in money and supplies was
subscribed, $400 of it being raised east of the mountain and the rest
on this side. The court appointed as viewers Wm. T. Songers, Samuel
Colver and O. T. Brown. The survey from Keene Creek east followed a
considerable of the route now occupied by the new $1,150,000 road.The ruggedness of the way, the falling of trees and rolling of rocks made it an expensive proposition to build and maintain, but attention had been called to the importance of it that in 1873 the state legislature made an appropriation for the establishment of a road to be known as the Southern Oregon Wagon Road, to extend from Ashland to the line of Idaho. A commission consisting of Judge Mason, Judge Silas, J. Day and engineer J. S. Howard [was appointed] to lay out and survey the road. This was done in 1874. The writer was over the road while the work was going on. The line from Jenny Creek to Cold Spring was practically the same as the present new road, but was different in the rest of the way. This road was expensive and hard to keep up, and the deep snows of winter rendered it impassable. Considerable sums of money were contributed on both sides of the mountain for many years; each year and an occasional small appropriation was made by the legislature, but with all that could be done the necessary crossing of the mountain was a yearly heartbreaking undertaking. After the new era of road building was ushered in, and a road commission established that seemed determined to do things, Mr. C. B. Howard, who was running a stage across the mountain, and Mr. DeCarlow, who has the station at Pinehurst, and the writer discussed the possibility of getting the new order of things to be applied to the Ashland-Klamath Falls road. We concluded to try. I prepared the petitions and some arguments, and the other gentlemen circulated them. The result was celebrated the other day at the Mile-High gaieties on the mountain, and everybody seemed happy. Having traveled over this route in all kinds of weather, by every method from plain hiking to automobile, for more than fifty years, I am emphatically qualified to rejoice intelligently. C.
B. WATSON,
Ashland, June 10, 1924. -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Surveying County Roads.
At the last session of the Legislature, a bill was introduced into the
House by one of the members from this county to legalize the county
roads. It was defeated in the Senate--why, we cannot say. The object of
the bill was an excellent one. It legalized, without the expense of
surveying, roads that had been used as public thoroughfares for a long
time by common consent, about which there was no dispute, but which
were not legal roads in the sense contemplated by the statute. It is
well known that the road law cannot be enforced except with regard to
legal roads. There is, we believe, in this county, but one such
road--that running to the California line by way of Ashland and the
Toll House. On all other roads it is a matter of convenience whether
people work or not, and we venture to say that no law could compel a
supervisor to serve in a district where there is no legal road, or any
person to work on a road having no legal existence. Under this state of
affairs it would seem proper and wise on the part of the honorable
board of commissioners to have the most important of the thoroughfares
of the county surveyed, so that work can be enforced on them, and they
be kept in good repair. It is very desirable that, at least, the stage
road from here north to the Josephine County line should be thus
legalized, and we hope to see the board make an order for its survey at
their next meeting.Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 3, 1869, page 2 COUNTY ROADS.--From the best information we have, we find that the Board of Commissioners are powerless to do anything further with the Link River road except by making it a toll road, and allowing the lowest bidder to finish it and charge toll. When they made an appropriation for the survey their power was exhausted, and until the law is changed the road will probably remain unfinished. The bad policy of those who opposed the building of a road to Goose Lake by government aid is now painfully apparent, and coming home, like the devil's chickens, to roost. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, August 7, 1869, page 3 A Growl at Our Roads.
The
roads are bad in Jackson County. They are worse in Josephine, and in
Douglas County they are almost impassable. Something should be done to
better their condition. If the roads were put in good order once or
twice a year, and then have someone to turn the water off the roads
occasionally, good loads might be hauled to and from Roseburg at all
seasons of the year. The worst road on the whole route from Roseburg
and Jacksonville is between Roseburg and the top of Roberts' hill. A
little work ought to be done on that hill immediately after every rain,
for if the water was turned off the road would be much better. This
part of the road has not been worked for a year, and the road
supervisor should be indicted by the grand jury for neglecting to
perform his duty. This would learn them to do a little work. When the
grand juries do their duty, then, and not till then, will we have
better roads.
Bids for Gravelling
the Medford RoadThe merchants of this county are making arrangements to again ship their goods to Crescent City. This is caused by the bad roads to Roseburg. If the road was worked a little on the Grave Creek hills and in Douglas County, all the commerce of this county and three-fourths of that of Josephine would go to Roseburg, as it is the natural outlet. Good loads of produce could then be hauled at all seasons of the year to Roseburg. The present condition of the roads in Douglas County is a disgrace to any civilized community. Let us have better supervisors and then we will have much better roads, and more Oregon commerce. Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, April 4, 1877, page 2 Since stages from the south come and go by the "valley" road the long lane at Justus' farm has become an intolerable quagmire of mud and water. The weary traveler in vain looks for a sign where a lick of work has ever been done, and thanks his stars that he ever got though measuring the mud of this miry "slough of despond." It is the opinion of the teaming public that this stretch of the road discounts the famous Herrin lane "all hollow." Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, January 28, 1880, page 3
It is Ordered that the Clerk cause bids to be advertised for as follows.
For the Gravelling [of] Eighty Rods of the Public Road leading from Jacksonville to Medford, beginning where Said road enters the lands of John R. Tice on the west boundary thereof, the graveling to be placed in the Center of the road and the road to be built as follows--A ridge of Earth 10 inches high to be plowed on each Side of the proposed graveling having Twelve feet Space from ridge to ridge and having a gutter on the out side of each ridge--the twelve feet Space between Said Ridges is to be filled with coarse Gravel taken from the Thomas field adjoining Said road to the full height of the ridges and the road to be Crowning in the Center, the whole work to be done to the satisfaction of the County Court, and upon acceptance by Said County the Contract price to be paid in County Warrants to be let at Decr. Term 1885 of Said County. Jackson County Commissioners' Journals, November 6, 1885 Freight for Jacksonville is hauled from Central Point now, the road being better than that leading to Medford. "Brevities," L. A. McQueen, of Medford, the engineer, has performed prodigies with the J. I. Case traction engine, running it over mountains and hills, through mud and rivers, and roads that would be impassable for anything else. He is highly pleased with his machine, and pronounces it a perfect success. "Jackson County Notes," Oregon Statesman, Salem, January 11, 1889, page 4  An 1890s road equipment catalog. GOOD ROADS are the one element lacking to make a paradise of Rogue River Valley. Owing to the adobe and alluvium formations, the work of redeeming the highways from the condition of pioneer days is slow and irksome, although very material progress has been made in many sections within the past five years. Local trade and traffic are and always will be largely dependent on wagon transportation in this mountain-girt valley. The recent storms have brought the roads into their annually recurring state of impassibility, and the serious check it puts upon business in almost the entire county suggests the thought that the subject of road building should properly engross a large share of attention from Oregon's legislators, and be one of the chief studies of agriculturist and merchant alike for the next few years. The material of which roads should be constructed is abundant in this valley; but the knowledge of how and when to prepare the roadbed and apply the topway of gravel or stone is evidently not so prevalent as to be at all epidemic among our road supervisors. Road building is a science, and the state should make it its business to train men to proficiency in it. There is a great work ahead for our agricultural colleges, if they can bring Oregon out of the slough of despond in which its valley inhabitants are plunged for three months out of the year; a work that can best be compassed by teaching the supervisors that a half mile of well-drained, properly constructed, permanent roadbed fitted for travel each year, will give us good highways tenfold sooner than the present system of spreading the same amount of work over twenty miles of inferior roadway. Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 12, 1889, page 2 Almost a Serious Accident.
One night last week Dr. E. P. Geary of Medford was summoned to the
bedside of Commodore Taylor at Eagle Point, and while on his way
thither, accompanied by a driver, came near losing his life in one of
the swales between Central Point and the desert. The melting snow was
flooding the country and had gorged the channel in the swale just below
the road, causing the water to back up in the road to the depth of
several feet, and in the darkness the team became unmanageable and one
of the horses was drowned, although the occupants of the buggy cut the
animals loose in the endeavor to save them. It has been remarkable that
more accidents of this kind have not occurred during the floods of the
past week.Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 30, 1890, page 3 The roads have no bottom to them anywhere, and there will be a large surplus of mud for some time to come. The different roads are full of water, which makes travel more disagreeable than would otherwise be the case. "Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 30, 1890, page 3 Good
Roads a Prime Necessity.
\
The roads are usually poor, formed, on the hillsides, of the surface
soil, with an occasional sprinkling of rounded river gravel, which does
not pack. The rocks are mostly friable sandstones and shales, or an
exceedingly refractory diabase, and do not afford good road-metal. A
further explanation of the wretched highways is afforded by the fact
that the farmer gets all his heavy hauling done just after harvest,
while the roads are still sunbaked, and in the rainy season, when they
are mostly quagmires, he has nothing to haul; or, if he has, betakes
himself to a broad-runnered wooden sledge, which glides over the mud
almost as easily as if it were snow. The rainy season, by all accounts,
is trying to those unused to isolation and intellectual torpor. For
reasons above indicated there can be but a minimum of moving about on
the country roads and little sociality. Those in more easy
circumstances go to the towns; the others exist until the seed-time
comes. The conditions foster lethargy of mind.
The county press is engaged in the greatest work of the century today,
in the effort to better the condition of our highways. It is a work in
which we can well expend our best energies, for the inconceivable loss
attending the dragging of the products of the agricultural and
horticultural districts to market over the wretched roads with which
America has been cursed from time immemorial has been more detrimental
to the interests of the general public than all other taxes combined.
It is difficult to form any adequate idea of the absolute loss arising
from this cause alone. It cannot be better illustrated anywhere than
right here in our own valley and surrounding mountains, where the roads
are passable for comparatively light loads in the summer season, while
in winter the embargo of mud is almost absolutely prohibitive. If one
can conceive of a system of turnpikes and highways ramifying southern
Oregon as they do France and portions of England, smooth roads of even
grade, adapted for the hauling of the heaviest loads in winter as well
as the summer season, then one can have something on which to base an
estimate of their value to our remoter foothill ranches, whose
cultivators now have to hibernate for three months or more, and even in
summer have to drag their half-laden wagons with wearied and dispirited
teams over rough and ill-graded roads to market. Nowhere else but here
could there be the same discrimination between foothill and valley
lands, the latter, if contiguous to a railroad station, commanding ten
times the price of better lands lying ten miles away in the foothills,
simply because the burden of impassable roads makes the latter lands
unprofitable for aught but stockraising purposes. And yet all about us
we have the materials of which the very best of highways could be
cheaply constructed, and we boast of our enterprise and ability to keep
pace with the world in everything else. Why should we lag so deplorably
behind in so simple and important a matter as our country highways? If
our roads were like those of some other countries, a single team could
haul to the railroad without injury two tons of fresh fruit in a day
from ranches twenty miles distant, and these distant foothill ranches
would then be of the most valuable property we have, their very
remoteness being their recommendation, for all will admit that there if
anywhere could insect pests be controlled and eradicated. They are our
true fruit lands, and fruit growing in the very nature of things must
be our main dependence in southern Oregon in the future. It is devoutly
to be wished that the educating influences of a united effort to secure
better roads will be felt during the next twelve months to the remotest
part of the state and result in giving us, first, a sensible system of
road laws, and second, a system of county roads that shall have no
superior anywhere. Herein lies our chief hope in salvation, far
outreaching in importance the most complete railway system that can be
inaugurated here. We trust the press of Oregon will never cease
importuning the people to get out of the mud.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, November 27, 1891, page 3 THOSE ROADS.
Almost
every paper in Oregon is at this time of year devoting more or less
space to the county roads and demanding that something be done to
render them passable during the winter months, and as the roads in this
section need attention we propose to follow the majority and have our
say, although we have no pet theory to give as to how the roads should
be worked to insure the best results, but one thing we do know and that
is that there are counties where they do have decent roads, and we
think it would be good policy to study up the means by which such are
kept up and profit by their example. In the first place, our roads are
not worked as they should be and never will be until a radical change
be made in our road laws. Just what the change should be we are not
prepared to say, but any change would be better than our present
system; at any rate it could be no worse. In the meantime, produce is
rotting on the farms because it cannot be transported to market, horses
are being pulled to death and wagons and harness broken in the vain
attempt to do what little hauling has to be done, while merchants are
losing money on account of the people being unable to get to town to
trade; in fact, there is no department of human industry which bad
roads do not affect.
Medford Mail, January 21, 1892, page 2 "Oak wood, split for cook stoves, was sold for $1.25 a tier, delivered in Medford. And the roads over which it was delivered were hub deep in mud from November 1 to April 1. Those were the good old days." "Newbury Recalls Days of Flour Sack B.V.D.'s," undated 1930s Medford Mail Tribune clipping, RVGS A Needed Improvement.
A prominent citizen of the country north of the river, writing to one
of our county exchanges a short time since, called attention to the
crying demand for the expenditure of some county funds in getting a
passably good road around the upper grade of the Table Rocks. Ever
since the first settlement of the county, owing to a failure of the
viewers of the Bybee's ferry and Fort Klamath wagon road to locate the
route clear of adobe or "sticky" soil, the road has been well nigh
impassable in the winter season to even the lightest kind of vehicles.
For the short stretch of two miles hundreds of travelers have been
compelled to spend the better part of a day in urging their weary
horses through by short pulls and constant cleaning of the wheels. As
the soil is full of wash boulders, making an insecure foundation for
any sort of a road, it has been impossible heretofore to make a
passable winter road with the available labor which could be applied
upon it. As the Times believes in the intelligent
expenditure of county funds in the bettering of our road system, and
knowing that the work can only be done at certain seasons of the year,
and believing that the many residents of the country north of the river
have endured the petty tyranny of this short stretch of road long
enough, we would venture to suggest to our honorable county court the
propriety of engaging some experienced road builder to at once
construct, at as little expense as may be consistent with doing
thorough work, on a good gravel road along that stretch of
mountainside. It is much too important a highway to be longer neglected
by the county court, and the only wonder is that the residents of that
section have not made this matter an issue in local politics long ago.
Let the work be executed while it can be done the best and the most
economically, and the whole north side of the county will be vastly
benefited by it.Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 4, 1892, page 3 Narrow Wagon Tires and Bad Roads.
While the subject of new roads is being agitated by the legislatures
and the agricultural journals, the farmers are busy working up the
subject in a practical--though possibly not in the most proper--way by
industriously, and at much expense of time and team, cutting up and
destroying the roads by driving heavily loaded, narrow-tired wagons
over them. When we see a man on a heavily loaded, narrow-tired wagon
urging along his jaded team, engaged to his utmost power in making mud,
and then grumbling because of the "horrid" muddy roads, he seems to be
an object for pity.The only thing he seems disposed to do to make matters different is to throw some hard words into the muddiest places, and then continue his custom of turning out onto the highway with his rut-digger every time the ground is too wet for plowing. Now, if the legislature is to do anything for the roads, let them begin by legislating the narrow tires off the heavy lumber and truck wagons. I have seen a single heavy, narrow-tired wagon in the distance of a half mile cause more damage than could be repaired in six days of ordinary road work. The question seems to be about this: Which is the better economy, wide tires and good roads or narrow tires and bad roads? The narrow tires are as much out of place on the farm as on the highway. Men admit that facts and philosophy are in favor of wide tires, and say that when all the others use wide tires they will do so. They seem to be afraid that they will do more than their proportionate share of good in this world. It seems that the legislature may have to help them out of their ruts.--Coleman's Rural World. Valley Record, Ashland, March 17, 1892, page 4 The people of Oregon have dreamed of country roads until it has come to be a nightmare with them. Coming originally from the older states, they know what good roads are; they know the monetary value of passable highways, and hence have been impatient of the legislation which has accomplished nothing for them. They have asked themselves how much better off they are upon a fine farm whence the road to market is often impassable than is the farmer in the midst of the great American deserts, and the response has been discouraging. From all the Times can learn the Oregon farmers and farm owners are perfectly willing to pay for good roads, but they are not willing to hand over taxes to a system of expenditure which produces no beneficial results. They are tired of [the] existing appointed supervisor business, weary of the pretense of improvement which allows a man to "work out" his tax while sitting on the fence "looking at a mark." They demand something better now, and are determined to have it, whatever the cost. Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 10, 1892, page 2 Residents to the eastward of Central Point are beginning to clamor for better roads than we enjoy at present leading into this place from that direction. Central Point is blessed with good roads in the winter season, except from one direction, and the road up the valley, which cannot be easily remedied, but all realize that the one thing needful in the matter of bettering the road to the desert is to have it thrown up in the center and well drained, as there is but a small extent of the adobe on the entire stretch. The work to be effective should be done in the spring and allowed to pack by the summer travel, and we hope the proper authorities will see to it that another season does not go by and see the work neglected. "Central Point Pointers," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 13, 1893, page 3 Roads are in an awful fix from here to Medford; the nearer Medford you get the worse the roads. The road is the reflex manifestation of the civilization of a community: Therefore, etc. etc. We believe that every man in Medford and Central Point should be hung for the sin of omission. If you pull through that lane alongside of Olwell's orchard and then go and look at the windrows of good gravel along Bear Creek you will see what is omitted. Why Brother Nickell did not rush a bill through the legislature declaring this particular road a nuisance is amazing. A great opportunity for fame, and an "ad" in the Times, was hereby foolishly thrown away. "Spikenard Sparks," Medford Mail, March 24, 1893, page 1 The proposition to have the piece of road extending from Central Point to the desert improved at the county's expense is general one, and a lengthy petition was presented to the commissioners' court praying for the needed improvement. It is the great pass-way between the valley and the large scope of country in the Butte Creek section and north and west of Rogue River, and is easily susceptible to improvement, so as to make a good winter highway at small cost to the county. "Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 28, 1893, page 3 We noticed that the road supervisor was grading the Olwell lane. A good thing, as that is the worst piece of road in Jackson County in the winter. "Central Point Items," Medford Mail, September 22, 1893 supplement, page 1 Roads are muddy everywhere. "Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 6, 1893, page 3 The new road from Central Point to the desert needs graveling badly in places, as the late rains have developed several mud holes already. "Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 20, 1893, page 3 Now is the time to look out for the county roads. A few hours' work in plowing ditches to drain the roads in many places would save us from impassable highways in the spring. "Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 27, 1893, page 3  The route to Eagle Point in 1904. "Phoenix Flashes," Medford Mail, December 15, 1893, page 2 Mr. Yancy has some trouble hauling the flour to the railroad, now that the roads are so bad. He started with a load last Friday and got out on the big desert when he pulled his team out of the road on apparently better ground, but it proved to be worse, as the wagon sank until both the axles were flat on the ground. Had to unload and then had lots of trouble to get out. The best way is to keep in the well-traveled road if it is muddy--and right here is a good place to say that if we could get to Medford in wintertime the town would be much benefited by our trade. "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, January 19, 1894, page 2 Medford is considerably interested in the road question. Some of the roads leading into the town resemble a hog wallow more than anything else. Our citizens should take some steps toward making good thoroughfares in the section immediately adjacent to the city at least, and the expenditure necessary for this would be a good investment, as one of the reasons of the dull state of trade at present is the difficulty encountered by the farmers in coming to town. "Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 22, 1894, page 2 On the Rampage.
Speaking about wicked streams, although
Jackson Creek does not cut any figure in the summer, it can stir up
considerable trouble when it gets full in the winter. The road to
Medford, from the old distillery to the forks, is almost entirely gone
and nearly impassable. The road to Central Point, from the forks to the
Hanley ranch, is impassable, and teams are compelled to take to the
fields alongside, which can also be said of the country further down
the stream. In Jacksonville it has taken a great deal of work to
prevent serious damage to residence lots in the north and northeast
portions, and trees are still being hauled with which to build
breakwaters to keep the creek from washing away the banks and
destroying property.Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 22, 1894, page 3 Everybody is complaining because the roads are so bad. They are proving an insurmountable barrier to commerce this season. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 25, 1894, page 3 The roads continue "out of sight." There never was such general complaint over this matter. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 29, 1894, page 3  "Lake Creek Creeklets," Medford Mail, February 16, 1894, page 2 Several persons from this precinct have been compelled to do their trading at Gold Hill this winter on account of the bad roads between the bridge and Medford. There is talk that unless the roads are made passable there will be an effort made to form a farmer's union and establish a store and headquarters at some convenient point and furnish goods of all kinds to stockholders and others and handle all stock and produce raised by interested parties and thereby avoid a trip, over bad roads, to Medford. "Table Rock Items," Medford Mail, February 23, 1894, page 2 J. A. Whitman is loading a carload of apples at Phoenix this week to be shipped to New Orleans. Mr. W. could have loaded this fruit from his own warehouse in Medford had it not been for the very bad roads which prevent farmers from hauling to this place. This is another tip to business men of Medford. They MUST see to it that the roads leading to our city are improved. "All the Local News," Medford Mail, February 23, 1894, page 3 A farmer recently plodding his way through the mud and mire found Mr. Whetstone with a load of wood vainly trying to find the bottom of the road, but in his endeavor found it as hopeless a task as getting at the bottom of the Bloomer case. However, with the assistance of the aforesaid farmer he succeeded in getting his load out. "Griffin Creek Gatherings," Medford Mail, February 23, 1894, page 4 The streets of Medford presented an appearance last Saturday very much likened unto old times. The streets were crowded with farmers and farm teams. It was a gloriously fine day, and everyone seemed bent upon doing all the business possible within a given time. The farmers have been kept pretty quiet for the past few weeks owing to the very bad condition of the roads, and 'tis little wonder they congregate at the Hub when an occasion offers. Our people treat 'em right when they come, and the natural result is that they come again and bring their neighbors. Fair and honorable treatment extended to people who come within our borders is the promoter of such interests as grow cities from small hamlets. Rev. A. C. Howlett.--"Roads, well, there would be roads if one could find the bottom, but they are better than they were a few weeks ago. There could be a road made which would greatly improve matters for us Eagle Point people, and by opening it up we would be relieved of the necessity of wallowing through several miles of sticky every time we came to your city. If a road could be opened from a point near the corner of Mr. Hogle's place to run in a southerly direction through the Hamrick place, then across the Ish pasture field and intersect the main Eagle Point road near S. Murray's place, the sticky land would be left entirely out, and we would have fairly good traveling through the entire year. There are two and a half miles of sticky that is positively impassable in the wet season. There are a great many people who want to trade in your city but who cannot because of this piece of road." "All the Local News," Medford Mail, March 2, 1894, page 3 The late storm has put the roads in a very bad condition again. The roads between Central Point and Jacksonville are simply terrific, and should be repaired at once. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 8, 1894, page 3 Probably the worst piece of road in Jackson County is that between the Ross residence and Central Point. The supervisor in whose district this road is should be required to make the necessary repairs, and at once, as it is a disgrace to any civilized community. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 22, 1894, page 3 Why Did Mr. Merritt Do It?
EDITOR MEDFORD
MAIL:
--During the past week I had business along the road leading from the
Central Point cemetery to Big Sticky and I saw a notice posted on a
gate post notifying the traveling public not to travel through that
place, signed "By order of J. W. Merritt," and the query arose in my
mind: Can it be possible that Mr. Merritt will try to force all the
travel from Butte Creek and surroundings to go through the Ish lane,
two and a half miles through sticky mud, to get to Medford, or is it a
plan to force us to go to Central Point to do our trading when we can
save at least twenty percent by going to Medford?
BUTTE
CREEKER.
Butte Creek, March 29.
Medford Mail, March 30, 1894, page 2 For Wide Tires.
One of the worst evils connected with the question of dirt roads is the
prevalent use of narrow wagon tires on heavily laden wagons, and since
it would be such an easy matter for farmers to have wide-tired wagons
by simply demanding them, it is surprising they have not already come
into general use. Supply always follows demand, the markets respond to
the first slight pressure, and if even a very few farmers would demand
wide-tired wagons, it would not be six months until they would be found
on sale at every implement house in the country. It should require no
argument to convince the intelligent man that the tendency of a narrow
tire on a heavy wagon is to tear up the surface of a roadway
constructed of as loose a material as ordinary dirt, while the tendency
of a wide tire is to compress the material under it, and thus serve in
a large measure as a road-maker and not as a road-destroyer. A writer
who has made some careful tests has this to say on the subject: "You
can start 530 pounds more with a 3-inch tire across fields with the
same power exerted than with a 1½-inch tire. You can haul 830 pounds
more with a 3-inch tire across a field with the same amount of power
exerted than you can with a 1½-inch tire." A sensible move has been
taken by the state of Michigan, which might, with profit, be adopted in
Oregon, that every farmer using tires over a certain width on draft
wagons shall be entitled to a rebate of one-half the road tax.Ashland Tidings, April 30, 1894, page 1 Tom Coy and wife started for Medford one day last week, and about the time they reached the halfway place they got stuck in a big mudhole, got a horse down, and in trying to get him up upset the wagon and had a time generally, but finally arrived at Medford and loaded up one of those nice bedroom sets at Ike Webb's, and--didn't come home the way they went. "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, May 11, 1894, page 3 Our first day out from Medford we found the road in a fearful condition, it seems to one from the East, and especially to one who for years has been in the habit of traveling good roads, and in a country where the cost of good roads must be double, as it seems at least, to what the cost might be in your beautiful Rogue River Valley. Not saying that I presume to know, however, all about your financial situation, but with a bird's-eye view of the surrounding mountains covered with fir, pine, madrona, ash, oak and various other kinds of timber, which seems so accessible to, and yet your roads are in a deplorable condition. It does seem to one just out from the East, and whose lot may, in the near future, be cast with you, that your business men of the valley should take some interest in this direction, surrounded as you are by so many gold mines, and the opportunity of working them, that if there was nothing else to attract the attention of capitalist and immigration, this mining industry alone should--or ought to at least--create a desire for good roads. J. R. Hardin, "From Medford to Applegate," Medford Mail, April 20, 1894, page 4 A Move for Better Roads. Medford Mail, October 12, 1894, page 3 What I Know About Roads.
This, Mr. Ed., is calculated to be a
companion paper to "What I
Know About Farming," by H. Greeley. I was talking with a gentleman
recently from New York state and in speaking of the roads, he said this
is a great country. "Why," says he, "I paid $3 toll for driving a team
over a road in this country where a man is in big luck if he don't get
his neck broke before he gets over it." Perhaps his criticism is a
little too too, but there is food for thought in it. One thing is
certain, a road is the first thing a newcomer and would-be purchaser is
sure to notice, and it stands a people in hand to see to it that the
road compares favorably with other surrounding improvements. I now
recall an incident which will serve to illustrate some of the vexations
that beset a teamster on some of the Oregon roads. I was teaming over a
mountain toll road some years ago and when well up to the foot of the
mountain, coming around a short turn--slam I came up against a heavily
loaded six-horse team. When our leaders' noses came together we pulled
up. I saw a frown on the other fellow's face and I suppose he saw the
same on mine. After sitting there a few seconds, looking into each
other's faces, the frown upon his face subsided into a grin and he
said, "Well, the sah-ha-le tyee ten-as man." [Literally, the "high chief
little man"--an expletive?]
"That's what I say," said I.
Well, Mr. Ed., if you had seen the blue smoke that went up from that
little bend in the road! It's a good thing there was a heavy dew on
that morning or the woods would have been set on fire. As I was going
up, and the other fellow coming down, and as there was hardly room
enough on the grade for a teamster to walk beside a team, let alone
passing, the only thing to do was for me to back down another turn,
where there was a pass. I don't often back down from a proposition, but
that I did. There are many places like the above on the roads in
Jackson and adjoining counties--places it looks like an idiot would
know enough to make a passing place. There are other things. Let a
person travel along through the county and see the zigzag county roads
as they meander along across the foothills, up hill and down, here and
there. When a farmer wishes to take another little patch, he simply
shoves the county road up the hill a little further with impunity. It
is taken as a matter of course. Brown does it, Smith does it, and in
fact they all do it. One naturally asks, have we any county roads?Last summer I was out on the district road work, not so much for the filthy lucre there was in it, but for the purpose of ascertaining if there was anything new in either the style of work or the usual bear stories, my supply of the latter having become threadbare--as it were. I found nothing new to speak of in either. (Confidentially you know.) It is almost amazing the amount of stupidity there is displayed in the supervisors of roads, not only in this county, but in the whole country. There are miles and miles of roads through the country that are dangerous to both life and property, being lined on either side with tall pine trees, many of them dead and decayed to such an extent that they are liable to tumble down at any time, and there they remain year after year. While on the other hand, if there happens to be a beautiful and harmless hardwood tree, either ash, oak, madrona or maple, standing within the sixty-foot limit, it is immediately cut down and destroyed. There are but few miles of roads in the country but what if they had been intelligently supervised for the past twenty years, would have been a beautiful shady drive during the heated term--a pleasure to man and beast. The idea of reserving a right of way through the public domain for a road was good, but the idea, as generally construed and carried out, of converting this tract of land, mostly through a shady wood, into a dry barren roadbed, is stupidity personified. I can speak intelligently on this subject, for once on a time (confidentially, you know) I was road supervisor myself. Just think of driving along one of our barren dusty roads, 110 in the shade and within 30 feet (just over the fence) on either side a row of nice shade trees--"so near and yet so far'--it is enough to make a fellow say cuss words to his grandma. And I want to say right here if I am sent to Salem this year (not by the sheriff, mind you, but to be an M.C.), the first bill I introduce will be: If anyone directly or indirectly, himself or his assigns, shall willfully and maliciously with malice aforethought, or afterwards, bruise, break, maim, deface, or cut, or cause anyone else to bruise, break, maim, deface, bend or otherwise injure any hardwood tree or bush hereinbefore mentioned, which is not within two feet of any wagon track within the aforementioned prescribed limit of the Oregon county roads, he, she or it shall be hung by the neck until he, she or it is dead, and whereas if the mischief be did, it shall be prima facie evidence that he, she or it did it and a "Men tik-eh kum-tux kan-a-way me-sah-che pee mam-ook kloshe kopa til-a-kum" ["Men need to understand the bad in order to do good to friends."] shall not be necessary. In conclusion let me say it is my candid opinion that when every citizen, who wears clothes like a man, between the ages of 21 and 110 years, lame, halt or blind (for the blind sometimes shows the blind the road, you know) shall be compelled to pay $3 cash each per annum and when someone is paid a good salary to supervise and construct our road, having all the above funds at his command, and he being a taxpayer knowing a good road from a sidehill plow, then, and not until then, shall we have any good roads. Reductio ad absurdum. Your incorrigible friend, Medford Mail, March 27, 1896, page 2
The coast may be reached by several stage lines, one of which starts west from Roseburg for the Coos Bay country, while another, over a better road, crosses the mountains by a moderate divide and descends the valley of the Umpqua. The ride by the latter is picturesque and interesting, and, with a comfortable coach (which is not provided), might be recommended to tourists. As it is, however, the hotels in most cases are far from meeting the most elementary requirements of cleanliness and good food, while the stages are merely rough covered wagons, with hard seats and insufficient springs. The omnipresent dust is a factor not to be ignored. "W.H.D.," The Nation, September 9, 1897, page 201 Apparently W.H.D. didn't travel farther south than the Umpqua basin. The mail from Ager to Klamath Falls is now carried on a buckboard on account of the sticky mud on the route. The writer has had personal experience with that same mud and is of the opinion that a flying machine is the only vehicle which can safely navigate the stretch of country from Ager to the Klamath River in the winter time. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 10, 1898, page 3 The county court has concluded a contract with Hubbard Bros. of Medford for the purchase of an Austin road grader, said to be one of the most satisfactory machines for such work built. It will arrive about the middle of April and will be the first used in the Talent section. The cost is a little less than $300. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 28, 1898, page 3 J. Patterson of Talent precinct is in charge of the county's road machine, and is grading the public thoroughfares in different parts of the county. He has two men and ten mules employed in operating it, and is paid $12 a day for his services and the work of the men and animals. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 8, 1899, page 3 R. T. Blackwood, the efficient road supervisor of Medford, has sixteen teams and quite a force of men engaged in graveling the roads between Phoenix and Medford. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 12, 1899, page 3 The Sugar Pine Company's big steam road engine came in Wednesday with about 16,000 feet of lumber. This is the first trip of the train this spring. The roads were found in fairly good condition except a few hundred feet on sticky, near Mr. Gregory's place, where they were still soft. The hauling with the engine this season will be wholly from Big Butte, twenty-six miles from Medford. The company now has sixteen teams engaged in hauling lumber from the Gray mill to Big Butte, a distance of sixteen miles. Mr. A. A. Davis, a member of the company, has been given the superintendency of the hauling for the season and proposes to put forth every effort to make the enterprise a success and he'll make the anticipated success if anyone can. He is a gentleman of good business ideas and knows how to utilize them to advantage. He informs a Mail reporter that the one and only difficulty to overcome is the condition of the roads. However, he hopes to remedy this and now has a gang of men at work lengthening some of the short turns and smoothing down the rough places. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, May 25, 1900, page 7 H. C. Mackey & Boyd's photo tent will remain in Jacksonville but a short time. Have your photos made now. Bring the little folks while the photo tent is in town. They never feel good after a six- or eight-mile drive. "Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 28, 1901, page 5 New Poll Tax Law.
House bill 205, which was approved by the governor Tuesday, requires
the collection of a road poll tax of $3 from every male inhabitant over
21 and under 50 years of age, unless by law exempt. The tax may be paid
either in labor or cash, but [the] county court may require that it be
paid in cash. If any person refuses to pay the tax, a suit may be
brought in a justice's court to collect the same, and the wages of the
delinquent may be levied upon to collect any judgment recovered. The
tax must be expended upon the roads of the district in which collected.
The act contains an emergency clause, and goes into effect immediately.
The tax becomes due on March 1, and may be collected between March 1
and December 31 of each year.
Medford Mail, March 1, 1901, page 2 The necessity of permanent repairs on the piece of sticky road running from Thos. McAndrew's place [near Crater Lake Avenue and McAndrews Road] to the desert is becoming more apparent each year. This is unquestionably one of the worst pieces of roads in all of Southern Oregon, and it is a road over which there would be a great amount of travel during the winter months if it were made passable at that season of the year. A move is now under way to put a good substantial filling of rock the entire distance. About one mile of this rock road has been previously built but was not used during the past winter because of the fact that it had not been graveled. It is proposed to gravel this piece of road the coming summer and as well put rock on or as much more of the remaining two miles as is possible with the means at hand, and it is further stated by the supervisor of that district, Mr. H. C. Turpin, that the amount of work done will depend upon the subscriptions received from the patrons of the road and the business men of Medford, all of whom are interested in the betterment of highways leading this way. Mr. Turpin will circulate a subscription paper in Medford soon for this purpose, and it is to be hoped our people will see it to their financial interests to give all the assistance possible to the project. The county commissioners, we understand, have agreed to make a contribution of $300, and it is thought that in the vicinity of Brownsboro alone $100 can be raised in work. A. M. Wilson, road supervisor in the Grove district, west of Medford, commenced hauling gravel onto the mail road between Medford and Jacksonville on Monday of this week. There is about three-quarters of a mile of this road, from the Grove school house to the Medford road district, that is in bad shape. Mr. Wilson has raised over $200 in cash and work by subscription among the business men of Medford and Jacksonville and nearby farmers, and to this the county court has added an appropriation of $150. With this amount Mr. Wilson feels satisfied he will be enabled to do a good job of work. There are whole chunks of commendation due Mr. Wilson in hustling around among our people for the necessary wherewith with which to thus improve this muchly traveled thoroughfare, also to the business men and farmers for contributing so liberally, and as well to the county commissioners for their appreciation of the efforts put forth and the needs of the general public. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, April 26, 1901, page 7 The streets of Medford presented a decidedly metropolitan appearance last Saturday, and our merchants did a thriving business. Farmers from all portions of the county were here in numbers, the roads leading to Medford just now becoming fit for travel. From now until the winter months a largely increased business can be depended upon. Crops are growing nicely, the fruit crop promises to be unusually large, mining is being actively prosecuted, work on the big ditch is now under full headway--in fact, everything is favorable for making 1901 one of the most prosperous years in the history of the Rogue River Valley. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, May 10, 1901, page 7 Many people will notice and appreciate the recent improvements in the road between the Bybee Bridge and the Dickison corner. Substantial culverts and fills will make summer travel more pleasant and greatly reduce the danger at high water time. This work has been done partly by the county and partly by donations. Gradually the good roads idea and discussion are bringing tangible results. "Table Rock Items," Medford Mail, June 7, 1901, page 2 Another Competitor.
Roseburg's
live business men will seek to secure or divide the immense fall trade
from Klamath County, which now goes to Medford, by the improvement of
the South Umpqua wagon road. This is a move in the right direction.--Roseburg Plaindealer.
For several years Medford has been undisturbed in the enjoyment of a large and lucrative business with friends in Klamath County, a trade which has been a potent factor in the commercial growth of our city, and a trade which is yearly increasing in volume and in importance. Other and less-favored towns have been striving and diligently planning to divert this trade, or a portion of it, to their own advantage. Ashland merchants, with the aid of the Ashland Board of Trade, have been planning to interest Klamath County people in their city, and have undertaken to gain a vantage point by building a first-class wagon road from Pelican Bay direct to that place. Klamath Falls merchants have also, within the past few weeks, awakened to the necessity of doing something to retain the trade which has been gradually but surely slipping from their grasp, and now Roseburg has taken up the cudgel and proposes to share the benefits to be derived from the business dealings of this large and fertile region. With competition on all sides, competition of no mean proportion, Medford merchants will do well to take this matter up at once and do something to counteract the diverting influence which is being so vigorously exercised against them. The old adage that "possession is nine-tenths of the law" is as true today as it ever was, and Medford merchants have that advantage and also the advantage of being upon the most intimate and friendly terms with our neighbors across the mountains, but for all this we cannot afford to maintain an apathetic attitude in a matter of such vast importance to the city. Overconfidence has been the undoing of many individuals, who, with every advantage in their favor, considered their position impregnable. The same misfortune can as easily befall a commonwealth. "Eternal vigilance is the price of success" [is] a trite old saying whose truthfulness has been exemplified times without number. With advantages equal to those which Medford can offer there is no sufficient reason why other towns should not succeed in securing the coveted trade which Medford has so long enjoyed, and it therefore behooves us to keep watch and ward, that we may not find ourselves in the inevitable position of the man up a tree with a bulldog barking at the bottom of the climb. The above item taken from the Roseburg Plaindealer should be taken as a note of warning. Medford Mail, June 28, 1901, page 6 Ordered by the court that C. E. Stewart be allowed $8 rebate on his road tax for use of wide tire wagons. "County Commissioners' Court," Medford Mail, October 11, 1901, page 2 COARSE GRAVEL SPOILS PUBLIC ROADS
An Important Matter for the Consideration of Councilmen and County Commissioners.
The old wooden
bridge across Bear Creek, in East Medford, which for a long time has
been a source of anxiety to those who were compelled to haul heavy
loads across it, has been removed and a substantial steel bridge is
being built in its place. This adds another much-needed improvement to
the public roads of Jackson County, and will be very much appreciated
by those living on the east side of Bear Creek.
There is another matter which has been too long deferred and seems to have escaped the attention of our roadmakers in Southern Oregon. We refer to the present method of graveling with large stones instead of gravel of the proper quality. The deposit of these stones as surface dressing is not only spoiling the roads for the present but for many years to come. Gravel used upon the roads should be screened, allowing nothing larger than a walnut to be placed on or near the surface. If coarse gravel thus screened is used our roads will soon become smooth as a pavement, instead of resembling the ragged edge of a stone quarry. It is also true, as has been satisfactorily demonstrated in many parts of California, that this plan of screening the surfacing gravel not only makes better roads but greatly reduces the expense of repairing, as smooth roads do not cut up so quickly as rough ones, thus making it really economy instead of an added expense. We feel satisfied that if the City Council will take this matter in hand and clear the streets of these cobblestones and screen the gravel deposited on the streets in the future, that the results will be so noticeable and satisfactory that ere long every road district in Southern Oregon will be using a gravel screen, at the suggestion of the board of county commissioners. A screen for this purpose can be made by any blacksmith of heavy wire or light iron rods, so arranged as to be adjusted to a wagon while being loaded. The expense would be nominal; the benefits great. Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 11, 1902, page 3 Two men, one from Idaho and the other from Ashland, stopped at the Sunnyside [Hotel] last Sunday night. They started from Medford Sunday morning, but did not reach Eagle Point until evening, having traveled all day trying to find the right road. This shows the necessity of having signboards at the forks of the roads. A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, September 19, 1902, page 5 The roads between here and the railroad are getting badly cut up again, and the patience of the traveling public is sorely tried on account of the mud. A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, December 5, 1902, page 5 HEARSE STICKS IN THE MUD
Swamped with Four Horses on Jackson County Roads.
A
hearse with four heavy horses attached to it was the sight seen on the
streets of Medford last Saturday morning, as it was on the way to carry
the body of a farmer from his late home down near Central Point to the
cemetery, says the Medford
Success. It
was not for pompous effect that the driver had four horses to his
hearse, but it was the fear that he would get stuck in the mud and that
the country road instead of the cemetery would be the last resting
place of the unfortunate farmer, whose life had been made miserable by
the mudholes that now threatened to be his tomb. The driver's fears
were not without foundation, for he did get stuck, and it took an
hour's time and all the able-bodied men in the funeral procession to
rescue the hearse and its burden from the bottomless depths of a
Jackson County road mudhole.
Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, February 19, 1903, page 1 The Indiana Road Grader, which was recently purchased by the county commissioners' court, through Hubbard Bros., has been tested by Otto Caster, the efficient supervisor of Roxy road district, and found to be all that is claimed for it. The machine will prove a valuable adjunct in giving Jackson County good roads. "Brief Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 13, 1903, page 2 The rock crusher, recently purchased by the county, has been put to work on the edge of the desert, to the north of that sticky strip of road east and north of Medford. Some few years ago a rock road was built for a distance of fully a mile and a half out that way, but it has never been used because of the fact that it was too rough to drive over. It is the intention now to cover this piece of road with crushed rock--which ought to make this one of the best thoroughfares in the county. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, June 5, 1903, page 6 Judge Prim was down from Jacksonville on Friday. The county rock crusher is in operation on the desert, but the Judge says it has not been working to its full capacity. It is supposed to crush from ten to twelve tons of rock per day, but the most that it had done so far was five or six tons. The expense of operation is between $25 and $30 per day. "Purely Personal," Medford Mail, June 12, 1903, page 6 ROCK CRUSHER WILL
START
Jackson County Court Improving Roads.
From
County Commissioner Patterson, who was in Ashland Monday, it is learned
that it is expected to get the rock crusher recently purchased by
Jackson County, and which was operated for a few weeks on the roads
north of Medford, started up again, this time to improve stretches of
the main county road east and west of Phoenix. Considerable difficulty
has been experienced in getting men and teams to operate the plant, $4
a day being asked for the services of men and teams at this work now.
About 10 men and five teams are required to keep the rock crushing
plant in operation.--Tidings.
Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, October 10, 1903, page 1 FOR GOOD ROADS.
Brownsboro, Oregon.--Editor Medford
Mail:--Good
roads seem now to engross the minds of our enterprising men at large.
'Tis a good theme, and should be the shibboleth of every supervisor of
road districts in the county. We suggest all men who are elected as
road supervisors should have an interest in good roads. Now if the
press of Jackson County, which is the most potent power in public
affairs, will take up the cry of good roads and keep it before the
public, then our fight is more than half won, in favor of better roads
and more permanent work by the road supervisors. It is true that our
means, both in labor and money, are limited, but that is a greater
reason why the means at hand should be judiciously expended, and
temporary work, except in cases of immediate emergency, should be done
away with, and when repairing on the roads is done, let it be thorough
and permanent work. If they who live twelve miles from market could
take a load any month in the year to Medford or any market town, they
would not be compelled--as they are now--to rush their produce into the
already overstocked local market and receive one half of its market
value. If a farm twelve miles from the railroad had a good road all the
year through, good cultivated land would be worth one hundred percent
more than now. For instance, an eastern man comes to Jackson County to
buy a farm and make a home. He comes out wading and wallowing through
mud and mire. He looks at the farm. It's all right; good soil, good
water, good crops and good timber. "But your roads are bad--how do you
get your produce to market in winter, although you have such fine
weather here?" The farmer must answer; "We do not get to town much in
winter." This may do the average Southern Oregon farmer, as he has
become accustomed to it, but it don't go with a northern or eastern
man. He is accustomed to take advantage of the holiday trade as much as
our merchants are. He always has a few fat turkeys, a fine fat hog, a
stall-fed steer or some choice butter and fresh eggs to take to town to
buy the Christmas presents for the boys and girls who work on the farm.
He wants good roads and is willing to pay his tax to secure them. But
that is only one side of the question. The local merchant is as much
affected by bad highways as the farmer, as the immutable law of supply
and demand affects both alike. In fact the town is more affected than
the country, inasmuch as if the resources of any place are cut off, it
withers, and if kept cut off, it dies. So with our town, which is our
best advertisement for the country. If the town is a thrifty, active
business place, it speaks well for the surrounding country. This is a
hastily written article--will the editor take up the subject, and in a
more masterly way keep it before the people? "Cry aloud, and spare not."Capt.
T. J. West
Medford Mail, October
30, 1903, page 4BAD ROADS AND A REMEDY.
Brownsboro,
Oregon, Nov. 9.
Editor Medford Mail:--Since
writing the article "Good Roads" for your paper last week, the writer
has been asked if he could suggest a remedy within the power of the
people of Jackson County. In answering that question I would reply as a
lady replied to a politician, when asked what she would do if she were
a senator. She replied: "There are many things I would not do that are
now done by state senators." If I were a road supervisor I would not
fill a bad mudhole with mud; I would not put in a culvert and have the
surplus water run over it instead of under it, as I see many now. If I
were a county commissioner I would not allow a supervisor his pay for
putting in such culverts and crossings. As a supervisor I would not sit
idle at a crossroad post office and whine about not getting any pay
until January 1904, and walk home and be compelled to hold onto a fence
by the roadside to keep from miring down for the want of a few loads of
fine gravel, which could be easily procured not eighty rods from the
mudhole. But I was asked what I would do. I would use all the available
means at my command to make a permanent improvement at every place I
had work done. There is no county in Oregon that has more good material
for good roads than Jackson County. I speak from a personal knowledge
when I say that along the county road, for a distance of one mile from
the Butte Creek bridge westward toward Medford, there is enough good
material to macadamize the county road from Brownsboro to Big Sticky
Lane. There is no need for a rock crusher, as the rock is already in
much better shape than if crushed. It is mixed with a gray granite soil
or decomposed rock, which renders it, when compressed, almost
waterproof and forms a smooth, compact surface. The writer has made a
satisfactory test of five rods of road using this material, but not
having sufficient force to make the work thorough, yet it is in every
way satisfactory. The material is abundant and of easy access. All that
is necessary to complete a good, permanent road is, first, to plow or
dig ditches on each or either side of the road, throwing or scraping
the dirt to the center, leaving it crowning in the middle; then cover
eight inches deep with the material mentioned, and we have a good
turnpike, winter and summer, at a very small expense. If it did not
seem like dictation, the writer would invite one or both of our county
commissioners to visit the pits of material. The writer will take
pleasure in going with them and looking the matter over, and as far as
the writer is concerned, there would be no expense to the county. He
would also be pleased to entertain the commissioners. Before closing
this article let me say while I write concerning this county road, and
this road district, No. 15, I am just as much interested in other and
all districts in Jackson County. Jackson is the best county in the
state, and Oregon is the best state in this Union, and the United
States of America is the best country and government in the world, and
we are the people.CAPT.
T. J. WEST.
Medford Mail,
November 20, 1903, page 3GOOD ROADS.
I am officially authorized by Antioch and bordering districts to send a
special invitation to our Hon. County Judge to pay us a visit during
the months of December, or January, 1904, and be an eyewitness to the
condition of a piece of county road, three-fourths of a mile long,
lying at the base of Upper Table Rock. It is used by many people and is
in as great a section of our country as perhaps any other thoroughfare
in Southern Oregon. The piece of road in question was made, according
to history, in the year 1903, and it still remains in its virgin state,
and not a dollar's worth of labor has been expended to improve its
condition by our county administrations down to the present time. If
the county court will come to our assistance with the county rock
crusher and funds and build us a permanent winter road, it would not
only open up and enhance the value of property, but would be greatly
appreciated by the patient and progressive people on the north side of
the river. Your humble scribe was introduced to the above piece of road
twenty-eight years ago one dark, rainy winter night when he lost his
shoes and bearings, and has known its condition continuously since. We
would like the county court to travel the above-described piece of road
in a light conveyance, if not by daylight, then come out some of these
moonlight evenings and you will be able to think and say enough "cuss"
words to determine your future destiny. We would be a more prosperous
people if we could only get our winter produce to the metropolis when
it commands the highest price, but we are kept from visiting the towns
during the holiday season all for the want of a few hundred dollars
judiciously expended on this piece of road. I did intend writing each
one of these gentlemen a letter, but with your kind permission I ask
space in the columns of our family newspaper, the Medford Mail, knowing
that it reaches more homes than any other county paper, and would
certainly have more official bearing on our honorable county court by
the publication of this unworthy article in its columns.
JOSEPH
G. MARTIN.
Medford
Mail, December 18, 1903, page 4THE ROAD DISTRICTS OF JACKSON
COUNTY
Established at the January Term
of the County Commissioners' Court.
Road District No. 1--Beg at sw cor tp tp 51 s r 1 e, on state line bet
California and Oregon to se cor Jackson County, n to ne cor tp 39 s r 4
e, w 12 mi, s 3½ mi, w 7 mi, s 3½ mi, w 5 mi, s
to place of beginning.
Supervisor, Geo. Grow.District No. 2--Beg at sw cor tp 39 s r 1 e, n to quar sec cor on w line sec 7 said tp, e 2 mi. n 4½ mi, e 5 mi, n 1 mi, e 2 mi, n 2 mi, e to county line, s 6 mi, w 12 mi, s 3½ mi, w 7 mi, to quar sec cor on line bet sec 23 and 24 tp 39 s r 1 e, s 2½ m, w 5 mi to place of beg, excepting therefrom that por of corporate limits of Ashland included in the foregoing and all roads under jurisdiction of said city. Chas. Lindsay, supervisor. District No. 3--Beg at se cor tp 41 s r 1 w, n to quar sec cor on e line sec 12 tp 39 s r 1 w, e 2 mi, n 4½ mi, e 1 mi, n 1 mi w to center line of sec 15 tp 38 s r 1 w, s ½ mi, w to nw cor claim 43, s to 3 and w center line of sec 22 tp 38 s r 1 w, n to quar sec cor on w line sec 19 same tp, s to state line, e to beg, excepting herefrom all that por of corporate limits of Ashland included herein and the road under the jurisdiction of said town. Jacob Stone, supervisor. District No. 4--Beg at se cor tp 40 s r 2 w, s to state line, w 6 mi, n along tp line to nw cor sec 7, tp 38 s r 2 w, e ½ mi, n 1 mi, e 2 mi, s 4 mi, e 3½ mi to ne cor of sec 25 tp 38 s r 2 w, s 14 mi to beg. J. M. Cantrall, supervisor. District No. 5--Beg nw cor tp 39 s r 3 w, e to Applegate River, up Applegate to mouth of Little Applegate, up Little Applegate along the n bank thereof to the county road crossing Little Applegate, on center of said road to intersection of county road leading from Uniontown to Buncom, along said road in southeasterly direction to e line of sec 10 tp 39, s r 3 w, s to sw cor sec 23 tp 29 s r 3 w, e to e line of said tp, s to state line, w to sw cor of county, n to sw cor of tp 40 s r 4 w, e to sw cor sec 35 tp 40 s r 4, n 6 mi e 2 mi, n 6 mi to beg. C. C. Pursel, supervisor. District No. 6--Beg at sw cor tp 40 s r 4 w, e 4 mi, n 6 mi, e 2 mi, n 13 mi to n e cor sec 36, tp 37 s r 4 w, w 4 mi, n 2 mi, w 2 mi, s to beg. L. C. Basye, supervisor. District No. 7--Beg at the sw cor of tp 38 s r 3w, e to Applegate Creek, up said creek to mouth of Little Applegate, up n bank of said stream to crossing of county road, northerly on said road to intersection with road leading from Uniontown to Buncom, along this road southeasterly to a line sec 10 tp 39 s r 3 w, s to sw cor sec 23 same tp, e to tp line, n on tp line to se cor sec 1 tp 38 s r 3 w, e ½ mi, n ½ mi, w 2½ mi, n 2½ mi, w 4 mi, s to beg. Chas. Hamilton, supervisor. District No. 8--Beg at se cor sec 24 tp 38 s r 2 w, n 4 mi, e to Bear Creek, down creek to s line Constant dlc, tp 37 sr 2 w, w to nw cor claim 52, s to e and w center line sec 11 same tp, w to center sec 10 same tp, s to line bet sec 22 and 7, w ½ mi, s ½ mi, w ½ mi, s to quar sec cor on line bet sec 21 and 28 tp 38 s r 2 w, e to beg, except portions in jurisdiction of Medford and Central Point. Isaac Woolf, supervisor. District No. 10--Beg at se cor tp 38 s r 1 e, n 2 mi, w 3 mi, n 1 mi, w to Bear Creek, up creek to s line of sec 22 tp 37 s r 1 w, w to sw cor sec 6 tp 38 s r 1 w, s 3½ mi, e to a point s of sw cor claim 43 tp 38 s r 1 w, n to nw cor thereof, e to center sec 15 same tp, n ½ mi, e to beg. L. A. Rose, supervisor. District No. 11--Beg at quar sec cor on e line sec 34 tp 36 s r 1 w, w 4 mi, s 1½ mi, w to Bear Creek, up creek to a line sec 32 tp 37 s r 2 w, e to se cor sec 25 tp 37 r 1 w, n 1 mi, w 1 mi, n 1 mi, w 1 mi, s to beg, excepting therefrom all that portion of the corporate limits of Medford that may be included therein and the roads under the jurisdiction of said town. O. Caster, supervisor. District No. 12--Beg at nw cor of sec 2 tp 37 s r 1 w, s 3 mi, e 1 mi, s 1 mi, e 1 m, s 2 mi, e 3 mi, s 2 mi, e 4 mi, n 1 mi, e 2 mi, n 4 mi, w 1½ mi, n 2 mi, w 2½ mi, n l mi, w 1 mi, e 1 mi, w to beg. W. H. Stinson, supervisor. District No. 13--Beg at point of intersection of w line sec 11 tp 38 s r 1 e with Little Butte Creek, up creek through junction of n and s forks thereof, easterly on divide bet waters of n and s forks to se cor sec 1 tp 37 s r 3 e, e 3 mi, s 1 ml, e to e line of county, s to se cor tp 38 s r 1 e, w 15 mi, n 2 mi, w 1½ mi, n 2 mi, w 2½ mi, n 1 mi, w 1 mi, n to beg. Henry Tonn, supervisor. District No. 14--Beg at se cor tp 35 s r 4 e, w 12 mi, n 3 mi, w 6 mi, s 3 mi, w 2 mi, s 1 mi, w to Little Butte Creek to junction of n and s forks thereof, southeasterly on divide bet n and s forks to se cor sec 1 tp 37 s r 2 e, e 3 mi, s 1 mi, e to e line of county, n to beg. Geo. Frey, supervisor. District No. 15--Beg at sw cor sec 35 tp 35 s r 1 w, n to Little Butte Creek, up said creek to e line sec 10 tp 36 s r 1 e, s to se cor sec 34 tp 36 s r 1 e, s to beg. J. M. West, supervisor. District No. 16--Beg at intersection of w line of sec 15 tp 36 s r 2 w, with Rogue River, up river to mouth of Little Butte Creek, up Little Butte Creek to mouth of Antelope, up Antelope to e line sec 15 tp 36 s r 1 w, s to quar sec cor, on e line of sec 34 same tp, w 4 mi, s 1½ mi, w to Bear Creek, down Bear Creek to w line of sec 27 tp 36 s r 2 w, s to beg. J. W. Smith, supervisor. District No. 17--Beg at intersection of line bet tp 36 s rs 2 and 3 w, with Rogue River, up Rogue River to e line sec 16 tp 36 s r 2 w, s on sec line to Bear Creek, up Bear Creek to s line of Constant donation claim in tp 37 s r 2 w, w on line to nw cor of donation claim in 58, s to e and w center line of sec 11, w to center sec 10 tp 37 s r 2 w, s to line bet secs 22 and 27 same tp, w ½ mi, s ½ mi, w on tp line 2 mi, s ½ mi, w ½ mi, s 1½ mi, w on tp line 2 mi, s ½ mi, w ½ mi, s 1½ mi, w on tp line 2 mi, s ½ mi, w 2½ mi, n to nw cor of sec 23 tp 37 s r 3 w, n to beg, excepting therefrom the towns of Jacksonville and Central Point and roads under jurisdiction of sald towns. W. H. Peninger, supervisor. District No. 18--Beg at se cor sec 13 tp 37 s r 3 w, n to Rogue River, down Rogue River to n and s center line sec 11, tp 36 s r 3 w, n to center sec 2 same township, w ½ mi, n ½ mi, w 1½ mi to quarter sec cor on n line of sec 4 tp 36 s r 3 w, s 5 mi, e one-half mi, s 1 mi, e 1 mi, s 3 mi, e 2 mi to beg, excepting therefrom the town of Gold Hill and all the roads under its jurisdiction. J. H. Crawford, supervisor. District No. 19--Beg at se cor sec 23 tp 37 s r 3w, n 4 mi, w 1 mi, n 1 mi, w one-half mi, n 5 mi, e 2 mi, n 5 mi, w 2 mi, s 2 mi, w 2 mi, s 5 and one-half mi to quarter sec corr on e line of sec 13 tp 36 s r 4 w, w 1 mi, s to Rogue River, up Rogue River to tp line bet ranges 3 and 4 w, s to sw cor sec 19 s r 3 w, e to beginning. W. H. Newton, supervisor. District No. 30--Beg at cor sec 35 tp 37 s r 4 w, n to Rogue River, dowa river on course of same to w line of county, s to the sw cor sec 18 tp 37 s r 4 w, e 2 mi, s 2 mi, e 3 mi to beg. J. A. Martin, supervisor. District No. 21--Beg at ne cor sec 34 tp 35 s r 4w, s 5 and one-half mi, w 1 mi, s to Rogue River, down Rogue River to county line, n to nw cor sec 29 tp 35 s r 4 w, e to place of beg. J. H. Whipple, supervisor. District No. 22--Beg at sw cor sec 18 tp 35 s r 4 w, n to north line of county, northeasterly along said road line to line bet tp 32 s r 2 and 2 w, s along tp line to se cor tp 34 s r 3 w, w 2 mi, s 1 mi, w 2 mi, s 2 mi, w 8 mi to beg. W. K. Ingledue, supervisor. District No. 23--Beg at nw cor sec 2 tp 35 s r 3 w, e 2 mi, n 1 mi, e 1 mi, s 1 mi, e 2 mi, 2 5 mi, e 1 mi, s 2 mi, e ¾ mi, s to Rogue River, down river to north and south center line of sec 11 tp 36 2 r 3 w, n to center sec 2 same tp, w ¼ mi, n to beg. W. A. Thresham, supervisor. District No. 24--Beg at sw cor sec 30 tp 34 s r 2 w, n to n line of county, easterly on said line bet secs 22 and 23 tp 32 s r 2 w, s to se cor sec 34 tp 34 s r 2 w, w 3 mi, n 1 mi, w 1 mi to beg. J. B. Welch, supervisor. District No. 25--Beg at nw cor sec 26 tp 34 s r 2 w, e to Rogue River, down river to a point ¼ mile w of w line sec 13 tp 36 s r 2 w, n to line bet secs 2 and 11 same tp, w ¾ mi, n 2 mi, w 1 mi, n 5 mi, e 1 mi, n to beg. J. C. Pendleton, supervisor. District No. 26--Beg at sw cor sec 23 tp 34 s r 2 w, n to n line of county, ne on said line to line bet tp 31 s r 1 and 2 e, s to se cor tp 32 s r 1 e, w 2 mi, to Rogue River, down river to s line sec 21 tp 34 s r 1 w, w to beg. W. R. Johnson, supervisor. District No. 27--Beg at intersection of w line tp 31 s r 2 e with n line of county, northeasterly along n line to ne cor said county, s on e line of county to se cor tp 32, s r 4 e, w along said tp line to where said line crosses Rogue River near se cor tp 33 s r 3 e, down river to w line sec 26 tp 33 s r 3 e, n to nw cor of sec 2 same tp, e 2 mi, n to beg. Wm. McClanahan, supervisor. District No. 28--Beg at ne cor tp 33 s r 4 e, w along tp line to intersection of Rogue River to part near se cor of tp 32 s r 3 e, down river to w line tp 36 s r 3 e, s to se cor tp 34 s r 3 e, w 6 mi, s 3 mi, e 6 mi, s 3 mi, e to east line of county, n to beg. Robinson Wright, supervisor. District No. 29--Beg at se cor tp 34 s r 2 e, w 6 mi, s 1 mi, w 5 mi, 5 to Rogue River, up river to e line tp 33 s r 2 e, s to beg. J. B. Higinbotham, supervisor. District No. 30--Beg at ne cor sec 12 tp 35 s r 1 e, w 5 mi, s 2 mi, w 2 mi, s to Little Butte Creek, up creek to line bet secs 3 and 10 tp 36 s r 1 e, e to se cor sec 3 same tp, n 1 mi, e 2 mi, to beg. Cool Geer, supervisor. District No. 31--Beg at intersection of e line to 33 s r 1 e, with Rogue River, down river to mouth of Little Bute Creek, up creek to mouth of Antelope, up creek to e line sec 15 tp 36 s r 1 w, n to Little Butte Creek, up creek to e line sec 35 s r 1 w, n to ne cor sec 23 same tp, e 2 mi, n to beg. J. J. Fryer, supervisor. Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 27, 1904, page 1 While we have, generally, no complaints to make of the roads, there is a short piece of road just east of the Bear Creek bridge on the Eagle Point and Central Point road that is simply a fright. The road has been changed for a short distance, and the constant travel and rains have cut it up so that it was with the utmost difficulty that teams could get along, and where the new bridge has been put in and dirt dragged in for approaches the road is so bad that teams have to pull around the bridge; but we expect, in the course of the next year, to have as good a road through sticky so that we can go straight to Medford, without going out of our way via Central Point, and then if we don't want to go with a team we can get on the cars and go right along in spite of the mud. "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail, February 10, 1905, page 3 Joshua Patterson, county commissioner, and Jack True, county superintendent of roads, were in Medford Wednesday, to set up the two new road graders recently purchased by the county. The graders are of the latest improved pattern, weigh nearly a ton and a half apiece, and each requires from ten to twelve horses to operate it successfully. The first work to be done by the new machinery will be near Phoenix, on the road opposite the Harvey place. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 31, 1905, page 5 A. C. Allen:--"There is a place on the Medford-Jacksonville road, just opposite my home, which is likely to be the cause of trouble. The road has been thrown up in the center here and a culvert put in to let the surplus water through. The culvert does not project beyond the grade and at either end is a ditch at least two and a half feet deep. The point is this. Should someone not acquainted with the road accidentally drive off the grade some dark night, either in passing some other team or from some other cause, there would be a serious accident, resulting in either the crippling of a team or the occupants of the vehicle, or both. The place is not safe, and anyone injured would have cause of action against the county for damages. Besides this the culvert is not filled up level with the grade, and the depression causes a jolt which might cause a broken king bolt in a rapidly driving vehicle, a second source of danger." "Street Echoes," Medford Mail, August 11, 1905, page 1 A. L. Rose, road supervisor, informs a Mail representative that he is now at work with a force of men screening gravel for use on the main road between Talent and Phoenix. About a mile of this road was graded last spring, and it is upon this that the gravel is now being put. The gravel is screened into three sizes: the very coarse being put on the bottom, then a layer of some a little finer and this to finish with a top dressing of the finest of the gravel. Mr. Rose expects to put this gravel on to a depth of about one foot--four inches of each of the three layers. The gravel will be put on ten feet in width. This ought to make a good, substantial and serviceable road. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, September 8, 1905, page 5 TO BUILD GOOD ROADS
Two samples of good roads will be built in Oregon this summer under the
direction of government experts. Through the efforts of Senator Fulton
and Samuel Hill, the good roads enthusiast, the agricultural department
has agreed to send experts and machinery to Oregon to build two
specimen roads, each one mile in length. It is the understanding that
the roads shall be built near Salem and Pendleton, the respective
counties to bear the expense of materials and labor, the government to
pay its experts and furnish machinery.Similar work is to be done in other northwestern states and it is planned to hereafter build two sample roads in Oregon every year, until each county has had at least one such highway. The object is to demonstrate to farmers how good roads can be built and maintained. Jackson County, on its own initiative, has commenced the construction of good roads. The county employs a superintendent at a salary of $1000 per year and already the work accomplished has justified the means. The roads built during the past year, under the supervision of J. P. True, have stood the test of all kinds of weather and by the time Jackson County's turn comes for government road building we may be able to show even the experts something. The time has come, however, when a good, solid turnpike should extend from one end of the state to the other on the west side of the Cascades. It is feasible to construct such a road, as the material is close at hand all along the line. Medford Mail, February 2, 1906, page 1 Ex-Commissioner Riley:--"We Big Sticky people can come to town now any time we want to, on account of the way the county constructed the road last year through one of the worst stretches of ground in Southern Oregon. Formerly it was an absolute impossibility to pull through that sticky lane at certain seasons of the year, and there have been more wagons and good resolutions broken along that line of road than anywhere in Southern Oregon. Now, however, after Roadmaster True and his men have made a roadbed of crushed rock and packed it solid with that big fifty-ton roller it's a pleasure to drive over the road, especially to some of us oldtimers, who can point out places wherein former days we got "stuck" and were either compelled to unload or abandon our vehicles entirely. There's nothing like good roads, and the people are getting educated up to the idea. Within five years Jackson County will have some of the best roads in the state if the present policy is kept up. The court was criticized somewhat when it purchased the road machinery, but you hear very little of that now." "Street Echoes," Medford Mail, February 21, 1906, page 1 A Farmer:--"Apropos of the matter of good roads, I don't believe it would be a bad idea if the streets of Medford which are traveled most are taken care of during the coming season. Try driving over any of the four main thoroughfares leading out of the city and you will find them full of holes and bumps, where the top dressing, if there ever was any, has been worn down to the larger stones beneath. It is just as bad in the summer, only dust takes the place of mud. Now, I want you to understand that I am not making a kick against any person or policy, I understand the difficulties which the city has labored under heretofore, but it seems to me that right now is a good time to take up the matter of building permanent streets in the city. A patch here and a patch there won't do. Take a hint from the work of the county on roads during the past year. Take a section of a certain street and build a permanent, solid street on that section. If you have any money left, build another section. That part is done then, and you can build more sections. You will be surprised to find how soon you will be able to have good streets, where there were none before, and how much more money you can put into new ones each year, because you won't have to expend it all for repairs. The material for making good roads is right at hand, it only wants to be intelligently and practically applied. For years the Big Sticky land was synonymous with broken wagons, balked horses and profanity, now it's one of the best roads connecting Medford with the country districts, and this result was accomplished by labor and material intelligently applied." "City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 2, 1906, page 5 There is a place on the desert road between Agate and Bybee Bridge which is almost impassable now, and unless there is some change made soon, the traveling public will lose their patience. By the fencing up of the old road and confining all travel to a space of sixteen feet, and that place in a mud hole and on a sharp turn, it leaves a main thoroughfare in a sorry condition for people at this busy time of the year. "Table Rock Items," Medford Mail, March 23, 1906, page 8 G. W. Stevens was circulating a good roads subscription paper in Medford Wednesday, and within a very short time over $100 was subscribed. The road improvements asked for are to be placed between Thos. Riley's place and the Bradshaw ranch, a distance of about three and a half miles. Before coming to Medford he secured subscriptions to the amount of $345 among the farmers living in the neighborhood of the proposed improvements. The roads are sticky, and they want them covered with crushed rock. It is expected that the county will help materially in this work. "Additional Local," Medford Mail, March 30, 1906, page 8 Jackson to Have Sample Road.
Medford Mail, April
27, 1906, page 3
The county court has accepted the offer of the government to construct
a half mile of sample road in this county, the county to furnish the
labor and material and the government the machinery and the services of
experts. Only one or two other counties in the state have received this
offer, the object being to make the demonstration in those counties
where the most progress has been made in good road building.
The sample highway will be constructed between Jacksonville and Medford, the gravel being taken from Jackson Creek. Now that the roads are drying up in consequence of the several days of sunshine, many of Medford's residents are again obtaining fuel from the coal mines. This will greatly relieve the fuel shortage and have a tendency to prevent the rocket-like rise of wood when the next storm comes. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, February 22, 1907, page 5  A road near Eugene, circa 1907. The Medford people, also the people living east of Medford, have for years dodged what was known as the "sticky lane" in winter, when going to and from this city, but this year, no matter what the amount of moisture at all there need be no doubt in the minds of travelers toward Medford but that they will be able to reach their destination. The road from the McAndrew place across the black lands has been graded up, covered with crushed rock and is now being treated with a coat of sand, which will ultimately make it one of the best winter roads in this part of the state. The foundation for this was laid several years ago when part of the road was covered with rough rock. There wasn't money available to continue the work projected, and the "grading of the sticky lane" was regarded as a "joke." However, the foundation for a real road was laid there and now the road has been built on top of it, so that no fear of the "sticky lane" need deter anyone from taking the straight road to Medford. "City Happenings," Medford Mail, October 25, 1907, page 5 W. J. D. Anderson--"The much-dreaded Big Sticky lane is now practically a thing of the past, thanks to the intelligent road-building that has been going on in that section. Time was, and not such a long time ago either, that anyone starting through that lane in wet weather, be he afoot, horseback or in a wagon, had no assurance that he would be able to traverse that stretch of road. Now he need have no misgiving about getting through. The road isn't as smooth as a floor by any means, but it is solid as a rule, especially where the crushed rock has been used as a covering to larger rock beneath. In these portions the road is perfectly solid and smooth, the crushed rock seeming to form a firm cement-like surface impervious to moisture above or below. Those portions which have been treated with river gravel are not so good, the gravel not packing so closely and the road being more or less muddy and rough, but even it is a great improvement over what it was a few years ago." "City Happenings," Medford Mail, December 27, 1907, page 5 Criticisms have been made from time to time lately upon road conditions in this county, and the county court has come in for considerable adverse comment. While the roads of Jackson County are susceptible of improvement, not many years ago they were so much worse that in comparison they are turnpikes now. When Commissioner Patterson took charge of the road building six years ago, there was scarcely a mile of road in the county that was capable of being traveled over at all seasons of the year; now there are several of them. At that time people of Eagle Point, Brownsboro and other points in the eastern portion of the county had to come by way of Central Point to Medford in winter and usually had all they wanted to do then. Now they come right in over the once-dreaded "sticky" on the road built under the direction of Mr. Patterson. There are bad pieces of road in the county, plenty of them, but this condition is being remedied. It might be that the county court could have done more, but when we compare what road has been built with what it was just a short time ago, we are inclined to praise the court for having accomplished so much. Then again there are other parts of the county in which there are now pretty good roads. Gold Hill, Central Point, Ashland--and in fact, pretty nearly every locality--has had some good and lasting work done within the last few years, and the men responsible for this ought to be given credit. While it is true that the public highways of the county are not boulevards, it is just as true that good and permanent work has been done on them, and they are so much better than they previously were that--well, we ought to be thankful for that, and hope for continued improvements. Medford Mail, April 3, 1908, page 4 HOW ROADS ARE BUILT IN THIS COUNTY
Many Miles of Elevated System-- Either Side Is Dumped into Center-- No Repair on Roads--Bridge in Danger.
A
careful study of the roads of Jackson County will convince the most
skeptical that the system of construction is fundamentally wrong and
the necessary repair work is almost wholly lacking. Road building, as
practiced by the present county court, consists in dumping a pile of
rock in the center of the roadway, scooping out the earth on either
side and piling it in the center. When the embankment, which resembles
a railroad grade and has been facetiously termed "Dunn's elevated,"
reaches a height of from four to six feet above the surrounding
country, loose rocks and gravel is dumped on top and the road is
complete. It is left to travel to wear a smooth surface, with the help
of the weather. Nothing is done to keep it in condition thereafter.
 Miles of such
road traverse Jackson
County. The
"elevated' is too narrow to admit of two teams passing. It has no
uniform surface and no established grade. It is uneven, full of
chuckholes, ruts and hogbacks. The crushed rock surface, the hardest
possible on a horse's hoofs and equally hard on automobile tires, is
left for these same hoofs and tires to grind to powder and pulverize to
smoothness; as a result, there are miles of road practically untraveled
except when the rains have made the adjoining land untravelable. When
there is any chance of getting off the "elevated," everybody does so.There is no necessity for making the embankment so high. A roadbed half as high and twice as wide would be far more practicable. If a uniform grade was established, a smooth surface put on and a small amount of work done once in a while to keep the road in order, it would revolutionize the roadways of this county. A "Dunnized" Roadway.
There
is one piece of roadbed of which Judge Dunn is proud, and of which he
has boasted. This is the road constructed last season in the
Big
Sticky section. This road, like all the others, is an elevated. But
farmers, rather than travel its crushed rock bed, run the risk of
turning turtle on the sticky land adjoining. One can travel a mile
without reaching a place where two teams can pass. If a loaded wagon is
ahead of your buggy or auto, you must poke along behind it, for you
cannot pass it or turn out of the elevated without toppling over.This roadbed is new, yet there are ruts and chuckholes already making their appearance, even before a smooth surface has been worn. There are hogbacks and hollows where there ought to be a level grade. And those who live along it say that the structure is faulty, and as the roadbed settles, it will spread. It is one of the hardest roadbeds on horse and auto and even wagon that the county possesses. Jacksonville Turnpike.
Take
a 20-mile drive from Medford. Start for Jacksonville over the most
traveled road in the county. When you strike the "elevated" you strike
as rough a highway as any section can show. Here we have an old road
"Dunnized." In stretches, several hundred yards in length, two feet of
loose gravel and crushed rock has been dumped in the center of the
narrow bed, waiting for travel to pound it into shape, six feet higher
than the fields adjoining. It is almost impossible and no effort is
made to even rake the large cobblestones out of the way. The result of
the "improvement" makes a far rougher road than existed before. The
unrepaired road is smoother, but full of troubles. So rough is the
highway that many Jacksonville people prefer to take the roundabout way
of driving over an ungraded road to the south, traveling nearly twice
as far to reach Medford.On the west side of the valley, turn toward Central Point. Here is a road almost wholly neglected. Here and there we strike a bridge or a culvert. These are almost invariably higher than the roadbed, so that a bump on either side is assured. Now and then a stretch of "elevated" is reached and unused, so that going around is far easier travel. A stretch of road that two years ago was one of the best in the county has become bad through neglect. Bear Creek Bridge Unsafe.
Passing
through Central Point, over as rough a strip of road as any section can
show, the Bear Creek bridge is reached. On each approach is a small weathered
unpainted board with a legend
scratched upon it, to the following effect: "Warning. This bridge is
unsafe for travel." The sign is a small one and would not be noticed by
the ordinary traveler. Attorneys assert that it is not sufficient
warning to save the county from damage suits in case of disaster.Looking at the bridge, the reason for the warning is apparent. The two large piers that support the bridge at the east end are out of plumb. The floods of a year ago undermined the piers at their foundation, and they lean a foot or so from the perpendicular. The result is that the bridge is unsafe, and has been for over a year. If a freshet had occurred this winter, it would have carried off the structure. A comparatively small amount of money would save the bridge, yet the money is not spent, and nothing has been done in over a year to save the taxpayers from building a new structure after the first flood at a large expenditure. Any loaded team may send the structure crashing, and the taxpayers will be called on for heavy damages. Cobblestone Highway.
Proceeding
east toward Eagle Point, some long stretches of rough-surfaced
"elevated" are encountered. Just before the "desert" is reached is a
stretch paved with loose cobblestones the size of a man's head. The
stones are scattered all along the surface. A little work would render
it possible to go faster than a walk, but the work is not done. Every
bridge encountered is built up even beyond the grade of the elevated
and steep pitches mark the approaches.Leaving the main road and swinging across the desert, the only smooth highway so far seen is encountered. The county court has done no work on it. Then the prize Big Sticky turnpike, six feet wide on top and six feet high, with crushed rock for a surface, embodying all the latest ideas of Judge Dunn, is reached, and passing orchards heavily laden with bloom, whose scent perfumes the air, the return to Medford over a road full of chuckholes and bumps and yet preferable to the "Dunnized" roads. Go to Phoenix and look at the work done by the county court to fix up the roads. In fact, go anywhere and draw your own conclusion. In the Back Districts.
In
the back country district the feeling is intense. Though taxes are paid
regularly for roads, the money is not spent in these districts. No work
at all has been done for years in many sections. Farmers at their own
expense have in many cases made the roads passable only by their own
work.The roadwork is done by the day by the county and the teams loaf a good deal, so that more money is spent than if the work was contracted. It is reported that the team owner has given his workmen positive orders not to overwork the teams as they must be kept in condition for the entire year's work. Medford Tribune, April 14, 1908, page 1 Transcribed from barely legible microfilm.  Medford Tribune, April 15, 1908  The Southern Oregonian, May
25, 1908
A Splendid Road.
The
road built from Medford to the desert across "Big Sticky" last year is
a piece of work that should make the present county court famous and is
a monument to their ability as road builders. This fertile region has
been isolated heretofore on account of the impassable condition of the
roads in winter. There was no demand for real property abutting it.
This condition has now changed, and property values are much higher and
in great demand along the entire stretch of road. Medford has received
a great deal of trade that formerly went to Central Point because it
could not get to Medford in bad weather.
Medford Mail, May 29, 1908, page 3 I also found the roads in a horrible condition, and when I enter my protest against the manner in which the people in the outlying districts are treated with regard to the roads by the county court, I feel that I am expressing the views of a majority of the taxpayers of the county. If our county court (now, I hope that this is not treason or contempt of court) would open up their official souls and spend say $100,000 in improving our county roads and let the other fellow that comes later and has the benefit of the improvements help pay for the work, it would be a benefit to those who are now wallowing through the mud and jolting over the rocks, in more ways than one, and would make the country so attractive that the prospective purchaser would fall in love with our country instead of being disgusted, as was a man I was taking up Little Butte Creek not long ago, when he remarked that he would never live in such a country as this when he could find a penitentiary to live in--he was so disgusted with the roads. A. C.Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail Tribune, November 15, 1909, page 2 LOCAL ROADS ARE SOURCE OF TROUBLE
Rig Drops into Mud Hole While Horse Continues Even Tenor [of] His Way
Tyson Beall has a kick coming on the roads leading
into Medford and not with[out] reason, either.
"The streets in the outskirts of town," said Mr. Beall, "are worse than many of the county roads, due, of course, to the extremely heavy traffic on these converging streets and roads. While coming in this morning with my brother we were driving along very comfortably when the buggy dropped into one of the many holes in the road. The horse, a 1600-pound animal, kept right on walking, but the rig stayed where it was. The horse simply walked out of the harness. Next year with the improvements projected it may be possible to get to the city from the outside, but just now it is a problem that requires careful driving and a good knowledge of the country to [be] traversed." Medford Mail Tribune, December 19, 1909, page 5 J. W. Newman was at Jacksonville Saturday to pay his taxes and also to experiment in automobile running. If one wants all the thrills in the business let him ride behind Mr. Newman with the roads in their present shape. "Social and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, March 13, 1910, page 5 SHOULD KNOW IT.
The adobe
or "sticky" soil, as it is commonly called, found in several sections
of
the West, while very rich and well-suited to the growing of apples,
pears and other fruits, is very difficult to handle and must be plowed
at just the right time--a few days following a rain, when the
"slacking" has advanced to the proper stage--to secure results that are
at all satisfactory. Rather oddly, though, while continued hot and dry
weather tends to form a hard crust a few inches beneath the surface,
there seems to be no other soil which retains its subsoil moisture more
completely or on which fruit trees will stand more protracted drought.
When one buys a "sticky" ranch he should have in mind that it will
either be necessary for him to have a solid macadam road leading to his
place, if he is to reach it during the wet season, or to lay in a
sufficient stock of supplies and provisions so that he will not have to
leave his place for two or three months at a time.Frank E. Trigg, Central Point, "Farm, Orchard and Garden," Evening Independent, Massillon, Ohio, March 28, 1910, page 8 Many a municipality has a bad blot on its reputation because of the wretched condition of the thoroughfares leading thereto when timely work done with a road grader and drag would greatly improve their condition. In too many cases these same "rocky" roads are found in townships and towns whose road supervisors or street commissioners are drawing good salaries for taking care of the highways, while the equipment for keeping them in order is acquiring a coat of rust in some vacant lot or alley. Frank E. Trigg, Central Point, "Farm, Orchard and Garden," Evening Independent, Massillon, Ohio, April 22, 1910, page 11 Speaking of good roads, the work done by the road scraper between Phoenix and Talent has almost blocked automobiles completely. The boulders are simply piled up in the middle of the road all the way. "Eden Precinct Items," Medford Mail Tribune, June 21, 1910, page 3 COOPERATION IN ROAD WORK.
There
is no sort of public work in which folks are interested generally where
the principle of cooperation could be followed to better advantage than
in the care of the public highways. In some sections this fact seems to
be recognized, in some others not. Especially is there need of this
cooperation in those sections where earth roads are the rule and where
the character of the soil is such that there is need of working it at a
critical time following heavy rains or wet seasons. Particularly is
this true of stiff clay or adobe soils, which can be advantageously
worked and leveled only when they possess the proper amount of moisture
and the right consistency. Under such conditions it is impossible for
one road superintendent and his helpers to give all the road of their
territory treatment at the proper time. As a result many such highways
dry up rough and hard and remain in this condition for months. Could a
system have been followed which would have enlisted the aid of property
owners or renters along the highways, and the roads have been dragged
at the proper time, a good highway would have been secured. The benefit
of this cooperative system is recognized in some states, the road tax
being remitted in case property owners give a stipulated amount of aid
in keeping in condition the roads abutting their own premises. This
plan gives excellent results and should be adopted in other places
where the roads at certain seasons of the year are little short of
unspeakable, yet for the attempt to keep which in repair large sums are
expended annually, but to little purpose.Frank E. Trigg, Central Point, "Farm, Orchard and Garden," Vindicator and Republican, Estherville, Iowa, June 29, 1910, page 6  August 28, 1910 Sunday Oregonian OLD METHODS OUTGROWN.
Criticism
of Joshua Patterson is not directed against him as an individual, as a
citizen, but as a county commissioner. The matter of selecting a
successor is a business proposition, not governed by personal
friendship or enmity--but by and for the common good.
Joshua Patterson the common man, his purity and worth, admirable though he may be, is not an issue, but Joshua Patterson, the public official, is. His official capacity is measured by his record, and proper subject for public criticism. In its campaign for a new and better order of affairs, the Mail Tribune is moved by no personal malice or animosity, no hope of reward, present or future, save securing the better interests of the county, its development and progress. It has ever stood for progressive policies, and therefore opposes the election of Joshua Paterson, who, defeated in the primaries of his own party, seeks re-election to a third term as an independent. We are told that Commissioner Patterson is responsible for all the good roads in the county; that before his election the principal highways were "bottomless pits," yet as long as fourteen years ago Judge Crowell was elected county judge upon a good roads platform, and one of his campaign slogans was to build as good highways as his predecessor, Judge Neil, had built bridges. Two years ago all the credit for good roads was given to George W. Dunn, then county judge, instead of Mr. Patterson, The people showed what they thought of Judge Dunn's roads by defeating him and electing Judge Neil, in the hope of securing a change in methods. But Commissioners Patterson and Owens combined against Judge Neil, overruled him on every point, made him practically a cipher, and continued the old repudiated methods of road building. Jackson County is spending close to $100,000 for improved highways this year. Last year over $79,000 was spent. During Mr. Patterson's eight years' incumbency, probably the amount of money spent on highways totals approximately half a million dollars. Surely this sum of money ought to make a creditable system of roads. The question is, are the results commensurate with the expenditures? Spending half a million dollars on highways ought to give a man a fair education in road building, though it has proved an expensive education for the taxpayers. Yet the same system and the same methods are used today that were used then, and we have the word of the expert of the United States Department of Good Roads that "very little progress has been made in good road building in Jackson County, and the need of skilled supervision is very apparent." The truth of the matter is that we have very few good roads, none properly built; that our best roads are mere makeshifts and must be rebuilt frequently; that we have no system of resurfacing or caring for roads once constructed, and which, neglected, soon become almost impassable for roughness. Compared with the roads of ten or twenty years ago, present roads might be called good. But with this large amount of money spent on them, there ought to be some improvement. The comparison should not be with the past, when we had no roads, but with other places, that with no greater expenditure have real roads. Jackson County will yearly expend large sums on road building, and ought to get better results than it has in the past. Mr. Patterson may have good intentions, but we are told that hell, not highways, is paved with such material. Scientific and permanent road construction should supplant the present unscientific and temporary system. Jackson County has outgrown the Patterson roads, just as it has outgrown the bottomless highways of Judge Crowell's regime. Medford Mail Tribune, October 30, 1910, page 4  Little Sticky Road (probably McAndrews), Medford Mail Tribune, November 3, 1910. Click on the image to enlarge.  Medford Mail Tribune, November
4, 1910
 Medford Mail Tribune, November
6, 1910
ROADS GETTING
IN GOOD SHAPE
Fine Weather Rapidly Drying Up Highways-- Autoists All Good Roads Boosters and Have Accomplished Much in that Line.
The
desire of the autoist to speed, probably more than anything else, has
brought about a great movement all over the country for the betterment
of road conditions. That this is so has been made evident in Jackson
[County] during the last year or two, but the end by no means is yet in
sight. There is still a great deal to be accomplished before the roads
of the county will be in that state where they will attract tourists.
Automobilists are the pioneers of good roads boosters, and automobile
clubs are still more potent factors in the campaign.
EXTENSIVE CAMPAIGN FOR GOOD ROADSThat there will be something doing in good roads lines of Jackson County this summer is taken for granted by all who have read the signs of the times. The automobile fever has become so contagious that it has grabbed nearly every possible victim, and now the number of good roads boosters is almost identical with the number of travelers. Therefore good roads in Jackson [County] will shortly become the rule, not the exception. There has been organized in Medford an automobile club, and this summer big things are expected. There is something different in the atmosphere, and the obstacles to successful organization of the autoists must all roll over. What would [you] think of an automobile drive of 100 miles in Jackson County, possible to be made in a day, through a beautiful country, a jaunt that would be a pleasurable outing from one end of the ride to the other? At the present time likely you would laugh and scoff at the very idea. But, nevertheless, it is said to be a possibility that can be made a reality at comparatively small cost. Autoists say that right now the trip can be made, although it has been but a few days since considerable rain fell, but the pleasure would be marred in several spots where the road is not fit for auto travel. Medford Mail Tribune, March 19, 1911, page B2 BEGINS IN JACKSON COUNTY In Addition to Ordering Bridge to Relieve Sams Valley Region, Commissioners Purchase Big Machinery for New Work
JACKSONVILLE,
April 6.--That the county court is entering into a systematic campaign
of road building in Jackson County is shown by the plans the
commissioners have mapped out and the new machinery they have just
purchased. Today they placed an order with the Buffalo-Pittsburg
Company for a road locomotive weighing twelve tons and seven reversible
stone-spreading cars with a capacity of ten tons each.
 The commissioners also purchased a twelve-ton steam roller from the Buffalo-Pittsburg Company, the kind universally used. It is claimed this equipment has three times the capacity of the old machinery with the same expense. J. L. Latture was the agent who made the sales to the commissioners. Previous to this purchase the county owned two traction engines, or road locomotives, and fifteen cars, also a steam roller, all of which are now at work on roads near Ashland. The commissioners also have one rock crusher at work, have two more crushers ordered and will probably order another engine to assist in operating the crushers. In addition to the rock quarry near Ashland, there are two other quarries from which the county will get rock, one on Griffin Creek near the Nye and York places, and another recently discovered on the Roguelands tracts near the Peterson place. Excerpt, Medford Sun, April 7, 1911, page 1 SLOGAN IS "GOOD ROADS"
Jackson County Gets New Equipment for Highway Work.
MEDFORD,
Or., April 9.--(Special.)--"Good roads" is the cry of Jackson County
despite the action of the recent Legislature. Two new bridges are to be
built across Rogue River, one connecting Sams Valley with Eagle Point
and the other to cross at Derby. A road locomotive weighing 12 tons and
seven reversible stone-spreading cars with a capacity of ten tons each
have been ordered, also a 12-ton steam roller.
The county already owns besides this two road locomotives, 15 cars and one steam roller, which are kept busy. About 60 additional men will be employed as soon as the new machinery arrives. W. W. Harmon has recently been appointed county road superintendent. Morning Oregonian, Portland, April 10, 1911, page 4 ROAD MACHINERY FOR COUNTY IS HERE
Two
cars of machinery have arrived and are being unloaded for the county.
One car consists of two rock crushers from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The
other brought a twelve-ton road roller, a road engine, two graders,
scrapers and other items, which come from the Buffalo-Pitt Company at
Portland.
Medford Sun, April 16, 1911, page 3 OIL MACADAM FOR COUNTY ROAD
DUPLICATE OF CALIFORNIA'S BOULEVARDS Harmon Recommends It to Commissioners for Central Point Highway--Its Description
County
Engineer W. W. Harmon has recommended to the county court that oil
macadam be used for the three-mile stretch of road between the Pacific
and Eastern junction and the road district of Central Point, and has
drawn a profile showing what the road would be. He is very strongly for
the adoption of this material and states that it would be as fine as
any road in the world and an exact replica of the famous auto roads of
California.
It costs more than the old style macadam, but it is so very much better there is no comparison between them. Its cost is $9000 per mile. Mr. Harmon states that in the East where the old style macadam was used it is being taken up and the oil macadam put down. The profile which he has shows a width of sixteen feet for the road proper. It is first covered with a thickness of six inches of two-inch crushed rock and rolled down to a compact crust, the road roller being passed over it twenty or thirty times. Then a mixture of oil and gravel screened to one and a quarter inches for a thickness of three inches is placed on top of this and likewise rolled thoroughly, and the oil saturates the crushed rock, making it compact and permanent. When the second part is completed a layer of one-half inch of creek sand is spread over it, which is for the purpose of keeping the oil from shooting up on the people as they pass over the road. The sand takes up the oil and makes it rigid, forming a crust which is permanent. For a distance of three and one-half feet on either side of the road the ground is saturated with oil. The amount of grading will be from 6000 to 7000 yards of dirt. This will include a lot of boulders, which will be the most difficult work in connection with the grading. Mr. Harmon is in hopes that the county will adopt the oil macadam. It is certain that if this is not use the old style will be, as the road between here and Central Point is to be as good and even better than between here and Jacksonville. Medford Sun, April 20, 1911, page 5 FEW MEN WILLING TO WORK
An
attempt was made yesterday in behalf of the contractor for county road
building up Derby way to employ men in this city, and as a result only
two out of about thirty men found about the local saloons were willing
to work. Chief of Police Hittson was apprised of that fact, and last
night a raid of the hoboes in town was determined upon. Wind of the
proposed raid got out, however, and the men at night were missing.
Policemen Helm and Hall worked diligently last night, but only
succeeded after midnight in landing about half a dozen.
Medford Sun, April 22, 1911, page 1 ROAD MACHINERY IS TRIED OUT
The
new Buffalo-Pitts engine, recently purchased by the county court for
road work, was given a thorough trial yesterday and worked splendidly.
"It pulled the big plow through the rock and dirt up and down Eagle Mill Hill, near Ashland, with ease, and did not get stuck once, doing the work in forty-two minutes that it took the old engine five hours to do," said Commissioner George L. Davis, "and we are proud of it." The county court will have the old engine put on the rock crusher, and the new one will be kept on the big plow and hauling rock. Mr. Davis also says it will haul forty-nine yards of dirt or crushed rock at a load with the new engine and seven new cars that have self-spreaders. The old engine and same number of cars, with the same crew, hauled eighteen yards of dirt or gravel. Medford Sun, April 23, 1911, page 4 To the Editor: Although the people are now demanding better results from highway work, the construction of some roads through our county does not seem to have altered much from the old way, which was something after this fashion: First--If there was any pretense of elevating the roadbed, the whole width of the right of way would be plowed up and the topsoil, the easiest plowed and handled, the most porous and poorest material for roadbed, would be removed toward the center, which when elevated 12 to 20 inches was deemed high enough, sometimes gravel would be added--a costly material--only to sink and be lost in a sea of mud the next winter. The idea of all this seemed to be that when the main track became impassable, a parallel trail equally as good could be started anywhere on the right of way. Of course side drains could not be allowed as they would prevent the track from winding from side to side of the right of way. I would submit that 25 to 28 feet base is wide enough for ordinary country roads; that the roadbed be not less than three feet higher than the side drains; add gravel if you can get it on that. The drains should be as close to the roadbed as possible, use a ring road drag on it in the winter at the right time to keep the wheel ruts filled and the surface firm so that the water can run off the road, instead of soaking into it as it does at present in most cases, for the one great necessary condition for good roads is a dry roadbed. As to stone, I would interdict everything bigger than a hen's egg on or within a foot of the surface. I think it important in the interests of good roads that the ring or split log road drag should have a thorough tryout on our roads in the coming winter. The cost of the operation is light, and in most instances gives very good results. J.
H. LYDIARD.
Table Rock, May 3, 1911.
"Communication," Medford Mail Tribune, May 7, 1911, page 4 DERBY-ROGUE ROAD FINISHED
First County Highway Showing
Signs of Engineer Skill
Completed--Easy Curves and Slight Grades--Shortens
Distance to Upper Rogue.
The new Derby road, between eight and
nine miles in length extending
from Derby to the Rogue River, and crossing the latter with a new steel
bridge at the mouth of Big Butte, has been completed, and bids fair to
become one of the finest roads in the country. Easy curves and slight
grades prevail. It is wide enough to allow two teams to pass and is the
only road yet constructed by the county which shows engineering
preparations.The new grade is largely through rock and is rough for travel in its present state on account of the sharp broken rock, but it is the intention of the county to roll it, which will give it a smooth surface. Heavy teaming, which is now being done for the Prospect power plant, will also tend to make a smoother surface. The contractor who built this section has also been awarded the contract for rebuilding a mile of the worst section of road between Eagle Point and Derby, and is now at work a few miles this side of Derby. The Derby road will shorten the distance to Prospect approximately five miles. On this account it will be preferred by many, though lacking in the picturesque features of the Rogue River road. The section build will prove a great boon to the upper Rogue River country, as it affords an easy grade to the railroad at Derby and henceforth all freight destined for Prospect and adjacent territory will be shipped by train to Derby and hauled thence, saving 30 miles of teaming. Medford Mail Tribune, July 17, 1911, page 4 Five auto loads passed through our town last Saturday--the county officials and parties who are interested in the movement that is on foot to have roads in our country that will attract the attention of visiting tourists and make a good impression instead of disgusting them. I remember a few years ago I was taking an old gentlemen up to his son's place, on the north fork of Little Butte, in the spring of the year and the road was in a terrible condition. He had not spoken for some time when all at once he said, "Well, Mr. Howlett, I would never live in such a country as this as long as I could find a penitentiary to live in," he was so disgusted with the horrible roads. A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail Tribune, July 20, 1911, page 5 W. W. Harmon and Herman Powell of the county road superintendent's office have established a power line between the county's rock quarry on Griffin Creek district and the Rogue River Electric Company's main line on the Kings Highway. Electricity will be employed there in manufacturing material for the county roads. J. W. Wilson is in charge of the force putting up poles and stringing wires. *
* *
A crew of
local people are now
conducting the county's rock crushing operations at the quarry west of
Jacksonville. Four Greeks in the old gang were discharged for cause and
their fellow workingmen quit work in sympathy. The change has proved
satisfactory."Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, August 19, 1911, page 2  Jackson County road equipment, October 22, 1911 Sunday Oregonian  Table Rock Road, October 22, 1911 Sunday Oregonian I see by the Mail Tribune of recent date that there is a move on foot to place signboards at the crossroads in the county, something that is greatly needed, as it is very difficult for a stranger to tell which road to take when traveling, as in many instances they will run almost parallel with each other for quite a way. A. C. Howlett, "Eagle Point Eaglets," Medford Mail Tribune, October 28, 1911, page 3 Jackson County Leads Oregon
Portland Journal
Jackson
County has given a remarkable illustration of public interest in good
roads. The bond issue of $1,500,000 was approved by the county
electorate by a majority of 1650 votes.
It is a splendid manifestation of public spirit. If half a million dollars had been voted, it would have been a strong demonstration of good roads enthusiasm. A vote of a million would have been an issue before which much larger Oregon counties would have hesitated. The fact that the figures are $1,500,000, and that the majority is so large, are big facts in contemplation of the electorate's action. At $5000 per mile, the sum is sufficient to build 300 miles of first-class road. The last census gives the population of the county as 25,756. The taxable property in 1910 was $34,299,904. The population, the property valuation and the bond issue for road purposes are testimonial to the Jackson County spirit, and evidence of a strong public sentiment for local progress. The vote will bring to an issue the question of whether the road bonding amendment to the constitution is self-acting. If opposing citizens of Jackson County do not test the validity of the issue, the bond buyers will, and we shall soon know the status of the case. Jackson County authorities have strong assurance that the bonds will be held valid under the constitutional amendment. Those in authority in the county will doubtless take care to get $1 worth of good roads for each 100 cents opened. Los Angeles failed to do that and is now paying the penalty in costly repairs for new highways, charges of officials, negligence and discriminations and recriminations. Jackson County, as the acknowledged leader of the good roads movement in Oregon, and as leader in many other things, should avoid such an outcome. Such an avoidance will be helpful to road sentiment and road builders in other parts of the state. Quoted in Medford Mail Tribune, October 5, 1911, page 4 Jackson
County Leads the Way
The Oregonian
Jackson
County has pointed the way to other counties in the good roads
movement. While the governor and the legislature have been arguing
about a new road law and the conditions under which an extra session
should be called to pass it, Jackson County has gone ahead to make the
best of the present law and by a majority of more than two to one has
voted $1,500,000 in bonds to begin the work.
The vote by precincts is significant of the condition of public opinion of good roads. The largest majorities are in the largest centers of population, Medford leading the way with a majority of 1378 out of a total of 1638, Jacksonville following with 191 to 31, and so on. Ashland was the only large town opposing the bonds, the anti-bond precincts being mostly small rural settlements. Good roads will chiefly benefit the rural districts, but the demand for them is most vociferous in the towns. Wise expenditure of the money will have much to do with the spread of the county bonding movement. Jackson County will need expert engineering skill to devise a general system of roads, to select the best materials and supervise construction. Every locality will pull for roads for itself to be built first, but the county should not allow politics or local considerations to prevent adherence to a plan which will open up every section with due regard to its importance and make the main roads connect with those of adjoining counties, thus creating a network to cover the state. Other counties should follow the example make the best of the good roads under it [sic]. All should continue to work for a better law, but not wait until it comes. If we go ahead now and show what can be done and how good are the results, we shall win over many of the active or passive opponents of the movement and shall gain experience which will be valuable in drafting a new law. Quoted in Medford Mail Tribune, October 5, 1911, page 4 Ashland and Medford can't agree on the million and a half bond issue for good roads. The vote in the county was two to one in favor of the measure, except in the city of Ashland where the majority was the other way. Various injunctions are threatening by citizens of the latter town, and the announcement has caused great indignation in Medford. "Country Bank News," The Pacific Banker, Portland, Oregon, October 21, 1911, page 7 BOND ISSUES FOR BETTER ROADS.
The practice of issuing bonds by counties and states to provide at once
large funds for use in the building of permanent roads is coming more
and more into favor among those who have made any serious study of
effective methods of highway improvement. There are many sections in
which the details of the bonding plan is not understood, and where its
advantages over the slipshod, piecemeal, hand-to-mouth methods at
present in vogue are not rightly appreciated. To make the chief points
of the new plan clear we give herewith some details of the issue of
bonds which have just been voted on in Jackson County, in Southern
Oregon, roughly the territory comprised by the celebrated Rogue River
Valley. For a generation past the usual slovenly and wasteful methods
of carrying on road work have been followed. This expenditure has
increased until in 1910 it was $960,742, on an assessed property
valuation of $5,000,000. Under this system at the present rate of
building but three miles of permanent macadamized roads could be built
annually, the bulk of the money raised each year being used in the
continual repair of dirt roads, which during the rainy season from
November to March are beyond the power of words to describe. The plan
just voted on authorizes the issuance at once of $1,500,000 in bonds,
all of which is availing immediately in the building of permanent good
roads. On the basis of macadamized roads already completed this means
that, instead of sixty miles of macadamized roads at the end of twenty
years, the county will have between 300 and 350 miles, and that just as
soon as men and teams can build them. So much as to the mileage of good
roads available under the old and the new plans.These good roads bonds run for twenty years and bear 4 percent interest, payable semiannually. To pay these bonds when due it will be only necessary to raise $100,000 annually for twenty years. This will constitute a sinking fund, and out of it the interest on the bonds will be met annually. The balance loaned out on 6 percent farm mortgages and interest compounded will amount at the time when the bonds are due to the million and a half required to pay the face of the bonds. A slight additional levy will be made to cover cost of upkeep of the present, but this will be but a fraction of the amount spent each year in the futile effort to keep dirt roads in repair. The bond method gives permanent roads, gives all that are needed and the great advantage of the use of them at once, while it is fair to assume that the rise in the value of property adjacent to such highways would represent a value far exceeding the total issue of bonds required to build them. Many sections have the "good roads" problem on their hands more than others, but where any serious thought is given to the building of permanent roads the bond issue method is far and away the most sensible and economical plan possible. It has already been adopted by New York and Texas as a settled road policy, the counties and townships cooperating with the state in the good road work. F. E. Trigg, Central Point, "Farm, Orchard and Garden," The Bremen Enquirer, Bremen, Indiana, October 26, 1911, page 3 The legality of the $1,500,000 bond issue for good roads sanctioned by the voters of Jackson County September 30, has been sustained, the judge contending that according to the state constitution as amended , a county may create county indebtedness for permanent improvements to its roads if it has the approval of those voting on the question. This approval he contended must be had by an election, for no other method was provided for securing the voice of the people. The legal principles involved, he declared, were the same as would be involved in creating an indebtedness of $1500 or $1.50, for under the present constitution the county could not create an indebtedness of any amount without the approval of the voters. The action against the bonds which was brought by Ed Andrews of Medford, will now be continued and an appeal will be taken by the attorneys representing him to the state supreme court. "Country Bank News," The Pacific Banker, Portland, Oregon, November 25, 1911, page 7 The movement in favor of the Taxpayers' National Bank of Jackson County, the purpose of which will be to furnish money to build roads in that county, is still on. A bill has been forwarded to Secretary of State Olcott for his opinion, and it is proposed that this bill shall form a factor in the next general election for the county. The bill provides that the county court shall select seven men, whose business it will be to organize the bank. The county is then to vote bonds to the extent of $1,500,000, and these are to be deposited with the United States Treasury as a basis for the issuance of currency to the bank. The county treasurer is to be cashier, and as there is no procedure laid down, the inference seems that his principal duty will be to keep the bank open and hand out money to whoever elects to build a county road. The present valuation of the county is to be the reserve of the bank. "Country Bank News," The Pacific Banker, Portland, Oregon, June 1, 1912, page 7 ROAD IMPROVEMENT.
It is hard to understand why so many country road supervisors, who
spend good time and taxpayers' money in grading and shaping country
highways, so often fail to put on the finishing touches necessary to
make the roads passable. We refer to the practice so often followed of
scraping to the center of the road clods, sod and weeds and leaving
them there in a rough and unsightly ridge, when a little work with a
disk pulverizer or common drag would do much toward inviting traffic.
The writer is well acquainted with the aversion of the average man to
hauling any kind of load over soft and newly made roads, but the
condition in which lots of roads are left is taken as sufficient ground
for steering shy of them even with an empty wagon.Frank E. Trigg, Central Point, "Farm, Orchard and Garden," The McKean Democrat, Smethport, Pennsylvania, August 22, 1912, page 2  Medford Mail Tribune, December 28, 1912  The King road drag. Contract Let for
King Drags
Monday
the [county] court let a contract for the construction of 50 King drags
for road work to Mitchell & Boeck. These drags will be
distributed
every few miles throughout the county to work roads after rains and are
expected to greatly improve the highway situation.
Excerpt, Jacksonville Post, May 24, 1913, page 1 Repair and Maintenance of Earth
Roads.
If you took at the ordinary country road after a shower you will see
small puddles along the wheel ruts and sometimes larger pools. This
water stays on the road surface because it cannot drain away into the
side ditches. If you look closely you will see side ditches, which have
grown up with bushes and weeds in many cases, and which are so far from
the traveled part of the road that the rain water does not drain into
them. That part of the roadway where the wagons travel is called the
traveled way. To prevent water from standing on the traveled way the
road should be raised in the center and should slope gently into broad
shallow ditches. It is then said to have a crown. If it is 10 feet from
the center of the road to the side ditch, the surface at the side ditch
should be at least 10 inches lower than it is at the center where the
horses travel. The road then has a 10-inch crown. The rain that falls
on a road properly crowned will run quickly to the side and not soak
into the surface or form pools. The side ditches for surface water
should run parallel to the right of way, and should be open at every
low point so that the water can run out of then into neighboring brooks
or streams. If the ditches merely collect the water from the road
surface and it cannot run away, large pools will be formed along the
roadside, which will gradually soak into the soil beneath the road and
make it so soft that the wheels of wagons will cut through the road
surface and soon destroy it.Sometimes water runs from land along the road into the road and forms a little stream down the wheel tracks or in the middle where the horses travel. When driveways into farm yards are built across the side ditches they frequently form channels for water from the farm yard to run into the road. The pipes under driveways become filled with leaves or rubbish and the water can no longer run away. If the driveways that stop the ditch water were rebuilt so that no pipes were necessary and the ditch could be left open, much trouble from surface water would be stopped. Sometimes a road runs across low ground or through a swamp where the road cannot be drained by side ditches alone. If the road were built higher like a railroad embankment across such low land and made with a crown, it would be dry and hard. Sometimes a road passes through what is called a cut. This is a place where the earth has been dug out so that the road can go over a hill without being too steep. The water which always flows quietly under the ground on hillsides is known as ground water. In road cuts such water sometimes makes the road very muddy, and the road then needs what road builders call underdrainage. A good kind of underdrainage is a trench to go along under the wide drain and about three feet deep and a foot and a half wide. In this trench a pipe is laid near the bottom and covered with loose stones no bigger than an egg. When the trench is completely filled with loose [omission] soaking into the roadway, will stop among the stones and flow down the hill through the pipe. To keep a road smooth and crowned the best method is to drag it with a road drag. A road drag is made easily with two halves of a log which have been split. The log should be about six or eight inches in thickness and about six or eight feet long. The two halves of the log are set three feet apart with the smooth faces forward and upright. They are then fastened together with braces set in holes bored through the log. A pair of horses may he used to drag the road and are hitched to a chain fastened to the front half of the log. The road drag should move forward so that it slants across the road in such a way that a small amount of earth will slide past the smooth face of the log toward the center of the road, thus forming the crown. The edges of the logs will smooth out the ruts. The best way to drag is to begin at the side ditch and go up one side of the road, and then down the other. In the next trip the drag should be started a little nearer the center and the last trip over the road the drag may work close to the center itself. Small ridges of earth will be thrown in the horse track and smeared by the round side of the log smoothly over the road. The smearing of the earth by the drag is called "puddling," and it tends to make the surface of the road smooth and watertight after the sun comes out. The road is always dragged after it has rained and not when it is dry. A good, strong pair of horses with a well-built drag can drag about three or four miles of road in a day, and it is the best way to maintain good roads. In every county some farmer along each four miles of road should own a drag and drag the road when it rains. He would always find the road in good condition when he goes to market. Owing to the fact that many rural schools were closed at the time when the prize maintenance essay was announced by Director Logan Walter Page of the office of public roads, it has been decided to extend the limit for receiving essays to October 15, 1913. In addition to the gold medal given as first prize, two silver medals will be given as second and third prizes. If a child who has submitted one essay previous to the issue of this notice should care to try again, he is at liberty to do so, but he must be a pupil of a rural school. There is some misunderstanding in regard to the subject of the essay. The idea is to get the children thinking how to better their earth roads with the material they have at hand. Medford Mail Tribune, July
12, 1913, page 4
TO OIL JACKSONVILLE ROAD.
County Court Decides to Experiment on Road to County Seat.
The
county court at its final session Friday decided to experiment with oil
on county roads and purchased 10,000 gallons from A. C. Allen to
sprinkle on that portion of the Jacksonville road that has just been
scarified, dragged and rolled.
The entire road to Jacksonville is to be treated in the same manner, first the old rough surface loosened, leveled and rolled, then treated with oil. Ashland Tidings, August 11, 1913, page 1 The county court is having the road between this city and Medford repaired by filling up the holes worn in the macadam and then surfacing with crude oil. The present effect is a great improvement, but whether it will last or not is questioned by many, and this road will be watched with interest. "Local News," Jacksonville Post, August 16, 1913, page 3 Regarding Good Roads
and Those of a Few Years Ago
To the Editor: In the year 1906 when I just landed in Jackson County
the town of Medford was a small place of about 1800, while Ashland was
a place of from 4000 to 5000. At that time Ashland was pointed out on
the map in large print while Medford would have to be sought with a
magnifying glass. The roads we had at that time were simply lanes
fenced off in the fields with a rail fence on either side. The only
piece of good road I know of at that time was about three-quarters of a
mile along the south side of upper Table Rock, pumice sand being used,
which came from W. M. Scott's place.The county at that time was assessed at $4,500,000. The only means of transportation at that time was by means of sticky cart, consisting of the hind wheels of a wagon with every alternate spoke sawed out, a pole stuck in for a tongue. Then if it was really necessary for the lady of the ranch to come to town, Hiram would put two horses to the cart, pack three dozen eggs in oats, take a roll of butter, and a gunny sack full of hay for the team. He would load Nancy in the cart who did the driving while the proud Hiram would walk knightly along with a sticky paddle and poke sticky [from between the spokes] from early morning until late at night before returning home. One man said: "Mary Jane, I only regret that God did not give me more language to curse the sticky!" Well, such language brought on a crusade of agitation for good roads among the newcomers, which caused him and others to raise up in arms against the movement and shout "ruin, disaster and bankruptcy!" About then a few Medfordites started the Medford Commercial Club, chipped in a few shekels, passed around the hat, got a few hundred and decided that it was money well spent to advertise the valley's resources. So they got up the Medford booklet and after the first carload or two went east it started a boom. At that time the best land averaged about $40 per acre. Well, the more we advertised the more we raised the price of Hiram's land; consequently many Hirams were displaced with a live set of people who have expended $75,000 for gravel roads each year ever since 1906. The county, instead of being assessed at $4,500,000, is now assessed at $36,000,000. At that time, if a newcomer had gone to Jacksonville and proposed a bond issue of $750,000 and would have made the assertion that Jackson County would have been assessed at $36,000,000 in 1913, he would have been hogtied, thrown in jail, adjudged insane and rushed off to the insane asylum. Well, here we are, 1913 well spent. Seven years have passed. We are to have a bond election to raise $500,000 to build a paved trunk line through the county, passing through nearly every important town in the county, one-fifth of the principal to be paid off in ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five and thirty years. Well, will the county be able to pay it off in that time? One thing sure, if the taxable property raised $31,000,000 in seven years past, at the same ratio the county in thirty years from now would be assessed $150,000,000. The most of us will be dead in 1943, so let us build the road and enjoy its use while we live and let the coming generation help pay for the benefits they will also enjoy. A. B. SALING.
Medford Mail Tribune, August
22, 1913, page 4
Postal Roads
Oregon
was the first of the states to apply for money under the terms of the
Bourne bill, whereby the federal government appropriated $10,000 to
$20,000 put up by Jackson County for improvement of rural delivery
postal roads.
Work was begun last October under Major W. A. Crosslands, senior engineer of the bureau of highways, department of agriculture. Stormy weather interrupted the work, although good progress was made during the time of construction. The rock was quarried at the Griffin Creek quarry and hauled by traction engine and the county dump carts as far as three miles. Work will be resumed in February. Meanwhile concrete culverts are being erected by S. A. Howard, who secured the contract. Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1914, page E3 PROGRESS MADE ON POSTAL ROADS OF
JACKSON COUNTY
The rural postal roads being built in
Jackson County under the
direction of the Office of Public Roads, Department of Agriculture,
will be completed by August first, according to Major W. A. Crossland,
senior United States highway engineer in charge. The work was begun
last fall and remained dormant until this spring.(By E. J. Kaiser) The fund consists of $30,000 and the federal government through the Shackleford bill made the $500,000 appropriation from which Oregon got $10,000 which Governor West awarded to Jackson County, the county court qualifying by appropriating the other two-thirds from the county road fund. The routes selected were made jointly by a representative of the office of public roads and the county court and approved by the Postmaster General and Secretary of Agriculture, the principal issue being the population to be served by rural free delivery routes. Division of Work
In addition to the appropriation made by
the Shackleford bill the
office of public roads furnishes the services of the senior highway
engineer and a junior highway engineer, Robert H. Harrison, as well as
all their expenses, including automobile hire, thus allowing the entire
appropriation to go on actual road construction.The work was divided into four routes, the principal mileage being a circle of the valley from Medford through Agate to the Modoc orchard or old Bybee bridge, then past the Antioch school house and Sams Valley post office to Gold Hill, after which it takes the Kanes Creek route and skirts the foothills west of Central Point and comes into Medford again via Ross Lane. This route makes a total of 38 miles and it makes a tour of the valley, which for scenic beauty far surpasses the Pacific Highway, which passes through the center of the valley along the line of the railroad in the main. Along this route there is one loop that connects Central Point with the Agate and Butte Creek and Sams Valley country on the east and consists of two miles and another two-mile loop that connects Central Point on the west with the foothills road commonly known as "Millionaire Row" on account of the section being noted for the beautiful modern homes and elegant orchards established and maintained in recent years by wealthy people who have selected that elevated locality on account of its panoramic view of the lower valley. Expenditure of Funds
The other is a ten-mile loop south of
Medford covering the thickly
populated suburban population off from Oakdale Avenue to the vicinity
of the old county hospital [poor
farm] site.The entire route covers 52 miles, and none of it duplicates the Pacific Highway. The Shackleford bill was a single appropriation by Congress as an experiment to meet the cry for better postal roads as a result of the parcel post and carried few directions, Major Crossland and his office using their judgment in the expenditure of the money. The county had expended considerable funds on some of this mileage in the past ten years in roads, bridges and improving the roadway, and Major Crossland is leaving these stretches intact and expending the money in concrete bridges across creeks and culverting the gullies and reducing the higher grades and raising the surfaces at low points and in swampy or sticky districts placing the Telford foundation and crushing rook. There are also a few slight changes in the roadway where the right of way and some expense is being supplied by the adjoining property. Nine Reinforced Concrete Bridges
Of the nine reinforced concrete bridges
the most expensive one cost
$878.50 on contract price and the total bridges and culverts will
approximate about $5000. About $8000 will be spent on the north side of
Rogue River, principally in crushed rock road some four miles beyond
Modoc Orchard bridge, and considerable Telford foundation as well as
bridges. A rock crusher is at work in the last-named vicinity now.Major Crossland has been with the road engineering department of the federal government for 13 years, ten of which were in road building in the Philippines. Mr. Harrison has been with the office of public roads for several years and will this year be promoted to a senior engineer. Medford Mail Tribune, June 11, 1914, page 3 COUNTY WORK EXPENSIVE
MEDFORD, Or., July
11.--(Special.)--Hard-surfaced road construction by day labor under the
direction of the county has not been a success on the Medford-Central
Point portion of the Pacific Highway.Contractors Bid Below Cost of Job Done by Jackson Court. Not only has the work been slow, taking nearly two months longer than anticipated, but the cost per mile has been far in excess of what a road contractor could do, as evidenced by the bid of the Clark-Henery Construction Company. A conservative estimate of the coat of the county-built cement road is placed at $15,000 per mile. The contracting company has agreed to build a similar cement road with one-and-one-half-inch asphaltic cement wearing surface, in addition, for $11,000 a mile. Moreover, the contractor has to finish his road on time, while the county was not restricted. Sunday Oregonian, Portland, July 12, 1914, page 6 LEAVE FOR THE TRI-STATE GOOD ROADS MEETING
Monday and Tuesday next, the second annual convention of the Tri-State
Pacific Coast Good Roads Association will be held at Medford, Oregon,
and yesterday afternoon Capt. Walter Coggeshall and C. A. Sawyer left
in the captain's auto for the meeting. The gentlemen were recently
appointed as delegates from the Humboldt County Promotion Committee,
and yesterday Capt. Coggeshall received by telegraph his credentials as
one of the state's delegates, appointed by Governor Johnson.SECOND ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION ORGANIZED IN EUREKA LAST NIGHT The gentlemen were accompanied by their wives and will remain in the Oregon city for both days of the convention. It will be remembered that the Tri-States and Pacific Coast Good Roads Association was organized in Eureka last August, under the auspices of the Promotion Committee. The Medford committee some time since issued a general invitation to the people of the three coast states to attend the meeting. It is expected there will be very large number of delegates and the work of the good roads development so happily begun at the convention here will receive another big impetus. The invitation says: "The city of Medford, Oregon, cordially invites you and friends to take your vacation this summer by attending the Second Annual Convention of the Tri-State Pacific Coast Good Roads Convention, which will be held at Medford, Oregon, on July 27-28, 1914. Medford, the metropolis of Southern Oregon, is located in Jackson County, the southern county bordering the state of California. "Jackson County was the first to vote, by its people, a $500,000 bond issue for the construction of the Pacific Highway over the Siskiyou Mountains, connecting its highway with that of California and Josephine County, Oregon, on the north." Humboldt Times, Eureka, California, July 24, 1914, page 5 Bitter complaint on the part of tourists because the Crater Lake road is not plainly marked so that anyone can find it has led Ralph Cowgill of the Rogue River Canal Company to place homemade signs along intersections. The county court has been appealed to by the Commercial Club to mark the road. "Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, July 28, 1914, page 2 PORTLAND LETTER
Good Roads Movement Still Gaining. Railroads Incorporated.
Portland,
Ore., Aug. 4, 1914 (Special)--Delegates from Oregon, Washington and
California held a Tri-State Good Roads convention at Medford last week
for the purpose of outlining plans for future improvement on the
highways of their respective states. The good roads campaign will be
under the direct charge of the following officers: President, J. H.
Baxter, of San Francisco; Treasurer, Judge W. S. Worden, of Klamath
Falls; Directors, J. H. Albert, Salem; Capt. Walter Coggshall, Eureka,
Cal.; and Godfrey Winslow, of Tacoma, Wash. These officials will hold a
meeting some time during the present month for the purpose of
appointing permanent committees and outlining work for the coming year.
JACKSON COUNTY, PIONEER COUNTY,The first stretch of hard-surfaced road in Oregon constructed under the county bonding act was opened to rubber-tired traffic on the 27th, at which time the delegates were taken over the highway and shown what Jackson County has done to make Southern Oregon a good road paradise. Excerpt, Jacksonville Post, August 8, 1914, page 1  A road in Salem, January 11, 1914 Sunday Oregonian. J. D. Orth and family have returned from Fort Klamath. Going over they made the trip in six hours from Medford, showing the improved condition of the roads. "Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, September 16, 1914, page 2  A road near Freewater, Oregon, circa 1915. "If you want to know whether hard surface roads are popular with the farmers when they know what they are; all you have to do is to make a trip down to Jackson County and you will learn quickly," said Frank C. Riggs, the Packard and Jeffery motorcar dealer. "I have just returned from Medford and Ashland, where I had the pleasure of driving over the new hard-surface highway laid out by State Highway Engineer Bowlby and which provides a road like a city street from Central Point through Medford to Ashland, a distance of about 17 miles. All along the way I talked with ranchers and farmers, who were loud in their praise of the splendid improvement which enabled them to get their products to market any time easily and cheaply. Motor trucks and motor buses make frequent tripes along the entire road, the buses making trips about every two hours between Medford and Ashland. "Those living near the road are no longer isolated, and living on a farm now has all the charm of country life without its inconveniences." "Aid to Farm Told," Sunday Oregonian, Portland, March 14, 1915, page 54 SURFACING ROADS WITH SHOT GRAVEL
BEGUN IN EARNEST
Surfacing of highways with buckshot gravel has begun in earnest by the
county under supervision of road master Smith. Kings Highway is the
first road to be improved. This will be followed by improving the Eagle
Point, Hillcrest and other roads.
The county recently purchased the buckshot gravel deposit on McAndrews Hill, northeast of the city, and has installed machinery that enables the handling of a great mass of material at a very cheap figure. Two men are employed handling the scraping and dumping apparatus in the pit, and two more in drilling and blasting. Material is taken out fast enough to keep five auto trucks busy hauling, but the contractor has only supplied one, so eight teams were put to work Saturday besides the new auto truck. The haul to Kings Highway is four miles, and the teamsters are paid by the yard, the same rate as the auto truck. Roadmaster Smith states that the new method of handling is a perfect success and that roads are being built much cheaper than ever before. Medford Mail Tribune, May 15, 1915, page 6 There are 765 miles of public highways in this county, of which 15 miles are hard-surfaced, 15 miles macadamized and graveled and 735 miles of earth roads. The total amount expended for roads in 1915, produced by taxes, was $109,736.23, and provided for 1916, $70,399.97. A bond issue of $500,000 in 1913, together with an appropriation of $150,000 by the state, was expended upon the construction of the Pacific Highway in this county during the past three years. During a period of twelve years (1904 to 1915, inclusive) this county has expended an aggregate of $1,289,894.81 upon its public highways, segregated by years as follows: 1904, $17,428.31; 1905, $11,163.50; 1906, $12,413.02; 1907, $19,914.61; 1908, $41,746.33; 1909, $79,188.17; 1910, $100,309.76; 1911, $258,967.42; 1912, $65,172.28; 1913, $132,127.46; 1914, $441,727.71; 1915, $109,736.23. "Jackson County," State of Oregon, Seventh Biennial Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Salem, 1916, page 144 THE HIGHWAY COMMISSION
Governor Withycombe has followed his customary course appointing the
new state highway commission and ignored Southern Oregon, the leader of
the state in highway development.No county has made greater efforts for good roads than Jackson County. It was the first to appreciate the value of tourist traffic, and in 1909 secured a state appropriation from the legislature to build a highway to Crater Lake, to make accessible Oregon's greatest natural attraction, which was at once enjoined by the Willamette Valley and Crater Lake declared "a local affair" by the supreme court and the appropriation invalidated. Jackson County was the first county in Oregon to bond itself for permanent highways, and the first county to construct paved roads. It was the first county to seek federal aid for forest reserve roads. Without state aid, at a cost of over $200,000, it made automobile traffic with California possible for Oregon with a magnificent highway over the Siskiyou Mountains. The personnel of the state commission is all-important, in that it will have the direction of the expenditure of state funds, including the proposed $6,000,000 bond issue. The program outlined calls for the construction of roads costing several times the $6,000,000 available before completion, and further bond issues will be necessary. The commission can, however, spend the available money where it pleases. Instead of naming a Southern Oregon man upon the highway commission, Governor Withycombe has appointed to represent the first congressional district E. J. Adams of Eugene, a comparative newcomer to the state, who has never been identified with the good roads movement and is unknown outside of the city he has resided in for a few years. He is a real estate operator, and as he is in moderate circumstances, and the compensation for the commission is only nominal, the people of Eugene have raised a fund to pay him an annual salary, under the expectation that he will deliver the goods for Eugene and see that the highway funds are spent in that vicinity. We are told by the Eugene newspapers that Eugene is particularly anxious to have a road built from Eugene to Florence and Marshfield, and as a concerted effort is now being made by the states of Washington, Oregon and California for a coast highway, and the completion of such a road would result in through travel turning off from the Pacific Highway at Eugene and going to the coast, this of course would cut off Douglas, Josephine and Jackson counties. Eugene is also anxious to construct the Mackenzie road to Bend at the expense of the Crater Lake Highway, and Mr. Adams will be expected to divert the state funds for cooperation with the federal government for building these two forest roads. The idea in making the state highway commission a non-salaried board was to secure men of high character, proven ability and financial standing, devoted to the upbuilding of the state, that they would cheerfully sacrifice their time and energy in public service for the state's development. The other two appointees, S. Benson of Portland and W. L. Thompson of Pendleton, fulfill these qualifications. It is evident that in the appointment of Mr. Adams, dictated by politician reasons, a representative, not of the entire state, but of a particular portion of the state, has been named, one who is paid by special interests to serve special interests, instead of the entire state. Such is not the intent of the law. Nor is such an appointment likely to create public confidence needed to make a success of the highway program. We may be mistaken, and Mr. Adams measure up to the full requirements of the office. The state needs all the highways proposed, and it is up to the commission to give all sections a square deal. Medford Mail Tribune, February 28, 1917, page 4 OREGON COUNTIES WANT HIGHWAY
Special to the Union.Petition State Commission to Improve Ashland-Lakeview Road. KLAMATH FALLS (Ore.), Oct. 15.--With the idea of getting a better road from Ashland, through Klamath Falls, to Lakeview, petitions are being extensively signed in Jackson County, and will be circulated in Klamath and Lake counties, asking the state highway commission to take up the matter. Although it is too late to start construction this fall, it is believed arrangements can be made for early work next year. Delegates from the three counties will endeavor to impress on the highway commission the necessity of the road when the petitions are presented. It is indicated in the petition that the road between Klamath and Jackson counties, which has been the exclusive artery of commerce between Eastern Oregon and the Rogue River Valley since 1874, has been maintained by the counties and private subscription at a heavy expense, but that it is inadequate to handle heavy commerce, and by reason of this much of the traffic that naturally would go back and forth between the two eastern counties has been diverted from Oregon to California points. It recites that a heavy loss has been caused to Western Oregon as a result. Jackson County produces fruit and other products greatly needed in Klamath and Lake, while these counties are rich in many things not produced west of the Cascades. With suitable highway facilities a splendid revolution in commercial relations would be brought about, to the immense advantage of the whole state, and especially to the southern portion of it. A new grade has been viewed over the Green Spring mountain, in which much of the heavy climb has been eliminated. Sacramento Daily Union, October 16, 1917, page 6 LET CONTRACTS FOR PACIFIC HIGHWAY
EARLY IN APRIL
County Judge Gardner, County Commissioners Owen and Owens and W. H.
Gore, who was chairman of the House good roads committee in the recent
legislature, arrived home this forenoon from Portland quite well
pleased with their conferences with the state highway commission and
government forestry and post road officials, and with the utmost
confidence that government and state aid will be forthcoming for the
construction of a highway between Medford and Eagle Point, and another
highway from Jacksonville to the Blue Ledge mine.
The visit of the Jackson County delegation was prolific in good omens for the speedy construction of the Pacific Highway work in the county already planned and for the proposed new highways. One of the main purposes of the visit was to take up again with the state highway commission the new highway construction work already approved by the commission in the absence from the state of Simon Benson, the chairman of that body. With Mr. Benson present and giving his unqualified endorsement the commission reaffirmed its decision on Jackson County work. Let Contract April 15
Then the commission announced that it would let the contract for the
construction of the new highway section between Central Point and the
Gold Hill bridge on April 15, and that as soon as the weather
permitted the work of paving the highway over the Siskiyous would be
commenced. Bids for grading and paving of the highway between Ashland
and the foot of the Siskiyous would soon be call[ed] for, it was also
announced, and further that soon would be issued a call for proposals
for grading construction of the highway between Ashland and Klamath
Falls over Green Spring Mountain, and that the Jenny Creek section,
which is the hardest part of this road, will be undertaken first and
would be completed this year.The Jackson County men then put to the state highway commission and Engineer L. I. Hewes of the Forestry Aervice, in informal conferences, the two proposals for seeking state and government aid in constructing the proposed Eagle Point and Blue Ledge roads as post roads. The proposal for the Medford to Eagle Point road was for a 16-foot highway with two feet on the outside of macadam, the county to pay 23 percent of the cost, the state 25 percent and the government 50 percent. The Blue Ledge highway proposal, of which the cost is estimated at $54,000, provides for the sharing [of] the cost of construction between county, state and government on the same basis as the Eagle Point road. Outlook Favorable
While the highway commission has taken no formal action as yet on the
two proposals its members informally expressed their approval, and
engineer Hewes not only regarded the proposals with favor but stated
that there was no doubt of the government aid being forthcoming if the
highway commission endorsed the projects.Furthermore, a telegram was received by the commission yesterday from Senator McNary at Washington with regard to the Medford to Prospect section of the Crater Lake road, saying that the government bureau of public roads is willing to do its part if the project is designated by the state highway commission. Secretary Steele of the Medford Commercial Club received a similar telegram from Secretary McNary. Medford
Mail Tribune, March 28, 1919, page 6
EAGLE POINT ROAD MAY BE PAVED IN
NEAR FUTURE
The following extracts from the Oregonian show that
the Jackson County delegation was not overlooked at the recent highway
commission meeting nor the county's interests forgotten:Assurance was given that as soon as possible the Crater Lake road section from Medford to Eagle Point, 12 miles, will be paved. Jackson County offers one-fourth. The county is willing to do the contract. Government action will be the only delay on this project. ----
"I'm the man that defined ‘hard surface,'" admitted W. H.
Gore, banker
of Jackson County. "You'll find paving very explicitly defined in the
1919 road law. I put it there. With that definition there is no longer
any doubt on the subject." And Mr. Gore grinned, as he rambled around
the Imperial lobby. Mr. Gore was a member of the roads and highways
committee of the house.Medford Mail Tribune, April 17, 1919, page 6 GOOD ROAD WORK
Jackson
County is the cradle of good roads in Oregon, and the network of
highways now existing or under construction owe their success to
efforts of Jackson County and her citizens, who have since 1910 carried
on in the legislature, in the press, and wherever men meet a continual
offensive for improved highways. Multnomah County, containing the city
of Portland, and the commercial heart of the state, alone exceeds in
the amount of money expended for good roads.
The stretches of road between Medford and Central Point, Ashland and Medford, 14 miles, were the first links of the great Pacific Highway laid in the state of Oregon. Paving began in November 1915, and ever since its completion has been a source of delight alike to tourists and home autoists. Building the road over the Siskiyous has brought to the state thousands of people from all parts of the nation and world, whose auto tours heretofore had ended in California. This road construction was made possible by the passing of a half-million-dollar bond issue in 1913, which was contested in the courts, and finally declared constitutional, after a hard fight. The first shovelful of earth on the Pacific Highway was turned by Sam Hill, father of Good Roads in the Northwest. The Siskiyou road, as a section of the Pacific Highway over the mountains between California and Oregon, cost Jackson County over $225,000 for the grade alone. The grade at no place is over six percent. The road passes through a wild country, full of scenic beauties. The building of this section of the Pacific Highway opened the way for Crater Lake, and other southern Oregon wonders, and the fine fishing for steelheads in the Rogue River to become a favorite mecca for vacationists. During the war the energies of Jackson County were devoted wholesouledly to the wining of that epic struggle, but with the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, Good Roads again came into her own, and the reconstruction period finds construction under way again. Hard surfacing of the Pacific Highway throughout Jackson County is now under way by several contractors, and it is hoped to have the work completed this year. This will give 53 miles of hard-surfaced road from the north line of Jackson County to the California line. This is paid for by Jackson County and the state highway commission. Contracts for grading 22 miles of road from Prospect to Crater Lake National Park line are let, and the work is now under way. The road from Prospect to Medford has been adopted by the state and federal government, is being surveyed, and preliminary preparation made for construction in 1920. This road is being built jointly by the federal government, the state highway commission and Jackson County. The Green Springs Mountain road, from Ashland to Klamath Falls, traversing a mountain section rich in scenic wonders, and fishing and hunting grounds, is now being constructed at a cost of about a million dollars. The expenditure is being borne by the state highway commission and the people of Jackson and Klamath counties. It will open for commercial purposes a rich section, and offer another ideal highway for the autoist. From one end of Jackson County to the other the foundation for a network of good roads has been built. All the country roads are in good shape, being built and maintained by the county court. The benefits derived from a business and pleasure standpoint have long since more than justified their building and is reflected in the fact that Jackson County owns more than its per capita of autos. A wave of good roads building is sweeping over the state, and there is hardly a section that has not felt the impetus. Five years ago Jackson County stood almost alone as a champion of this type of civic improvement. The accrued benefits have more than balanced the original outlay. Oregon is a leader in good roads, and the program now under way in this state by the state highway commission calls for an expenditure of $12,842,765.21 during the next 18 months, and the good roads program is still in its infancy in this great state. Three years ago the legislature passed a $5,000,000 good roads bill, and last year another $10,000,000, the principal and interest of which will be paid by auto licenses. This does not include several millions of dollars that will be created by taxes during the next few years for good roads. Medford Mail Tribune, August 12, 1919, page 3B COUNTY ROAD WORK IS NOW IN FULL
SWING
County
road building is now in full swing. A fleet of five trucks, two
120-horsepower Caterpillars belonging to the state, and crews
aggregating 200 men, are operating in various parts of the county. One
hundred miles of county road is being scarified and put in good
condition for travel, including the road from Jacksonville to Central
Point, the Willow Springs road, and the Jacksonville-Phoenix road. The
Medford-Jacksonville road was scarified early in the year.
A large portion of the work is being done by the county in conjunction with the road district and the state. A crew of 15 men are grading the new road from Jacksonville to Ruch, eliminating the Jacksonville hill, which will be made a permanent highway if the proposed half-million bond issue carries. The present work is being done under the market road provision, $40,000 being allotted, $20,000 from the county and road district and $20,000 from the state. Market road construction has also been started from Reese Creek to Butte Falls, which will call for $20,000 divided between the state on one hand, the road district and county on the other. In all there will be $91,000 spent this year in the county on market roads; $4,000 is also being spent on each fork of Lake Creek with aid from the United States Forestry Department and the Rogue River Canal Company. Three contractors now have road crews at work. Schell and Calvert have 100 men in the north part of the county, Oskar Huber has 50 men on the Siskiyou grade and Guebesch has 50 men working on the Ashland-Klamath Falls road. Those people who fear the passage of a $500,000 bond issue will deplete the local labor market fail to realize that there are 200 men at work, who will be available when the present work is completed to do the work planned under the bond issue. If the bond issue fails these men will probably be idle and forced to go where road work is being done. Medford Mail Tribune, May 3, 1920, page 3 The Crater Lake Highway
Which shall it be, the Rogue River route
or the Eagle Point route?The government selected the river route, and I don't know who wants the Eagle Point route besides the people that live on that route and the county court, which I see in the paper is inclined to favor the Eagle Point road. It seems to me that this is another squabble simply and purely like the Rogue River fish controversy. On the one side, the whole of the people and taxpayers and on the other side just a few grabbers. The river route is the most direct, and a continuous scenic panorama as soon as we come to the river. Here we have the natural grade of the river which is very low, only 5 percent, if I remember right. The river route will accommodate just as many people and farms as on the Eagle Point route. On the river route is practically no sticky to go through: I can account for only two acres of it, and the Eagle Point route is over half desolated desert, and the rest is heavy sticky. which is very hard to make a road through. In order to make a solid road in sticky, we have to take away the sticky about three feet deep and replace it with solid material such as rock gravel which will stand up during the rainy weather. It is hard enough to build a good concrete road on free soil, which you will notice by taking a ride over the Pacific Highway from Medford to Phoenix. You will notice a crack an inch wide crooked like a snake's trail, all along through the center of the highway. I just saw it with my own eyes yesterday and saw them repair it. I went as far as Phoenix and I don't think I ever lost sight of that crack in the road. So you see it is hard enough to build a good road even on free soil. My experience is that a sticky road has to be graded and foundationed at least 5 or 6 years before it can be successfully surfaced. As a road foundation on top of sticky or through sticky is bound to settle more or less through every rainy season, only God knows for how long, and squashes the mud or sticky out on both sides from under as long as there is a chance for the water to soak in and the roadbed to settle down. Unless we would go to the expense and make the roadbed about 60 feet wide and make the concrete three feet deep and reinforce it crossways with steel. Otherwise the water will soak in under from both sides and leave a hard and dry streak in the center under the concrete and the concrete roadbed will break over that hard streak just as you break a stick of wood over you knee, and leave a wide gap in the middle of the road, crooked or straight as it might happen as far as the sticky goes. To make it short, to build a road over sticky costs twice as much as over the average free soil and should not be surfaced very soon. I understand if they take the Eagle Point route they are going to put a rock crusher just this side of Eagle Point. There they have to gather up the rocks to quarry them, haul them to the crusher and load them again and haul them out again on the road. If they take the river route, things are decidedly changed. We have the most wonderful natural asset to fall back onto three big mountains of natural crushed shale rock, just the right size and of indisputable quality and quantity. I ascended one of these mountains shout two miles wide and 200 feet high and it is nice crushed rock from bottom to the top. I happened to run onto this big mountain, then met Mr. Hanna who lives close by. He told me there were two more of these mountains of crushed rock. For the last ten years as I have traveled up the river on my fishing excursions, I have always wondered whenever I drove over one of those spots on the road which they had faced with that natural crushed rock, how far they hauled it and where it came from and even stopped my car and got out and examined it and wondered why they didn't fix more with it. Now all we have to do is to install a steam shovel, load it on the trucks and dump it on the road any thickness we desire, as we have enough to build a highway from here to New York. As far as this crushed rock is concerned, it is absolutely durable and good to build concrete roads with as any other road with. This crushed rock has been lying there for many thousands of years, exposed to all elements, rain, cold, sun heat and brush and timber fires. Some of the rocks are burned red in large patches as much as a foot deep that certainly required a tremendous heat and got many thousands of times and frozen and heated again and so on etc., and yet they are just as hard and intact and show no rot. Now if we build a road which the government selected, we will have easy access to that crushed rock and eventually build perhaps most of Jackson County's roads out of that rock, including the Eagle Point road, and I heard a good engineer state that if they would build the river road up to Trail out of that crushed rock first and the Eagle Point road next, and use the same natural crushed rock, it wouldn't cost much more to build both those roads than it would cost to build the Eagle Point road and crush the rock. I know there are not very many taxpayers in Jackson County who know of this natural resource, so I felt it my duty to let you know, through our kind editor, who cheerfully donated this space in his paper for our benefit. PROF. C. ENGELHARDT.
Medford Mail Tribune,
September 21, 1920, page 5"I'll have the pavement all laid from the California line to Ashland this year," predicted Oskar Huber, contractor, who is in town for a few days. Mr. Huber has the last section on the southern end of the Pacific Highway. He is paving over the Siskiyou hump and is working down into the valley toward Ashland. There are 20 miles to be paved. When this section is finished there will be an uninterrupted stretch of hard-surface pavement from the California line to Gold Hill. At present Mr. Huber is hustling to get as much accomplished as possible before the snow begins to fly. Recently he had to shut down his plant because a forest fire in the reserve on the California side burned the poles carrying his power line.--The Oregonian. "Local Briefs," Medford Mail Tribune, September 30, 1920, page 2 Paving is practically at a standstill on the highway here, on account of the weather and lack of water to wash gravel. "Rogue River," Medford Mail Tribune, October 12, 1920, page 5 Only about a month's work is required to complete the stretch of paving the Oskar Huber construction company is building on the Pacific Highway south of Ashland. But this month's work is being sadly hampered by the bad weather of the past week or two. The snow on the mountain at present has compelled activities there to suspend, and the rains in the valley have brought about the same results. This delay, it is stated, will probably throw back the work so that it will be close to the first of the year before the stretch from the city limits to the California state line is completed.--Ashland Tidings. "Local Briefs," Medford Mail Tribune, October 20, 1920, page 2 STATE HIGHWAY ENGINEER
EXPLAINS C. LAKE HIGHWAY
State Highway Engineer Herbert Nunn,
when in Medford today en route to
Crater Lake with Governor Olcott and party, was informed by a
representative of the Mail
Tribune that there had been much criticism
of the new road recently opened between Medford and Agate on the Crater
Lake Highway."That is to be expected," said the state highway engineer, "because the road though new is still rough and the people suppose it will get rougher. But it won't. It will get smoother and more firm, and in a very short time will be as fine a dirt highway as there is in the state. "The cause of this is a new and better system of road building. We used to build dirt or macadam roads as hard as they could be built, watered them down and rolled them and then opened them to traffic. The result was the surface soon rutted out and stayed rutted, and became worse and worse until it had to be resurfaced. "The present system is to put on the surface loose, have no binder and no wetting down and let the traffic pound the road together. After this has been done for a time, then there is a solid foundation, the surface can be smoothed and rolled and there will be a permanently smooth highway or as smooth as a macadam highway can be, with the tremendous motor traffic that now prevails. "We have thousands and thousands of miles of these roads in the state. There is always complaint when the road is first opened; sometimes mass meetings of protest are held. But when the matter is explained the feeling naturally disappears. And when the road develops into a good road there is, as there will be in Jackson County, general satisfaction." Medford Mail Tribune, August 31, 1922, page 5 WHY?
The Rogue River Valley wants an outlet to the sea. That is indicated by
the desire for a road to the coast as shown by Jackson County, and by
the people of this county. It is realized that a good all-year highway
to the coast would result in greater prosperity to this section of the
state through the opening up of the coast market for the produce of the
Rogue Valley.The Redwood Highway will be under contract within a month, but still the road‘from the Applegate to Waldo is in no condition for travel. The county does not want to expend money on the present road if the state intends to go ahead and grade the highway. It has promised to do this, and the commission evidently intends to do it. The question that is entering the mind of the people is when they intend to do it. The state, in cooperation, is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a road to Crater Lake. It is purely a pleasure road that can be used but a few months out of the year. The Redwood Highway is an all-year-round road. The road to the coast is a series of chuckholes. The county will do the best it can to keep the road smooth. Some for commercial purposes, forming one of the trunk line routes of the coast. The road to Crater Lake is important. State aid would be appreciated, for the Redwood Highway is a state highway for interstate travel.--Grants Pass Courier. Del Norte Triplicate, Crescent City, March 28, 1924, page 4 Some Thoughts on Jackson Co.
Roads
Roads lay the foundation for the future of any community. While every
road does not build a city or a highly developed rural district, these
developments cannot succeed without the highway.BY G. A. GARDNER, County Judge. Certain areas in the county give silent testimony to what poor roads, or no roads, mean. Abandoned homes and closed school houses forcefully emphasize that people have abandoned farms and gone to other places where soil was no better--but where the roads are good. Nowadays settlers ask a leading question: "How are the roads?" In 1911 the people voted a bond issue of $1,500,000, which carried by a large majority and while a test case was being carried through the courts the county court of that time, evidently assuming that bonds would be legal, proceeded to construct roads and issued warrants for such construction. The warrants were issued until an indebtedness was incurred to the tune of some $600,000. And then the supreme court decided that the $1,000,000 bond issue was not legal. Thereupon the warrants depreciated until they were selling at 85 percent of face, which gave a temporary jolt to road improvement. In 1913 another bond issue was voted for $500,000 to mature $100,000 in each of the following years: 1923, 1928, 1933, 1938 and 1943, the first series being paid off last November. With this bond issue the Pacific Highway was chiefly graded and about 16 miles of pavement was placed. This work has since been taken over and completed by the state, with the exception of the one section near Gold Hill, where a new bridge is to be constructed. The foregoing gives some idea of the early road movements which really lead the state in a road program, and due credit should be given Judge Dunn, Judge Neil and Judge Tou Velle and their contemporaries for laying the foundation. Additionally, the last five years has seen a very interesting road program carried throughout Jackson County: 1. The Pacific Highway has been paved, overhead crossings provided at the railroad in all cases but one, and the state has assumed the maintenance thereof. There is about 60 miles of this wonderful highway in Jackson County. 2. The Ashland-Klamath Falls Highway, a new project, has been graded and hard-surfaced to the Jackson-Klamath line and by July 1, 1924, will have been completed to Klamath Falls, thus opening up a new market for interchange of products between the two counties and giving a year-round road. The state and federal authorities have cooperated in building this highway to the county line and the state has taken over maintenance. 3. The Crater Lake Highway has been constructed from Medford to the park line, a distance of 69 miles, and almost the whole distance has been macadamized or is under contract. The federal, state and Jackson County authorities have completed this work on a cooperative basis. All the bridges constructed have been permanent concrete in type. Some outstanding spans are over the following streams: Antelope Creek, Hog Creek, Reese Creek, Trail Creek, Elk Creek, Lost Creek, Union Creek and Cascade Gorge. There are also two beautiful bridges over Rogue River, one near Trail and one near Prospect. The state now maintains this highway. The three highways just noted are the only state highways in Jackson County. However, the Applegate or Blue Ledge road has been designated by the state highway commission as a forestry aid road and in a short time will be receiving due attention. Taken together, the state highways and county roads give Jackson County a good system of trunk roads. The county roads receiving the most expenditure during the past five years are as follows: 1. Blue Ledge road, also known as the Medford-Ruch road and as Applegate road. This road forks at Ruch, one leading toward the Blue Ledge mine and the Klamath River; there is required about 15 miles of road to connect this section with the famous Klamath River Highway of California. An arm of this road leads up Little Applegate River into a good range, mineral and timber belt. The right fork, turning at Ruch, leads down Applegate River, being improved as a market road to Provolt at the Jackson-Josephine line. From Provolt a good market road has been constructed by Josephine County to Williams. By following the road for seven miles above Williams, one can get within 10 miles of the Oregon Caves. There is a good trail over the 10 miles, but not accessible to automobiles. The federal engineers have made a survey covering the remainder of the route and at an estimated cost of $118,000 a highway could be completed to connect with the Redwood Highway, which would reduce the distance from Medford about 40 miles. Approximately 1,000 people are served by the Medford-Ruch road, and it taps what is perhaps the greatest undeveloped mineral area in the United States. 2. The Butte Falls road is about 15 miles long leading off the Crater Lake Highway, six miles north of Eagle Point, into one of the finest timber belts in Oregon. This road has all been graded and macadamized except four miles. This is a market road and has been constructed through the cooperation of the road district and the county. 3. Considerable work was done on what is known as the Bybee bridge road to Trail from Central Point. This was at one time the main traveled road to Crater Lake. About 20 miles of this road has been graded and graveled. Leading off this road west from Bybee bridge is the road leading to Sams Valley. Considerable work is now being done on this road, which will be graveled in 1924 and the grading extended into what is known as the Meadows country north of Beagle. When completed this road will tap one of the important but retarded sections of Jackson County. 4. The Dead Indian road leads east from Ashland into an undeveloped section and thence to Lake of the Woods. Part of this road has been made into a market road and some of the grades reduced to a maximum of 10 per cent. This road will soon be completed to the summit and a greater part macadamized. 5. Other roads improved are: Evans Creek to Wimer also leads off to Pleasant Creek; Foots Creek, both right and left forks; Elk Creek road; Peyton road from McLeod bridge on Crater Lake Highway to Peyton on south side of Rogue River. In almost all cases of road improvement in the outlying districts the work on the roads has been made possible by cooperation of the several communities, many of which voted special road levies year after year, in some cases as high as 10 mills. With road construction brought up to its present status, it is natural to took into the future. First, as to the state highways, we can assume that as traffic grows the state will meet the demand for paving the present well-constructed thoroughfares, possibly with county cooperation, if only to protect present grades and macadam. Assuming this, it would seem that a road program covering the next ten years could be worked out without materially increasing the road tax of the county. Ten-Year Road Program.
1. Pave Crater Lake Highway to the park line. This pavement should be a
heavy duty pavement to Prospect, to carry year-round traffic, and a
light pavement from Prospect to the park line to carry summer traffic
to the park and Diamond Lake. This being a state highway to a national
park, the state and government will doubtless pave it.2. The Ashland-Klamath Falls Highway should be paved for heavy duty, as a large market for Jackson County products lies east of the Cascade Mountains and an all-year route should be maintained. This being a federal aid highway, the major portion for pavement will no doubt be available from outside sources. 3. Immediate steps should be taken to connect our system with the Redwood Highway. This can be done by concerted action and should be cooperated in by the federal authorities and Josephine County. Owing to the value of the road, this county should help financially, even if necessary to expend our funds in an adjoining county. 4. One of the most important proposed roads for Southern Oregon, from the taxpayers' standpoint, is the one to be built down Rogue River to the Pacific Coast, which would give us a much needed outlet and hasten the development of a well-equipped harbor which would care for thousands of tons of various products now rotting here, or left undeveloped. When the Rogue River Highway is completed a new era of development can well be expected in Southern Oregon, so this is a project that all can join in to forward. In addition to its value commercially it would also add another wonderful scenic loop for the tourist. It has been suggested that a "super road district" be formed, the territory of which would include the greater part of Southern Oregon, which district could cooperate with the federal and state authorities and prosecute the construction until completed. 5. Owing to the great potential timber and mining value of the Blue Ledge or Applegate road, the same should be completed to the California-Oregon line within the next few years. The forestry department will expend from $25,000,000 to $30,000,000 on this road in 1924. California is likewise contemplating work to connect the road on to Klamath River and when completed will be one of the principal commercial and tourist roads leading into Jackson County. The point of intersection of the Applegate road with Klamath River Highway is about the same distance from Medford as Yreka. The Klamath Highway is one of California's state highways and will be greatly advertised to the tourists, to our great advantage--if we grasp it. 6. The market road system should be developed as funds are available. This fund is furnished jointly with the state on a 50-50 basis and has been the means of getting state cooperation on outlying roads. In many counties the market road fund is being used to pave into the various settled communities. The market road fund, together with other available funds, will be used in Jackson County to develop the many districts more distant from the main floor of the valley so as to provide more satisfactory marketing conditions and naturally cause more people to settle therein. In order that the many rural districts may hold their own and grow, paved roads could and should be constructed as follows: From Central Point to Sams Valley via Bybee bridge; From Gold Hill to Sams Valley; From the town of Rogue River to Wimer; From Eagle Point to Lake Creek; Butte Falls road leading off the Crater Lake Highway to Butte Falls. Other projects could be added as demand for and cooperation in construction becomes evident. With the continued cooperation of the remoter districts there will be a gradual development of agriculture, timber and minerals which will more than compensate for the expense of the road improvements. Along with such development will come better and happier homes, better school and social conditions, all of which tend to make up a better and more contented citizenship. Medford Mail Tribune, April 1, 1924, page 11 MARKET ROAD TO SAMS
VALLEY IS NEAR COMPLETION
GOLD HILL, April 30.--The grading of the Gold Hill-Sams Valley market
road [Highway 234]
is nearing completion, and the ballasting the road with a hard surface
will soon be under way. The original plan of the engineers in charge
was to change the roadway from the hillside above the river to the
lower route following the river closely, but after the final surveys
the upper route was adopted which has been in use since the early
settlement of the country. Just a mile from the Pacific Highway bridge
the market road is within the boundary of the city limits of Gold Hill,
and will cause some radical changes in the contour of Sams Valley
Avenue within the city limits.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 30, 1926, page 5 NEW COUNTY ROAD MAY BE BUILT
The county court yesterday afternoon appointed road viewers to view the
proposed Cobleigh road in the Butte Falls district. The road, if built
as petitioned, would tap a section south of Butte Falls and run
alongside the Cobleigh ranch and the Cobleigh school, and accommodate a
number of homesteaders and forest rangers of that vicinity.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 23, 1927, page B1 What a
Road!
To the Editor:
In the Grants Pass daily sheet I notice they are making sport of you over the road that is anticipated to connect with the Redwood Highway. Now, if Medford really wants to increase her tourist travel 100 percent, she better get herself busy and show the world she is a city that has the spirit of progress in her and not let such a small fry as Grants Pass dictate the terms of progress to her. This route, over the Williams Creek country, will give Medford two-thirds of the travel that goes over the Redwood Highway, and, as is well known, that route, when the Roosevelt Highway is completed, will be the greatest traveled highway in the western country. It will even shorten the distance from Grants Pass to the coast; it will give Medford a water rate on freight--ask your wholesale houses, they are shipping sugar and other goods now to Crescent City, and hauling to Grants Pass, saving money on all of it. In freight, alone, it would pay for the building of the road in five years' time. It would be a scenic route, not difficult to build; will shorten the distance to the ocean from Medford by 40 miles; will put Medford in direct center of every attraction that is in Southern Oregon; will stop all of the trouble between you and Grants Pass, and as the best way to have peace is to thoroughly whip your opponent, and then tell him to be good or he will get another one worse than he did get. As to being a get-together bunch in Southern Oregon--it can't be did, as you well know. As you and Ashland are both hit hard by roads leading away from you, you get "Pop" Gates to put this route on the state highway map, as it once was--as W. H. Gore can tell you--and then get it put through without any delay and you will increase your tourist travel by 100 percent. We have a fine valley, and will have a scenic route to the ocean. Now, we live in Josephine County, but are bottled up here because they don't want to let Medford out. We are willing to do anything to help out in this route. We are, at present, doing a big lot of our business in Medford, and hope to increase it; you have built a fine road up the Applegate River to the county line; let's extend it to where it will pay a dividend to your city. Let's see your crowd come out here and you can see what kind of a country it is. If you will come over, you will never stop till you win out. You have all to gain; you have all that is needed to carry it through, and you have your commissioner. He wants to see the road. He is waiting for you to act. Get busy! W. C.
FIXLEY,
"Communications,"
Medford Mail
Tribune, August 3, 1927, page 4Williams, Ore. KEEP IT "THE OLD STAGE ROAD"
The
county court has officially designated the foothills highway from
Jacksonville north as the "Old Stage Road."
This action was taken in answer to a petition signed by every resident on this beautiful and historic thoroughfare. For some reason, not altogether clear, this highway had become known, in popular parlance, as the "Millionaire Road"--perhaps because along its borders some of the most attractive ranch homes in Southern Oregon have been built. The property owners regarded this appellation with immediate disfavor. They termed it as both inappropriate and in poor taste. But as the title persisted, a movement was started to have it officially blotted out, and the highway returned to its original name, "The Old Stage Road." This has now been done and, needless to say, the people of Jackson County should now designate this thoroughfare by its proper cognomen. Incidentally, it would be an excellent idea to have this highway marked with appropriate signs. It was along its rolling surface that the first settlers to the Rogue River Valley came on the regular stage from Roseburg south to Jacksonville, then the metropolis of Southern Oregon. It is the oldest and most picturesque highway in Southern Oregon. It now has its proper title. Why not let the tourists and the local motorists know about it? Medford Mail Tribune, November
2, 1927, page 5
A Good Idea.
To the Editor:
I read your editorial on the action of the county court in officially designating the California-Oregon stage road as the "Stage Road," and I am glad to know that it has been so officially designated. But there is something additional that should be done by the citizenship of this country to preserve the history of some of the men who were drivers on this "stage road." George Chase was one of the drivers who took the lines at Cole Station in California and piloted the stage coach over the Siskiyou Mountains and as far north as Rock Point, where it was turned over to Nort Eddings, who drove from there to Canyonville. The old stage road crossed Rogue River at Rock Point at the identical spot where the new bridge is, and it seems to me as though this bridge should be named the "George Chase Bridge" and that a bronze tablet should be placed thereon with a little history of the connection that Chase had as a driver of the Oregon-California stage coach. There is also a bridge in the Canyon very close to the place where Nort Eddings, while driving the stage, was held up and the passengers and the mail robbed; this bridge should be called the "Nort Eddings Bridge" and a bronze tablet placed on this bridge with a little history of North Eddings' connection as a driver for the California-Oregon Stage Coach Company. Nort Eddings and George Chase were the last of the old stage drivers; Nort Eddings died two or three years ago; George Chase still lives at Yreka, Cal. and regularly visits Jackson County every time a Jackson County fair is held, and many people here are acquainted with him. As a mark of distinction to these men who piloted these stage coaches over these mountains, this tribute should be paid to them, and the Commercial Club of this city should see to it that something of this character is done. GUS NEWBURY.
"Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, November 4, 1927, page B4Medford, November 4. To the Editor:
In answer to a communication from Gus Newbury in regard to the county court in officially designating the California and Oregon stage road as the Stage Road, it was headed as a good idea. That is all right, I think. He says George Chase drove over the Siskiyous to Rock Point and Nort Eddings took the stage from there to Canyonville. I am the man that took the stage at Rock Point and drove it to Levens station. Galesville was the post office, 40 miles from Rock Point, and George Roberts drove it on to Roseburg to the end of the railroad. The oldest driver on the road then, he drove north, night drive, while a driver we called Colusa Bill drove south to me at 3 o'clock in the morning; then I drove back to Rock Point by noon and Chase drove back to Cole's, while Nort Eddings drove north from Cole's. It took two drivers to each 40 or 50 miles. Ed Calery drove alongside of myself. You see, it took six drivers from Roseburg to Cole's and 100 horses. He said all the old drivers were gone. I was born here close where Medford is now, in 1857, and I have been living ever since, in March 24th. I drowned a six-horse stage team in Cow Creek close to Levens station. The old-timers will remember that. Mr. Newbury says Rock Point bridge is in the same spot where it was then. So it is, and it was a toll bridge then, and so was the Gold Hill bridge. The road over the Siskiyous was a toll road. The stage company paid $600 a year. He says there is another bridge this side of Canyonville where Nort Eddings was robbed and it ought to be called Eddings' bridge. Nort Eddings was robbed on the Siskiyou Mountains about half a mile west of where the DeAutremonts robbed the train, on a steep corduroy pitch. I drove the same team over there a while after he was robbed. I can give more information if necessary. FRED TICE.
"Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, November 12, 1927, page 4Medford, Nov. 11.
One of the important items in the budget is $49,395 for market roads, a
fund which receives state and federal aid. Some of this amount will be
expended on the completion of market roads in the Applegate and Sams
Valley districts, but the bulk of it will be used on the proposed Lake
Creek market road--an outlet residents of that section have been
devoutly hoping for for many years.
The road will serve a cattle and orchard district and afford a highway to Lake o' the Woods district--a recreational spot now in course of development by local and Klamath Falls people. The Lake Creek market road will place the section within a two-hour drive by auto from this city. It has been reported that with the completion of the Lake Creek market road, Klamath County would build a similar road making a loop road, and shortening the distance between Medford and Klamath Falls. "New Highway to Lake Creek," Medford Mail Tribune, December 28, 1927, page 3 WORK UNDER WAY ON BROWNSBORO HIWAY
Work on the Lake Creek market
road, between Eagle Point and Brownsboro, is now under way by Jackson
County and the Forest Service has moved equipment into the Crater
reserve, to start on their portion of the work. It is expected that two
or three miles of the market road will be completed and ready for
travel by the time winter sets in.The road will be standard width and graveled and, according to the county engineer's office, will be as good a road as the Crater Lake Highway. The road will pass close to McAllister Springs and the Lake of the Woods and eventually connect with the Klamath County road, forming a highway loop. Medford Mail Tribune, June 11, 1928, page 3 PETITIONS TO ASK ROAD FROM BYBEE BRIDGE TO HIGHWAY
Residents of the area between Central Point and the crossroads near the
Bybee bridge are circulating petitions asking the county court to
authorize the construction of a bee-line highway between the Bybee
bridge and the Pacific Highway at a point near the C. T. Sweeney gate.
The petitions have been widely signed and will receive the attention of
the county court early in January.
The petitions in effect request that the present Biddle road be straightened and the new road tap a large section of Bear Creek bottom land. The petitions set forth that at present they have to journey via Central Point and that the new road would cut between two and one-half and three miles from their travels and shorten the distance to this city that much. Figures will be presented to the county court to show that between 5000 and 6000 tons per annum would pass over the road and that there would be about the same number of hauls of hay, dairy products and fruit. They further claim that this tonnage would be increased with the construction of the new road as asked. If the county court approved the plan it would mean the erection of a new bridge across Bear Creek, and the usual delay in the securing of a right of way, some of it by condemnation proceedings more than likely. The bridge over Bear Creek at Central Point is close to the condemnation point. As soon as the petitions have been presented to the county court the county engineer will be instructed to report on the practicability and feasibility of the proposed road and the number of people it would serve and the probable cost of construction. Medford Mail Tribune, December 21, 1928, page 7
ROSS LANE SURFACED BY COUNTY WORKMEN
A force of county workmen are placing decayed granite upon Ross Lane
and have completed two-thirds of the distance from the junction with
the Central Point-Jacksonville road to the Southern Pacific tracks in
this city. The decayed granite makes a firm surface, and in summer is
not as dusty as the regulation dirt road. The granite is hauled from
the hills back of the Ben Harder place. The road is used extensively by
logging trucks in the summertime, and had become badly rutted by the
heavy traffic.County Engineer Rynning expects to start on the road program for the year about March 1. During the winter, the men and machinery are being used in improving and maintaining the well-traveled roads of the valley. The state highway workers during the past fortnight have repatched a number of holes in the surface of the Crater Lake Highway between this city and Eagle Point. Medford Mail Tribune, January 14, 1929, page 3  Medford street crew, probably on the 500 block of South Grape, circa 1925. THREE MUD HOLES OF COUNTY BRING
PIONEER MEMORY
The county court was informed this morning that there are a trio of mud
holes in Jackson County, which need fixing right away.
This caused County Commissioner George Alford to recall that he remembered when there were more mud holes than that on the main street of Medford, and the head of navigation to the westward was approximately where the Washington School now stands. Commissioner Alford said that there was a mud hole of considerable dimensions in front of where the Monarch Seed and Feed store is now located, and another opposite Charlie Strang's drug store. Commissioner Bursell corroborated his fellow official and declared these two were the best mud holes he had ever encountered or expected to. The mud hole adjacent to the Washington School, however, was a cousin to the Pacific Ocean, having breadth and depth. One spring a steer walked into the same and was never seen again. The modern mud holes called to the attention of the county court are puddles. One is located near the north city limits, another to the south, and the third on the north side of Rogue River between Grants Pass and Rogue River. "The Rogue River mud hole is terrible, by what I hear," said Commissioner Alford. "Some morning when it is frozen over we will go down and try to get across. They tell me it takes a long step to get across." Commissioner Alford harbors a supreme contempt for modern mud holes, and was aghast to learn that there were three in the county. He said that a census 20 years ago would have revealed at least 3000, and "everybody took them as they came." The three mud holes will be obliterated as soon as they can be filled up with gravel, the county court decided. The county court is desirous of eradicating the Rogue River mud hole at once, as reinforcing of the bridge at Rogue River will start soon, and travel to the Pacific Highway from the town of Rogue River will be suspended while the repairs are under way. Citizens of Rogue River recently requested that the road to Grants Pass (the Old Stage Road) be repaired. It gives the residence of that district a shorter outlet to Grants Pass and also enables them to avoid the traffic on the Pacific Highway. Medford Mail Tribune, February
13, 1929, page 5
Ben C. Sheldon Details History of
Efforts for Highway SystemEXTENSIVE WORK ON COUNTY ROADS STARTS APRIL 1ST
Medford Mail Tribune, March 4, 1929, page 10
Tho road program for the coming season in this county, as far as
general road work is concerned, is still under consideration by the
county court, but under special levies and market roads there will be
extensive activity. The county court expects to make the second of its
tours of inspection of county roads this week.
All of the market road construction and practically all of the special levy roads will be built in the eastern section of the county. Tho market roads are the Lake Creek market road, upon which approximately $5,000 will be expended, and the Dead Indian market road, upon which practically $30,000 will be spent. Both these roads when completed will furnish routes to Lake of the Woods. The Butte Falls district has voted about $15,000 in special levies. The money will be used in the completion of the 26-mile road to Prospect, and the building of a road to the logging operations of the Owen-Oregon lumber camps. The Prospect district has voted about $20,000 for road work, all leading into the Crater Lake Highway. They will be all-year roads, and besides proving beneficial to residents of the districts, will open up new recreational country. The Eagle Point district has voted $5000 for the improvement of the road on the south fork of Little Butte Creek. Residents of the Rogue River district have petitioned the county court for the elimination of two railroad crossings on a main road of that section. If right of way can be obtained the petition will be granted. It involves the construction of about a mile of new road. County Engineer Paul Rynning said today that he expects the special levy road work to be in full swing by April 1. No definite program will be adopted for the general road fund until the matter of the Midway highway is decided. The petition for this road will have the first reading at the session of the county court Wednesday. COMPLETION OF ROAD PROJECTS IN NEAR FUTURE
County Program Includes New Arteries and Surfacing Established Routes--Bear Creek Bridge Span Is Delayed.
Major projects of the
1929 road program of Jackson County are nearing completion, according
to County Engineer Paul Rynning.The Medford-Sams Valley highway grading has been finished, and will be opened for traffic September 30. The grading has been completed. Delay in the arrival of a steel span for the bridge across Bear Creek prevents the opening of the highway at the start of the fruit hauling season. The road furnishes an outlet for the Sams Valley country into the heart of this city. The grading and surfacing of Lake Creek market road has been completed to the Charles Terrill ranch. The Forest Service is now working on the road between Fish Lake and Lake of the Woods, and expects to have that unit ready for travel by the end of the season. County Engineer Rynning will put on a surveying crew September 1st, to establish a route between the old Medford city water intake and Fish Lake, the road providing a route to the recreational areas of Jackson County, and a loop road to connect eventually with the Klamath County market road, and the Ashland-Klamath Falls highway will be ready for travel early in 1930. A crusher has been installed near Central Point for the surfacing of the Sams Valley-Medford highway. They will also gravel a half mile section of "sticky" on the Biddle road. The work of grading the Dead Indian road between the Pacific Highway and the Shale Oil road has started. A county crusher has been set up for the graveling of the road. Gravel Elk Creek Road
The graveling of the Elk Creek road above Rogue Elk has been completed
and will provide an all-year route for that district. The road is four
miles long.A rock crusher was moved this week to the Eagle Point district, for the graveling of half a dozen roads in that vicinity, constructed under a special tax levy by the districts. The work on these roads will be completed before the fall rains. The grading of the road between Butte Falls and Prospect has been completed, and the work of graveling will start soon. This road will eventually provide a cutoff between Lake of the Woods and the Crater Lake Highway for autoists desiring to go to Crater Lake or Diamond Lake. In this district, a road is now being graded to the Owen-Oregon lumber camp and across Big Butte towards the Conley ranch. The two roads will furnish outlets for school children and timber workers to Butte Falls. The grading of the Cameron Loop road in the Applegate has been finished, and the bridge will be finished in ten days, when the road will be opened to traffic. The road furnishes a way to the swimming holes along the Applegate, and provides a creamery route for 25 dairy herds. The reconstruction of the bridge across Rogue River at the town of Rogue River has been finished, and the span is now open to travel. A crew has been dispatched to reconstruct the bridge across Little Butte Creek, on the road leading to the Elks picnic grounds, and it will be finished in ample time for the county picnic next month. Medford
Mail Tribune, August 20, 1929, page 6
by County and Chamber of Commerce
Medford,
Oregon,
To the Highway Committee of the Medford Chamber of Commerce:Sept. 7, 1929 
Gentlemen: This letter is in answer to
your query
regarding the early history of the activities of Jackson County and the
Medford Chamber of Commerce in the development of the highway system in
southern Oregon. I am dictating entirely from memory and hurriedly, and
apologize in advance for this rather rough and rambling series of notes
covering my recollections of those highway development activities of
which I had personal knowledge.My mind divides this subject into three natural subdivisions--first, the activities which antedated the development of the state highway program; a second, those which were a part of the state highway program, and third, those which were apart from and some of them subsequent to the state highway system's development. The one outstanding fact, as my mind goes back over this twenty years' campaign through which Jackson County has undertaken to develop her highways, is the fact that our people have always recognized the value of the tourist traffic and realized and kept constantly in mind the fact that the tourist does not come to a point and turn around and go back, but that he will visit a point or a district on a "loop" or roundabout tour. I would say that this attitude has characterized practically all of Jackson County's activities along road building lines. In 1915 the county court of Jackson County sent me to the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco as one of the two Jackson County representatives in the Oregon building. One of the instructions I received from the county court, delivered to me personally by County Judge Tou Velle and County Commissioner Frank Madden, was that I should prepare some magazine articles descriptive of the auto tour from San Francisco to Jackson County and return, making one leg of the trip by way of Sacramento Valley and the other leg by way of the Redwood Highway through Ukiah, Eureka and Crescent City. I refer to this as indicating the early attitude of our people in realizing that a development of the tourist travel into this section involved advertising the attractions all along the route and holding out to the autoist the fact that he could find splendid attractions and varying scenic wonders and beauties from the time he left his California home until he returned. I do not need to remind any of the old-time residents of Medford that this county was the first in the state to lay a modern hard-surface highway outside of the city limits, and as a part of a larger state system. The section of the Pacific Highway from Central Point to Ashland, and the grading and paving of a new road over the Siskiyous, both done by Jackson County, was the beginning of Oregon's splendid state highway system. My mind goes next to the effort made by the Medford Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of Judge William Colvig, Dr. J. F. Reddy and George Putnam, to secure a good road to Crater Lake. As a part of that program we earnestly advocated and supported the building of a road to the Oregon Caves. I remember one meeting at the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce at which the principal speaker was Judge Colvig, then president of the Medford Chamber of Commerce, his splendid speech being followed by brief talks by our Jackson County road engineer, Mr. Harmon, and myself, all to the point that Jackson County was making a bid for the automobile tourist, by improving a road to Crater Lake, and that we needed and wanted other neighboring attractions opened up and made available by good road building to help bring the tourists to this section. The most active good road enthusiast in Oregon in those days was Sam Hill of Maryhill, Washington. I have a vivid recollection of a trip made by about six automobile loads of Medford enthusiasts up through central Oregon to the Columbia River, and to Mr. Hill's home in Maryhill where we picked up a distinguished party, including Governor West, Mr. Lancaster, the engineer who built the Columbia River Highway, Mr. Thompson, city engineer of Seattle, and Sam Hill and others. We returned through Central Oregon, stopping at four or five of those towns to enable our party to conduct good road booster meetings, and ending with a monster meeting at Medford. The result of that trip was the giving of assistance to our Crater Lake road by a crew of prison convicts at the direction of Governor West. While a member of the legislature, and listening to the debates of our good road measures, I heard more than one echo and reference to that expedition, fostered by the Medford Chamber of Commerce, from the lips of central Oregon legislators. It helped to make all that district "Good Road Minded." I now come to the time when I became a member of the board of directors of the Medford Chamber of Commerce. The activities of the chamber along good road matters were mapped out largely under the direction of Harry A. Walther. I never heard a suggestion made at any board meeting of the Medford Chamber of Commerce during the four or five years that I was a member that did not have as its cardinal principle that to bring the tourists to Medford and Crater Lake we must have good roads coming into this section from every direction. My active interest in the development of this general road plan extended over three administrations of the Medford Chamber of Commerce, during which years H. A. Walther, Vernon Vawter and I were successively the president of the Chamber of Commerce, my year being the middle one of the three. I can state as a positive fact that at no time during these three years was there ever a deviation or a wandering away from this general outline of what Jackson County needed to properly develop the tourist traffic. We talked the problem as one involving laying out such a road system as would permit and attract the tourist to come into our section by one route and return by another. We envisioned the Portland, Seattle and Tacoma vacationists autoing down the Pacific Highway, through Roseburg, Grants Pass to Medford and returning by either the Dead Indian Road, Klamath falls, thence north to The Dalles-California Highway to the Columbia River Highway or by way of Crater Lake, Diamond Lake, Mt. Thielsen and the east side of the Cascades road to Bend, Redmond and The Dalles. And likewise we envisioned the thousands of California vacationers coming north through the redwoods to Crescent City, thence to the Oregon Caves and Crater Lake, returning by Klamath Falls, Weed, Redding and the Sacramento Valley. I can state positively that during the years when I was familiar with the program of the Jackson County road building enthusiasts, supporters and workers, we never lost sight of that program as our real objective, and I confidently believe that such a general plan is in the minds of our people at this time. Jackson County gave loyal support to the development of our state highway program, struggling valiantly against those few and unsuccessful efforts to involve the program in unfair contracting methods and giving loyal support to such highway commissioners as Mr. R. A. Booth, Mr. Kiddle and Mr. Yoon, who did the state such a signal service in developing over a one-hundred-million-dollar road program, and keeping it clean and economical. I remember one circumstance during my first session at the legislature, where the state program had its real beginning, which illustrates Medford's attitude toward her neighbors. Umpqua County has always presented a turbulent condition respecting road building because of the many diverse interests of her several communities. When the bill laying out the state highway system was before a committee of the legislature the proposition was made that the Pacific Highway should be routed over the Umpqua Divide and down Trail Creek to meet the Crater Lake Highway at Trail. To Mr. W. H. Gore, more than any one individual, belongs the credit of defeating that proposal, and he did it openly, avowedly, and in the spirit of insisting that Grants Pass was entitled to have the Pacific Highway routed through that city even though it might mean a considerably longer route. I was sent to three sessions of the State Highway Commission by the county court of Jackson County to present and urge some of our local road development measures. On two of those trips I was accompanied by County Judge George Gardner, and on one I went alone. I well remember that at one of these sessions held in a court room of the Multnomah County Courthouse at Portland we had to again meet and defeat an Umpqua County proposal routing a road over the Umpqua Divide to the head of Trail Creek. I need not remind you that these fights put up by Jackson County have as a result the routing of our Crater Lake travel coming from the north through Grants Pass and Josephine County. My mind goes back to the time when our Medford Chamber of Commerce undertook to organize what we named "The Southern Oregon Natural Attraction League." The plan originated in our Medford chamber either the year of Mr. Walter's presidency or the following year. I proposed that the four cities of Klamath Falls, Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass should advertise this district jointly, and as a whole, rather than to advertise our individual cities alone. The first proposal along that line was made by a delegate of the Medford chamber visiting Klamath Falls, where a most enthusiastic meeting was held and our plan was presented by Mr. Gore and myself. Mr. Hall, the Klamath Falls hotel man, was president of that chamber at the time, and through his active interest the Klamath Falls Chamber of Commerce unqualifiedly endorsed the plan. Our chamber secured through the state highway engineer's office the preparation of the plates for a three-color map of this section. The southern border of the map showed northern California, including Crescent City to the southwest, and the Modoc Lava Beds to the southeast. The eastern border of the map was some twenty or thirty miles eastward from Klamath Falls. The northern border skirted northward to Diamond Lake and Mt. Thielsen; the west border was just west of our coastline. Our chamber also secured from the Southern Pacific railroad company very handsome photographic plates showing views of the Oregon Caves, Crater Lake, Klamath Lake, and our forest roads. These were sent from Portland to the Southern Pacific representative at Medford to be used by us in the preparation of a splendid three-color folder to show this map above mentioned and several photographic views. Our plan was to prepare the map as one order of 50,000 or 100,000 copies, and have them bought and distributed by the four cities of Ashland, Grants Pass, Klamath Falls and Medford. The matter was presented to the Ashland Chamber of Commerce at a meeting of their board, and unqualifiedly endorsed. When this program was presented, with proofs of the map plates, to the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce we were advised that the advertising allowance of their chamber had been allotted to other purposes, one of them being a very neat and attractive little map with Grants Pass in the center, prepared by Jack Harvey, secretary of the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce. In this plan for the Southern Oregon Natural Attraction League, initiated and pushed by the Medford Chamber of Commerce, can be seen clearly the breadth of our Medford plan for road development. I wish I had a proof of those map plates prepared in the state engineer's office at Salem; they would show better than any printed word that the plan of the Medford good roads development extended north of Diamond Lake, south and east of Klamath Falls, as far southwesterly as Crescent City, and included all the main highways in that entire territory. No person conversant with the 15- or 20-year record of our Medford efforts toward the development of highways in southern Oregon can successfully deny my unqualified statement that that effort has, during all that time, been consistently and intelligently directed toward the upbuilding of all the highways leading into Jackson County from every direction and that they had as its fundamental the entirely selfish thought that only by developing the highways leading to Jackson County through all our surrounding counties could we expect, or would we receive, our share of the rapidly growing tourist travel, the value of which is just beginning to be thoroughly felt and appreciated. BEN C. SHELDON. Medford Mail Tribune, serialized September 16 through 19, 1929 GOOD PROGRESS IN SURVEY OF ROAD PROJECTS
Complete Midway by November 1, Says Rynning--Cutoff Route Outlined to Grayback Creek--Bridge Steel Due Soon.
Preliminary surveys for two major road projects of Jackson County are
now under way, and one--the Sams Valley-Medford (Midway) highway--will
be completed in its entirety, not later than November oo, according to
County Engineer Paul Rynning.
The joint surveys of the state highway commission, Jackson County, the city of Medford and Williams Creek property owners of the proposed Williams Creek cutoff road to the Redwood Highway has been completed to the Williams Creek summit, and is proceeding down Grayback Creek. A crew of surveyors from the county engineers are working on the survey from the old city water intake on the Lake Creek market road to Fish Lake, and the Forest Service has conducted a preliminary survey past Lake of the Woods into Klamath County. This market road will eventually be a loop route from this city, connecting with the Ashland-Klamath Falls highway, providing a recreational and agricultural outlet for all Southern Oregon. A telegram was received by the county court yesterday from the Pacific Iron Works of Portland, stating that the steel for the construction of the Midway highway bridge across Bear Creek would be on the ground between October 1 and October 5. Graveling machinery will be erected next Tuesday for the spreading of gravel over the road, which is now being used for the hauling of fruit, etc. A temporary bridge over Bear Creek has been built. The approaches to the permanent bridge have been completed. The city is laying the pipe for the water main to the airport along this road. The Midway highway will provide residents of north central Jackson County with a direct route to the heart of this city. and will end the "bottling" of the Sams Valley district. The highway was a heavy drain on the road funds of the county, as provided in the 1929 budget. The fund is low, but has not been exhausted. The county court, shortly after the return of County Judge Sparrow from a vacation trip to Yellowstone park, will start consideration of its road program for 1930, which will embrace a recreational road program for Jackson County. Medford Mail Tribune, September 20, 1929, page 1 ROAD OILING TO CUT EXPENSE OF COUNTY HIGHWAYS
County Court Plans Extensive Tests of Method to Reduce Maintenance--Ruch-Jacksonville Unit Is First to Get Oil.
An extensive road oiling campaign will be carried on in Jackson County
the coming year, the county court announces, and to that end has placed
on the 1930budget $24,000 for the purchase of an oiling machine and other road maintenance machinery. The county court and county engineer plan a trip to upstate counties using oil on highways to study the problem at close hand. The oiler will be put in operation as soon as weather conditions permit in the spring. It is indicated by the county court that the chief road operation of the coming year will be centered in oiling. Other major road work includes work on the Lake Creek highway and the Dead Indian road. The county court is also cooperating with the city of Ashland in the securing of a market road in the southern end of the county, traversing the county between the end of Mountain View Avenue and the Dead Indian road. The Emigrant Creek road petitioned for last week is also scheduled for a preliminary survey and possible construction. Ruch Unit First.
The Ruch-Jacksonville highway, on the Jacksonville hill unit, will
probably be the first stretch of road to receive oiling. It is
subjected to particularly heavy truck and pleasure car travel in the
pleasant months, and is now rutted and ragged. It will have to be
resurfaced to be put in condition for oiling. After the oiling, if it
stands up under the severe traffic, oiling will be judged an
unqualified success.It is also likely that the new Medford-Sams Valley highway (Midway highway) will be oiled. This road, during the fruit season, will bear a heavy flow of trucks and a large portion of the airport travel, besides the run of travel from the mid-central portion of the valley. The oiler will also be used on rural roads, with many homes, and this will be a joy to housewives, who are always combating the dust. Maintenance Problem.
The floor of the valley is now well lined with roads, and the court
feels that the problem of the future is to keep them maintained, now a
heavy expense. In other sections where road oiling is followed it has
cut down the maintenance cost, and the annual budget makes provisions
for purchase of oils. Lack of funds the coming year will limit the
oiling activities, but it is planned in future years to make provisions
so that the entire road system can be oiled regularly.As soon as the present storm subsides, the county engineer will send out the surfacers to smooth out the chief rural roads of the Medford district. This work to date has been held back by the dry condition of the roads. Medford
Mail Tribune, December 9, 1929, page 6
GREENSPRINGS ROAD IN DANGEROUS CONDITION
"The Ashland-Klamath Falls highway through the Greensprings Mountain
section is in a dangerous condition, according to local men who crossed
over the mountain highway last night after the all-day rain," says the Ashland Tidings.
"The construction work on the highway is only partially done and there is a considerable distance where travel is made over clay bottom--a good, hard but dusty surface in the summertime and a slippery, dangerous, sticky mud in the winter season. "Local men said there were three cars in the ditch along the stretch of muddy highway and they found their car crossways in the road several times in spite of careful driving. Unless they get a crushed stone or gravel surface on that new road within a short time the highway will be impassable, one man remarked." Medford Mail Tribune, December 11, 1929, page B1
BIDS LET ON JENNY CREEK ROAD WORK
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 27--(AP)--Highway and bridge bids amounting to more than
$1,084,383, the largest letting of the year and the most extensive
because of its spread throughout the state, were opened here today by
the Oregon State Highway Commission. A total of 13 projects constituted
the business, which required the entire morning session.The Newport Construction Company bid a low of $169,650 for the Jenny Creek-Keno Springs highway widening and resurfacing in Jackson and Klamath counties. The Klamath Falls oiling project and construction of 46 miles of bituminous macadam wearing surface in the vicinity of Klamath Falls probably will be awarded J. C. Compton of McMinnville, whose bid of $130,142 was low out of more than a dozen bids. Klamath County: Bridge over Klamath River on the Green Springs highway at Keno, Whitman and Company, $52,070. Medford Mail Tribune, February 27, 1930, page 1
Rynning Gives Shriners Details of Jackson County Road System--Among Most Efficient in State.
In excess of 1200 miles of roads comprise the road
system of Jackson County. This amazing fact was brought out in an
address by Paul B. Rynning, county engineer, in an address today before
the members of the Shrine Luncheon Club at the Hotel Medford. Of this
total over 350 miles of Jackson County roads are graveled and surfaced,
suitable for year-round travel under all weather conditions."Few people in this county really realize the immense amount of money extended on county roads and the extent of the work which is annually projected by the county road department," Mr. Rynning said, citing figures on the accomplishments of his department during the past year. Nearly 27 miles of new grading on standard alignment and grades were made: 1.2 miles of betterment, such as widening curves, substitution of earth fills for bridges, etc., were undertaken; 29.5 miles of new surfacing completed and 8.7 miles of road resurfaced. The gigantic total of 74,438 cubic yards of materials were used in the surfacing and resurfacing, according to Mr. Rynning. A total of 390,000 feet of lumber was used during 1929, of which 170,000 was for maintenance and 220,000 feet for construction. Jackson County's system of road building and maintenance is considered one of the most efficient among the counties of Oregon, and the courts of many surrounding counties have investigated the efficient engineering methods of this county and used them as patterns for their road-building activities. The cost of engineering in this county is surprisingly low, according to the figures presented by Paul Rynning. For both general roads and special roads, the engineering cost last year was only 3.24 percent. The cost of market road engineering and supervision was 5.25 percent, the increase due to preliminary surveys on the Little Butte Creek market road. The average cost of engineering, including supervision and office, for all road work in the county was 3.83 percent, according to Mr. Rynning's report. The general road expense in Jackson County last year totaled $182,208.72 while the market road expense was $102,176.99. Special levies totaled $60,402.69, which brings the summary of expenditures to the surprising total of $344,788.40. Jackson County road equipment and supplies inventory a $94,017 was another fact brought out in County Engineer Rynning's talk before the Medford Shriners. Mr. Rynning paid a special tribute to the efficiency of County Judge Sparrow and the county commissioners and said that their cooperation made it possible for the engineering department to show such a record of accomplishment and economy that the eyes of other county administrations in Oregon and Northern California are upon Jackson County's road department. Medford Mail Tribune, March 7, 1930, page 4
$1,000,000 ROAD PLANS FOR COUNTY
Outlines of an ambitious highway improvement program
for Oregon, including the straightening out of the Pacific Highway
north from the California line, were given this noon at the Kiwanis
luncheon by C. E. Gates, state highway commissioner. A survey has been
underway for two months in the Siskiyou Mountains and new construction
work that will entail an approximate expenditure of over a million
dollars is slated to begin before the end of the year.Gates Outlines Improvement Program of State Highway at Kiwanis Meet--Siskiyou Straightening and Widening Included. By the first of April operations are expected to be underway for widening the highway south of Medford, and contracts have been let. Similar work will be done north of Medford, where the state highway commission is contemplating a change in the route from Medford to Central Point, the right-of-way going a straight line from a point near the Owen-Oregon mill to the J. C. Love corner in the Central Point city limits, eliminating five curves. However, this action is still under contemplation. Survey Completed
The Siskiyou survey has been completed to the summit
of the mountains and is making provisions for one of the finest pieces
of road on the Pacific Coast. It will be 40 feet wide and will be
constructed in such a manner as to eliminate many of the present
dangerous curves.The improvement work will be done in keeping with the general agreement that the Pacific Highway will continue to be the main artery of travel through the state, and it will cover a period of at least two years before it is completed. The speaker reviewed other improvement work in the state and told of improvements that have been completed in Klamath County and on the Greenspring Mountain road, the official name of which was formerly the Ashland-Klamath Falls highway. The name was changed because of the number of tourists taking this road in the belief they would find Ashland on it instead of going on the Pacific Highway. Oil Roads Favored
Mr. Gates is a firm believer in oiled roads, in view
of the needs of the future. Oiled roads can be constructed at from
three to four thousand dollars per mile, while concrete presents an
expense of $50,000 per mile. If, due to other conditions in motor
travel, long stretches of hard-surfaced roads must be abandoned, the
disuse of oiled roads will incur a much smaller expense. The future
presents a serious problem in connection with airplane development and
further improvements in motor travel, he said.Straight roads are necessary for safety's sake, and motorists are more interested in speed than in scenery, Mr. Gates told his listeners. In keeping with that condition, the highway commission is doing all it can to straighten roads and build them straight when new ones are constructed. Today's Kiwanis meeting was well attended and the business of the session included a resolution of condolence to the family of John J. Buchter, whose funeral was held this afternoon. He was an active Kiwanis member and tribute was paid to him by a fellow club member, Jack Thompson, who had known him for the past 17 years. Medford Mail Tribune, March 10, 1930, page 1
C. COURT ASKED IMPROVE ROAD STERLING MINE
The Medford Water Power and Development Company,
represented by Harry Hutton and Fred J. Blakeley, appeared before the
county court today and asked that the road from Buncom to Sterling be
placed in shape for smooth auto travel, as it is now badly rutted and
in dire need of being ironed out. Mr. Blakeley explained that a number
of backers--coast and eastern--of the project were due in the
city shortly, and he did not care to jolt them by a trip over the
present route. It was also explained that the road was used for mail
and general traffic. The county court assured the delegation that the
road would be fixed at once.Ditch Line from Squaw Lake To Be Enlarged by Expenditure of $600,000 Is Report. It was explained to the county court that plans were now near consummation for the expenditure of about $600,000 in the construction of the ditch line from the Squaw Lakes to the Sterling mine and carrying water for irrigation into the Griffin Creek district and that section lying along the Jacksonville foothills, and as far north as Gold Hill, land nominally embraced in the Rogue River Valley Irrigation District, but which is open to enlargement and has not sufficient water to satisfy the demand expected. Water for Mining
The Medford Water Power and Development Company was
first broached last summer and has been in course of formation since.
the major portion of the ditch line from Squaw Lake to Sterling was
surveyed last fall. One of the main objects of the company is to
hydraulic the upper levels of the Sterling mine and adjacent ground,
thought to be rich in gold, but left idle because of lack of water and
mining facilities.The Sterling mine is now in full blast and making a "better than usual showing." A prospectus has been issued recently by the Medford Water Power and Development Company. It is capitalized at $1,750,000, and announces as its purpose the supplying of water for irrigation, municipalities and domestic use, to generate power and sell the same. A map is printed showing the district from Squaw Lake to Gold Hill and east to Eagle Point, showing that 50,000 acres are available for irrigation. Testimonials of Pacific Coast engineers attesting to the feasibility of the project, and letters from the four banks of Medford stating the value and need of irrigation are printed. Views of Squaw Lakes, the valley, orchards, and the general country are shown. The prospectus stresses the fact that "water is king in the Rogue River Valley," for land and mine development. It is a plain, conservative, businesslike statement of facts without any "boom literature" embellishments. Medford Mail Tribune, March 12, 1930, page 3
ROCK CRUSHERS INSTALLED FOR COUNTY ROADS
Rock crushers are being set up this week by the
county engineer's road crews in the Table Rock and Jacksonville
districts preparatory to graveling and surfacing the dirt stretch of
the Jacksonville-Ruch highway and the Table Rock market road, formerly
known as the Midway highway, and the Medford-Sams Valley highway. When
the initial work is completed, the two roads will be oiled.Jacksonville-Ruch and Table Rock Market Routes Will Be Given Gravel Surface, Oiled. The oiler has been ordered from the Spears-Wells Machinery Works of Oakland, Calif., and will be delivered in about three weeks. A gasoline roller, part of the road oiling equipment, arrived yesterday and awaits unloading. As soon as the oiler arrives it will be placed in service, and the county court expects to use it extensively on county roads where the dust flies thickest. On the Lake Creek market road, work will start as soon as weather conditions permit. The right of way has been secured and approved by the state highway commission through the L. C. Charley place. Work B.F. Road
A brush crew has started work on the Butte
Falls-Prospect road and it is expected that the road will be completed
this season as far as the John Allen ranch. The road runs through heavy
timber. The construction mapped out for this summer is not as heavy as
that encountered in previous years.A crew is employed grading and repairing the Laurelhurst road from the McLeod bridge to the Peyton ranch. Road machinery the past week has been used in scraping the roads on the floor of the valley. Operations in the Ashland district will start as soon as the ground dries. The main work will be on the Dead Indian road, and it is difficult for heavy machinery to be moved and set up on the "black adobe soil." Other projects in that area include the fixing of a location for the bridge across Bear Creek, and a survey of a road down Emigrant Creek. Medford Mail Tribune, March 24, 1930, page 1
HIGHWAY OILING WORK IN COUNTY STARTING SOON
Upon receipt of two cars of light oil from the state
highway commission, oiling of the Pacific Highway detour, now in use,
will be started by Jackson County.Detour for South Route Comes First--Ruch Road Will Get Heavy Coat--Table Rock Next. The new county road oiler, recently received from the factory, will be placed in service and the detour oiling will be the first work of the machine. Approximately 3600 autos pass over the detour daily, and the oiling will act as a dust palliative. Graders are now at work on Kings Highway. It is expected that the oiling will start Monday or Tuesday. The oiler will be taken next week to the unpaved section of the Ruch-Jacksonville highway where it will distribute heavy service oil. This road is now being made ready for the oil application, and ready for the start of heavy summer traffic. The oiler is next scheduled for use on the Table Rock highway (Sams Valley), and it is expected it will take three weeks to give this route a thorough oiling. The new oiler is of the modern type, and one of the few in the state in operation. It was purchased by the county court and with other equipment and oil will cost approximately $25,000. Road oiling has been extensively used in California, where it proved highly satisfactory. The county court figures that it will cut down the repair costs, almost constant during the summer, and furnish a better road and one that will stand up without rutting under heavy traffic. Medford Mail Tribune, April 18, 1930, page 5
PRISONERS WILL AID IN CLEANUP COUNTY ROADS
Mabel C. Mack, county home demonstration agent,
appeared before the county court this morning, in regular session
assembled, and requested that prisoners in the county jail be detailed
to clean up tin cans, kittens and other debris scattered along the
county roads by citizens combining an auto ride with private disposal
of garbage.County Demonstration Agent Asks Court to Cooperate in Cleansing Day Campaign. The county judge assured the demonstration agent "that the county court is in hearty sympathy with the movement and will detail prisoners to the work as soon as arrangements can be made." Saturday is State Highway State Cleanup Day, sponsored by the Oregon Garden Club, assisted by the Boy Scouts. The home economics committee of the home demonstration agent's office will meet this afternoon in the public library to discuss plans. It was reported to the county court that the distribution of the garbage was widespread, with complaints from the Applegate, Jacksonville and Eagle Point districts. The county court has the license numbers of vehicles of several autos, the owners of which will be asked to explain why they dumped refuse along the roads when they thought nobody was watching. The court reported that several thus apprehended "had cleaned up their own mess on both sides of the road." The home demonstration agent said that women residing in the country were anxious for removal of unsightly piles and favored a strict curb on the annual spring practice. The county court also transacted a mass of routine business and signed a number of bills. The county engineer reported that the work of oiling the Pacific Highway detour would be started as soon as the ground dries. Oil for the purpose is now on the sidetrack and the state highway commission is paying $5 per day demurrage. Medford Mail Tribune, April 30, 1930, page 1 Country Folks Wax Indignant as Towners Dump Debris on Highways
Pack up your trash in your old kit bag, if you wish--but don't bring it
to the country was the sentiment expressed by representatives from
Applegate, Coleman Creek, Eagle Point, Central Point, Oak Grove,
Phoenix and Jacksonville, who gathered at the city library yesterday
afternoon for what might well be termed an "indignation meeting." It
was in reality a preliminary to the observance of Highway Cleanup Day
and called by Mrs. Leland Mentzer, president of the Medford Garden
Club, which will sponsor the campaign in this valley.
The country folks don't want the city folks making tin-pan alleys of their drives, and they're going to stop the practice, the delegation declared. Discarded magazines, lingerie and cooking utensils will have to find another place to repose, for roads will no longer be dotted with a stew pan here and a teakettle there when the campaign is on. The county has no dumping ground, the women lament, and the city garbage dump is quite remote for some. But a place must be found. "It is too ridiculous," one declared, "to stick 'This Is a Great Country' up on a pole over a pile of junk, which all the poppies and lupine in the valley fail to hide." The women do not plan to handle the situation alone. They are soliciting the aid and cooperation of service clubs, lodges, county court, county engineer, the United States Forest Service and county and city school systems. The official date for Highway Cleanup Day is May 10, but work will be started at once. Women who will lead campaigns in neighboring communities are Mrs. Buck, Applegate; Mrs. E. J. White, Coleman Creek; Mrs. Mattie Brown and Mrs. R. G. Brown, Eagle Point; Mrs. Louise Brockaway, Oak Grove; Mrs. C. A. Hiles and Mrs. Lee Port, Jacksonville; Miss Alice Hanley, West Side district, and Mrs. Andrew Hearn, Phoenix. The cooperation of all residents of these and all other communities will be expected. Medford Mail Tribune, May 1, 1930, page 7
SURVEY HIGHWAYS FOR CLEANUP DAY
A committee from the Medford Garden Club is making a
survey of the highways leading to and from Medford in preparation for
cleanup day, May 10, and expects to get the cooperation of all farmers
along the way in the work to be undertaken, it was announced at the
meeting of the club held last night at Hotel Medford.Hugh B. Rankin, supervisor of the Crater National Forest, has promised to cooperate with the Garden Club in sponsoring the campaign by loaning a truck and man to work on the highway running through the national forest. He will also designate a dumping ground in that territory. Following the business meeting last night, members of the club were addressed by Ben Bones of Grants Pass on the subject of bulb growing. Mr. Bones spoke particularly of the culture of gladiolus, tulip and iris bulbs. He brought a display of tulips with him. Medford Mail Tribune, May 2, 1930, page 5
GARBAGE DUMPING ON RURAL HIWAYS HIT IN RADIOCAST
Unsightly garbage dumps on all Jackson County rural roads and lanes are
doomed, say those working on plans for the statewide highway cleanup to
take place Saturday, May 10. Dumping trash along Jackson County
highways must be stopped, they say, and every effort is being made to
see that it is.Roads strewn with all kinds of trash and tin can piles certainly leave an unfavorable impression upon the mind of the visitor, Mrs. Leland J. Mentzer, president of the Medford Garden Club, points out. Rogue River Valley is attempting to attract new residents, but the messy roads leading into country districts surely keep many away, she says. Rural residents throughout the state are sponsoring the cleanup move. They say they are getting tired of city dwellers using their neighborhoods for trash dumps. Many organizations are joining in the move locally. Garden clubs, granges, service clubs, lodges, county officials and others are helping. Short talks are being given over radio station KMED this week by local citizens. Mrs. O. C. Boggs; C. E. Gates, member of the state highway commission; Glen Fabrick and Raymond Miksche and others will speak on the cleanup movement. Medford Mail Tribune, May 6, 1930, page 2 EAGLE PT. ASKS COUNTY OIL FOR DUST NUISANCE
A delegation of Eagle Point citizens, headed by Royal Brown and Roy A.
Ashpole and a number of housewives of that district, have filed a
request with the county court for the oiling of the Little Butte Creek
road as far as it runs through the city. The county court has the
matter under advisement, and if the appropriation for road oil holds
out, the oiler will be dispatched to that area.Little Butte Road, Fanned by Heavy Traffic, Creates Problem for Housewives, Is Claim. Eagle Point citizens say that the Little Butte Creek road is extensively traveled and that in the summer time and autumn the dust flies high, wide and handsome, settling on the newly washed clothes, the dining room table, and otherwise annoying the womenfolks. They hold an application of oil on the road would be a blessing and a rigid test for the dust-settling ability of the oil. Oil has been used so far this season on the Kings Highway detour and a strip on Beall Lane. Oiling of the Ruch highway, from pavement to pavement, and the Sams Valley highway is scheduled. If the funds for oil are not exhausted then, the balance will be used in areas where they will do the most good. The Beall Lane strip was smeared with smudge oil, as an experiment, and to date has proved satisfactory. It is expected that housewives all over the county will ask relief from the dust nuisance, via the oiler, and the county court expects to do as much along this line as time and finances will permit. Medford Mail Tribune, May 16, 1930, page 1 MARKET ROUTES TO BE IMPROVED BY COUNTY CREW
The county court at its regular session today passed a resolution
calling for further improvements and work on the Butte Creek and Dead
Indian market roads, and the Pleasant Creek road, in the northern part
of the county between Rogue River and the Josephine County line, under
a special levy voted last fall by residents of that section.Work on the Pleasant Creek road includes elimination of a dangerous curve, two railroad crossings and fords across small streams. Work on the Dead Indian road this year will start late in July and continue until snow flies. A late start is made because of weather conditions. The principal work will be grading and graveling. Last year the county prepared 5000 tons of gravel for the road, which was stored and piled for this year's work. The county oiling machinery is now operating on the Sams Valley highway and will start on the Ruch highway as soon as the weather settles. The county court this morning, after signing a few bills, departed for the county poor farm, where they inspected a new hospital ward recently installed for the inmates. Medford Mail Tribune, May 28, 1930, page 2 IMPROVING ROUTE TO LAKE O' WOODS
The Dead Indian road to Lake o' the Woods is being improved by the
county, and it is expected to be in good shape for those going to the
lake over the weekend. Since schools have been closed, many tourists
have been visiting the lake daily, and many big catches have been
reported.A number of the Medford and Klamath Falls Boy Scouts are there at the present time building cabins and fixing up their camp for the summer. Troops will open camp July 10. The Boy Scout camp is located directly across the lake from the resort. Supplies and equipment may be obtained at the store, and a number of boats are available for rides on the lake and for fishing. Medford Mail Tribune, June 13, 1930, page B5 DEAD INDIAN ROAD PLEA CIRCULATED
A petition, asking that the Dead Indian road by improved through the
joint efforts of the Forest Service and Jackson County, was in
circulation in the southern end of the county yesterday and today and
was freely signed. The petition is being circulated by W. C. Lindsay, a
large ranch operator of that section, and sets forth that renewed mill
and cattle activity justify early action.Petition Asks Joint Effort by Jackson County and Forest Service to Relieve Condition--New Route May Be Solution. Members of the county court said this morning that it was the county's intention to do considerable work upon the Dead Indian road this summer, and an agreement on the route into Ashland was a controversial point. Residents of Ashland urge that the road enter the city via Mountain View Avenue. The county court urges that the route follow the natural grade and eliminate steep hills and sharp curves. It is probable that a survey of the route will be made soon, and that approval of same be sought from the state engineer's office. This is mandatory ere the road can be designated as a market road as planned. The route question will also probably be settled by that branch of state government. Forest Service View.
A letter from the Forest Service to the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, in
response to a request of that body for early action, is as follows:"The condition of the Dead Indian road is deplorable, but there seems to be no remedy possible except the construction of another road because of the amount of rock that has to be contended with. This road, as explained to people of Ashland and Medford a good many times, from an economic standpoint seems to be prohibitive. We have tried for a number of years to do something with the road, but the soil is impractical for a good dirt construction. "At the meeting of the Jackson County court at Ashland, which you mention, it was understood that the Jackson County court would take care of the Dead Indian road to the county line. Should there be an opportunity for improvement of this road at any time, I will be only too glad to do what I possibly can. "It is felt that probably a better way would be to go from Deadwood (junction of the Dead Indian road to Fish Lake) to Fish Lake and then use the Fish Lake-Lake of the Woods road from there. This would give access to both lakes and the possible chance of a much better road for Ashland which would be of no greater distance to Lake of the Woods than the present road and a shorter distance than from Medford to the lake." Medford Mail Tribune, June 18, 1930, page 6 ROAD WORK IN COUNTY UNDER WAY FOR 1930
The 1930 road construction and improvement program for Jackson County
is now in full swing, County Engineer Paul Rynning said this morning.Engineer Rynning Reports Dead Indian, Lake Creek, Elk Creek Routes Receiving Attention. Work has started on the Dead Indian market road and the Lake Creek market road, two steam shovels being in operation on the former work. Operations will continue on both until snow flies. The entrance of the Dead Indian road into Ashland is still under discussion, but it is expected that an agreement will be reached soon between the city of Ashland and the county court. The state engineer's office may make the final decision following a survey. A petition in circulation in the Ashland district for the speedy building of the road is expected to come before the county court at its regular meeting tomorrow. Work has also been started on both ends of the Elk Creek road, which will eventually be a loop road from Rogue Elk to the Crater Lake Highway near Prospect. On the Earl Ulrich unit of the Elk Creek road, a steam shovel has whittled down two of the worst grades, widened and put it in shape for graveling. Oiling to Start
Oiling of the unpaved portions of the Ruch highway and the Sams Valley
market road (Midway highway) will start as soon as the oiling plant is
completed.Delay is now being experienced by the presence of a postal telegraph pole in the middle of the Southern Pacific spur to the oiling plant. Nobody this side of New York City has the authority to order the pole moved, but the county engineer said he expected to have the red tape required to move the pole unraveled by the end of the week. As soon as these two roads are given their coat of 400-degree oil, the county court may answer the pleas of housewives living on dusty roads for an application of oil. Medford Mail Tribune, June 24, 1930, page 6 COUNTY COURT GIVEN PETITION FOR NEW ROAD Dead Indian Delegation Asks Survey--Needed by Lumbermen and Ranchers Is Claim The petition sets forth that there is a revival of industry in that section and that a road for general travel would be an economic blessing for lumbermen, cattlemen and farmers. It was also set forth that an effort was being made to establish a post office at Lindsay, and assurances had been received that a star route would be established within a year. Attorney Briggs declared that the present road was "the worst I have seen it in 15 years of going to Lake of the Woods." He further said that he was speaking in no spirit of criticism, but "something should be done to and for the road." A Forest Service employee then stated that last spring the road had been put in good condition. "Then along came the heavy rains," said he, "and it seems that everybody had some place to go while it was raining hardest, and they cut right down through and ruined it." Users Would Aid.
Attorney Briggs said that residents of the
Dead Indian district were anxious to give a right of way without
restrictions, and furthermore would go out and help clear it. He urged
that a survey be established at once.County Engineer Paul Rynning said that a short-notice survey was not possible, as it will "take some time to get it right, and we don't want to go stomping over the country and not get any place." The county engineer also explained that the maintenance of the road was now under way and crews had been established for that purpose this week. No definite action was taken as a result of the meeting, the county court reaffirming it was proceeding as best it could, and would continue to do so, "and everything will work out all right when the county gets straightened out." The remainder of the county court session was devoted to the transaction of routine, with Commissioner Victor Bursell absent. Medford Mail Tribune, June 25, 1930, page 1 DEAD INDIAN ROAD WORK COMPLETED
MIDDLE NOVEMBER
Work on
the Dead Indian market road is progressing
rapidly, it was announced today at the county engineer's office.
Three-fourths of the grading is completed, and workmen will start
putting on the crushed rock today. This year's program will be
completed by the middle of November.Work included in this year's program for the Wimer-Rogue River road will also be completed by the middle of next month, Paul Rynning stated this morning. The new shops for the county equipment, being constructed at the fairgrounds, are also nearing completion. The concrete is all in, and work starts today on the roofing. The county will soon start construction of the blacksmith shop at the same location. When the buildings are finished, all the county equipment will be moved from Jacksonville to Medford. Medford Mail Tribune, October 20, 1930, page 8 Vindicate Scheffel
To the Editor:The assertion recently made in print and also in a radio talk that City Superintendent Scheffel had work done on his own property at city expense is absolutely false. It has been the custom for the city to mark out roads through new additions by merely running the grader through so that the line of street is plainly discernible. No further service was done, and what marking was done on the Scheffel addition has been done for all citizens on request. Mr. Scheffel has worked faithfully for our city and its best interests. STREET AND ROAD COMMITTEE, CITY COUNCIL.
"Ye Letter Box," Medford
Mail Tribune, November 3, 1930, page 6MOTORIST BEWARE OF ROADSIDES
SALEM,
Nov. 15.--(AP)--Motorists who stop
at the side of paved highways to fix punctured tires often pick up
other punctures before they leave the spot.Statistics Show That When They Stop to Fix a Puncture, the Chances Are Good They Will Acquire Another. This theory is advanced by R. H. Baldock, assistant state highway engineer, after watching for two years the operation of the state's magnetized highway sweeper. Tacks, nails, wire and other sharp materials that drop upon the highway are easily swept or flicked off the pavement by passing cars, but when they reach the rough shoulder they stick there, to be picked up by the tires of cars that are halted on the roadside. The magnet road sweeper--and the state has only one of them--has proved a big success in the two years it has been used, Baldock says. In 1929 it picked up metal objects from the highways weighing a total of 13,870.5 pounds, and by far the greater part of this was from the rough edges of the improved highways. The magnetic sweeper was built by the department, although it does not claim credit for the invention. This belongs to an Idaho engineer. The sweeper is mounted on a one-ton truck and provided with a lifting mechanism so that it can be raised clear of all obstructions when the magnet is not in operation. The current is furnished by a 110-volt, 30-ampere compound generator with a field rheostat. A double throw switch is used in order to change the polarity of the current occasionally. At a distance of three inches from the ground the magnet has a lifting power of about 200 pounds. The whole cost of the outfit, including the truck, was about $2000. Two men are required to operate the machine, and the total average daily expense is about $30, or 50 cents a mile traveled. It has been found that an operating speed of six miles an hour gives the best results. The machine operates continuously, in the summer over the districts that are snow-covered in winter, and in the winter in the milder climes of the state. On one occasion a container full of tacks that was being carried on a truck sprang a leak. Tacks were sown over a state highway for a distance of several miles before the leak was found. Motorists were helpless. Dozens were stopped with flat tires. The magnet sweeper, which happened to be in a nearby district, was sent for. It picked up the tacks at one swoop. Medford Mail Tribune, November 16, 1930, page B1 PLAN WIDER ROAD SOUTH OF PHOENIX
SALEM,
Ore., Dec. 31.--(AP)--Widening of
the entire Pacific Highway between Salem and Portland in the reasonably
near future is believed to be indicated by instructions given by state
highway commission to Highway Engineer Klein in Portland Tuesday to
investigate the cost and other details of a proposed widening of the
Salem-Gervais stretch as part of the 1931 construction program.Highway Commission and Federal Service Include Phoenix to Ashland Unit for Portion of Huge Expenditure in Oregon. ----
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 31.--(AP)--Expenditure of the $1,700,000
emergency forest and federal highway funds for Oregon was tentatively
outlined by members of the state highway commission and representatives
of the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Public Roads at a
conference here yesterday.The funds, which will become available under the appropriations passed by the present Congress for unemployment relief, will be advanced to the state, $1,300,000 on federal aid projects serving in the nature of a loan to the state, and about $400,000 expected to be made available from forest road emergency moneys. The 12 federal aid projects, listed several weeks ago, were approved by the state highway commission, and Roy Klein, state highway engineer, ordered to prepare surveys for completion of the work by September 1. Advance Program
Four projects, totaling $520,000 in
estimated cost,
were advanced from the regular 1932 program for forest road
construction and made a part of the emergency program. They are the
Willamette highway, Siuslaw highway, North Santiam highway and the
Heppner-Spray road.The largest amount was allowed the Willamette highway, $285,000, for the completion of the highway into Oakridge. The Siuslaw highway from Mapleton to Florence was allowed $60,000, North Santiam $100,000 and the Heppner road $75,000. The 12 projects designated for federal aid emergency funds were: Greenspring highway, Keene Creek west, grade widening. Oregon-Washington highway, Pilot Rock-Nye section, grade widening. Phoenix-Ashland Road
Pacific Highway, Green Creek division,
Josephine County; Salem-Gervais, widening pavement; Phoenix-Ashland,
widening
pavement.Salmon River highway, Valley Junction-Grand Ronde, grading. The Dalles California highway, Klamath Falls north, grading; Sherman County line-Shaniko, grade widening. Umpqua highway, tunnel and grading 1.55 miles; three bridges at Elk Creek and Weatherly Creek bridge. West side Pacific Highway, change at Monroe. ----
SALEM, Ore., Dec. 31.--(AP)--Bids for
construction of about
125 miles of highway and several culverts and bridges will be opened by
the state highway commission at a meeting in Portland January 15. The
jobs projected include:Jackson County--About 10 miles of regrading and eight miles of resurfacing on Eagle Point-Trail section of Crater Lake Highway. Medford Mail Tribune, December 31, 1930, page 1 TWO ROAD CREWS INCLUDE 83 MEN ON
COUNTY WORK
County
road work now underway is confined to the
Prospect and Butte Falls district, where 85 men are employed, County
Engineer Paul Rynning reported to the county court this morning. The
work is on the Elk Creek road and the Butte Falls-Prospect road and
consists of cutting brush and blowing stumps along the right-of-way.
The employment has been a boon to the two districts, furnishing work
during the dull season. The labor is being performed with excess funds
of the two districts.The county court at its regular session today transacted routine business and tucked in the odds and ends of the year. The most important matter now brewing in county affairs is the 1931 budget, which will be patterned finally in accordance with the financial balances on hand at the close of business today, in accordance with the state law. The budget has been completed and will be unchanged except in small details. All the December bills will be paid ere the budget is definitely adopted. The session of the county court next Wednesday will be the last after eight years of service for Commissioner George Alford. John A. Barneburg, who defeated Commissioner Alford last November, will take office January 14. He is the first Democrat to sit in the county court for 15 years. Medford Mail Tribune, December 31, 1930, page 4 400 REGISTER FOR ROAD JOBS--70 GIVEN WORK
Close to 400 names are now listed on the unemployment register of this
county for emergency road relief work, according to Victor Tengwald,
clerk of the county court. Seventy men are now employed and are rotated
weekly, giving each worker $18. Four road crews are engaged, one out of
Ashland, two out of this city, and one out of Rogue River. It is
expected that the work will last well into the month of March.Four Crews on Duty in Effort of County and State to Relieve Unemployment Condition. Weeding of the undesirables from the list has started, and there have been less than a dozen unworthy cases found. One worker showed up the day after Christmas in an intoxicated condition. Another was found to have an income, "and not in as serious financial condition as his statements would indicate"; another claimed dependents when he had none, one was indolent, and two or three were agitators. Some Unable Work
Two or three were found physically
unable to work, but with a great willingness to that end. They were Red
Cross charges.Several who sought emergency work, to "kill time," have been denied registration. Investigation showed they were not in distressed circumstances. Several workers reported at the registration office last week and today from outlying districts, under the impression that the emergency was general throughout the county. The county is employing about 80 men in the Prospect and Butte Falls districts clearing right of way, widening grades, and doing other work that can be done this winter, out of funds of the district in order to furnish employment. This work will be continued as long as the funds last. Medford Mail Tribune, January 5, 1931, page 8 PUT 858 MEN ON ROAD WORK IN TWO WEEKS
SALEM, Ore., Jan. 10.--(AP)--Eight hundred and fifty-eight more men
were put to work on the state highway relief program during the past
two weeks, the highway department count for the period ending January 6
showed. The total gave 1908 men now employed and 75 crews operating
over the state.In addition to these figures, 265 men have been absorbed in regular maintenance patrol crews, and 26 men are working in regular extra gangs with machine equipment. The majority of relief workers are employed on alternate shifts of three days. Much of the emergency work consists of clearing brush and trees on rights of way, grade widening, ditching and other operations. Medford Mail Tribune, January 10, 1931, page 1 ROAD JOBS OPENED TO LOCAL MEN
Federal aid to the emergency employment situation in Jackson County
will get underway next Monday, with the establishment of camps for
forest road work at French Gulch in the Applegate and at Fish Lake. Six
men are now stationed at Fish Lake and six more will be added next
Monday. Six men will be used at the French Gulch camp.Federal Aid in Unemployment Situation Will Put Many Additional Workers on Applegate and Lake Creek Projects. As winter passes and conditions improve in the forests, additional camps will be established. The Forest Service workers will be assigned to work through the office of the county judge, Victor Tengwald in charge, and will be rotated as are highway workers. Married Men First
First preference will be given to local married men, and able-bodied,
owing to the nature of the work in the mountains. They will clear and
grub right-of-way and do any Forest Service work necessary.In the Fish Lake camp the men will do labor in connection with the Lake Creek market road. The Forest Service workers will be assessed $1 per day for board, and will be furnished sleeping quarters, but must provide their own bedding. They will be furnished transportation by the Forest Service to the camps. Seventy men are now employed on the highway relief work out of this city and Ashland. They are rotated weekly. To date, the emergency work has proved of high value in tiding laborers over the dull season and is reflected in a decrease in local depression talk. The emergency work is expected to last until the middle of March, when spring work in the field, orchard and forest will again be under way. Medford Mail Tribune, January 15, 1931, page 3 MARKET ROADS THIS AREA HIT BY TAX SLASH
The $60,000 cut in the 1931 tax budget for general road and market road
funds, ordered by the county court, made necessary by a decrease in
federal forest funds and an increase in school funds, will be spread
over the road program.Dead Indian and Lake Creek Projects Both Affected by Retrenchment of Budget for 1931. It will chiefly affect the Lake Creek market road and the Dead Indian market road--a $17,500 cut being made in these two projects. The Sams Valley road and the oiling program are also hit, along with the road maintenance appropriation. On the Lake Creek road, the county will have the benefit of Forest Service cooperation. A force of 12 men engaged in emergency relief work are now cutting brush along the right of way. The county will do the grading. The main oiling project for the year will be the Ruch-Provolt work, for which the district voted $5000. Depletion of the general road fund will mean that many of the smaller road oiling projects will be restricted or eliminated entirely. The state of the road finances was also crimped by the emergency relief road work conducted this winter, to help the unemployed. Medford Mail Tribune, January 18, 1931, page 8 PLANNING ROAD TO TOP MT. ASHLAND
ASHLAND,
Ore., Feb. 12.--(Spl.)--Plans are under consideration by the United
States Forest Service for the construction of a motor road to the
summit of Mt. Ashland. The road will be in the neighborhood of 12 miles
long and will make its ascent by way of Lamb's mine district on the
east and south side of the mountain. The survey for the route has not
been completed. The road in its early development will not be of
sufficient width to permit two-way traffic but is expected to be
developed in due course of time.Medford Mail Tribune, February 12, 1931, page 5 PRISONERS CLEAR ROADSIDE REFUSE IN CLEANUP DRIVE
The sheriff's office is taking definite steps against the promiscuous
dumping of tin cans and refuse along county roads by city and rural
residents. Sheriff Jennings today declared persons dumping trash are
subject to arrest. He will welcome information from any person leading
to the apprehension of parties responsible for littering up the
countryside.Oscar Dunford, jailer, assisted by two prisoners, have been clearing up a portion of the refuse by hauling it to out-of-the-way places by truck, but there are so many tin can dumps in the county it will almost be impossible to make a thorough cleanup. An outstanding example of the evils of such dumping is pointed out by the sheriff as spoiling what otherwise would be a beautiful drive on the old road over the Jacksonville hill. Cans and trash have been dumped on both sides of the road, and most of the beauty of the drive is marred. It has been suggested that this situation could be remedied by the use of county steam shovels, covering up the cans with dirt. Signs may also be posted. Medford Mail Tribune, March 13, 1931, page 8 COUNTY RELIEF ROAD JOBS END NEXT SATURDAY
Emergency relief work on Jackson County roads is being continued this
week on a reduced basis. A force of 25 men is engaged in the Blackwell
Hill district and will finish up the odds and ends. The relief work
will end next Saturday.Federal Emergency Work Concluded Saturday As Camps Placed on Permanent Basis. Federal relief work also ended Saturday, and the Forest Service camps were placed on a permanent basis this morning for the summer season. A force of men, a fleet of trucks and a steam shovel are engaged in widening the Trail-Eagle Point unit of the Crater Lake Highway. The steam shovel is gnawing at the hills at the Butte Falls juncture, and the trucks are distributing the dirt in both directions. It is planned to make a straight shoot in this section, eradicating four curves. Wait on Weather
Operations will start on the county road program for the year as soon
as weather conditions will permit. The state engineer of the market
road department recently inspected and approved the Lake Creek, Dead
Indian and Sams Valley market roads. The Forest Service will cooperate
in building a portion of the Dead Indian and Lake Creek roads which
both tap the Lake o' the Woods country.Preliminary operations have begun on several of the special levy roads. Gravel has been stored and stakes driven for the widening and smoothing of the Little Applegate road. The past week the road scrapers have been busy on roads on the floor of the valley getting them in shape for spring traffic. Medford Mail Tribune, March 12, 1931, page 6 ROGUE RIVER MEN PROTEST WORK POLICY
Male residents of the Rogue River district to the number of 30 have
filed a petition with the county court asking "why men are brought from
Central Point and Gold Hill to do work on the roads which we need
ourselves." The county court will take the necessary steps to rectify
the condition.Petition to County Court Asks Road Jobs in District Be Given to Unemployed Home Residents The Rogue River workers hold that inasmuch as the work is in their district they should be given first opportunity. The petition sets forth that they need it as much as residents of other districts. The work extends from Rogue River to the Josephine County line and only a small number of men are employed. Have Home Policy
It has been the policy of the county court and county engineer, as far
as possible to give work to those living in the districts where work is
underway.Three rock crushers will be in operation next week, grinding out gravel for road projects the coming summer, and work has started on a number of special levy roads. Approval of the Williams Creek cut-off, by the state highway commission yesterday, fits in with the 1931 road plans of the county, calling for the expending of $5000 for the oiling of Big Applegate road from Ruch to Provolt this summer. It is a unit of the Williams Creek cut-off. Funds for the oiling were voted by the Ruch district in a special road levy. Medford Mail Tribune, April 3, 1931, page 7 MANY OPPOSING PLEA FOR WEST SIDE HIGHWAY
Formal presentation of the petition for establishment of the West Side
highway will be considered by the county court at regular meeting
tomorrow. If legal red tape such as filing of notice and other details
have been complied with, the county court will accept the petition and
name three viewers to survey the proposed highway and report. No action
other than this will be taken tomorrow.Formal Presentation of Petition at Next County Court Meeting--Enemies Set Goal of 1000 Signatures After the viewers' report, which will be in a month or six weeks, there will be three readings of the petitions, the last one being a public hearing. Twenty-eight residents of the area traversed by the proposed highway signed the petitions favoring its establishment, and on file with the county clerk are petitions bearing mere than 450 names against such action. A large majority of the signers are from the Central Point, Willow Springs and Gold Hill districts--all directly affected by the road, if built. More Names Sought
Petitions are still in circulation against the highway in the north end
of the county and are being freely signed. The remonstrances will be
heard at the final reading and public hearing. The circulators have set
1000 or more names as their goal.The petitions asking for the road set forth that it will open new territory and relieve traffic on the Pacific Highway. It proposes that the new road extend from Blackwell Hill on the Pacific Highway to a point on the Jacksonville-Ruch highway near the Hollywood orchards. Establishment of the West Side highway has been agitated for several years, and the right-of-way would traverse a rich farm and orchard sector. Medford Mail Tribune, April 7, 1931, page 3 COUNTY FOLK NOTE AUTOISTS DUMPING CANS
License Numbers Turned in to County Officials,
The county court the past week has served written notice upon a number
to forthwith come and get the rubbish they dumped along the country
roads, while on Sunday motoring trips. The custom, prevalent in the
spring time, is now in full swing and many are the complaints.Bring Notice to Remove Rubbish from Public Roads A resident of the Murphy district was advised to remove the trash he is alleged to have dumped on Griffin Creek. It is about 50 miles as the crow flies from his home to his own self-created dumping grounds, a record for long-distance hauling of rubbish. He was detected by a watchful lady, who noted his license number. Noting of license numbers is becoming quite a habit among rural residents and is proving a very effective curb on rubbish dumping. Must Live from Cans
County officials report that this spring there are fewer violators, but
the rubbish crop is heavier and gives rise to the suspicion that many
valley families lived exclusively out of tin cans the past winter.
There is also a tendency on the part of the rubbish-haulers to get
farther from town before unloading. So far, no gunnysacks full of
debris have been dumped on paved streets, or the arterial highways.County jail prisoners will not be sent out as in the past, as "cleanup crews." It is the intention as far as possible to make the violators clean up their own mess. There is a state law prohibiting the dumping of rubbish on any highway or road, and it will be enforced. Victor Tengwald, secretary to the county court, reports that rural ladies are getting quite angry about the continued vandalism. Medford Mail Tribune, April 13, 1931, page 5 'THUMBERS' HIT BY NEW STATE TRAFFIC LAWS
The new state traffic law, effective June 6, providing that it shall be
unlawful for any person to stand in a roadway for the purpose of
soliciting a ride from the driver of any private vehicle, will have its
drawbacks in enforcement. The law, passed by the last legislature to
curb the practice of the small army of homeless transients picking up
rides along the highway, is apt to result in quite an increase in jail
population if arrests are made as soon as the law is effective,
officers say.Hitchhikers Forbidden to Solicit Rides on Highways--State Constabulary Will Be Kept Busy The principal burden of enforcement will devolve upon the shoulders of the new state police, to be organized in August, and until then it is likely local state traffic officers will carry on an educational program warning tramps and hitchhikers to forsake the habit of standing by the road and flagging motorists. Hard on Itinerants
A local driver, upon picking up a transient yesterday for a few miles'
lift, told the hiker of the new law. The man said he was 77 years old
and said the highway was his only means of transportation."What next are they going to legislate against us on whom fortune has frowned. I used to be an iron moulder but advancing years caused me to be cast aside and now I'm trying to do any kind of work I can find," he said on commenting on the information. "I wish the law was in effect now so they would place me in jail with the assurance I would have two or three meals a day and a place to sleep. I have nobody in the world in the way of kin or friends," he continued, "and jail would be a good place for me. Many of the men looking in vain for work feel the same way about it as I do." Law a Protection
He was told the law was passed as a protection for the motoring public
against the type of tramps who accept rides and in many cases rob their
good Samaritans. In other cases, stopping to pick up transients along
the highway has caused serious accidents.In reply the white-haired transient, who appeared neat despite his ragged clothing, deplored the condition and condemned those men who made it hard for the respectable "tramps" to get along in the world. He carried no roll of blankets and had no topcoat. He said he spent most of his nights in the open by a camp fire and begged for his food, but was always in search of work. He did not know why he left Los Angeles, as he knew conditions were just as bad in the north but thought if he saw some small town this side of Portland he would just stop there and wait for something to turn up. Hiking does not agree with his 77 years. If the new anti-flagging law was in effect, he said, he could go to jail without committing any serious crime. Medford Mail Tribune, April 22, 1931, page 1 WEST SIDE ROUTE VIEWERS SUGGEST SUBSTITUTE ROAD
The
board of viewers named by the county court to report on the feasibility
of the West Side highway yesterday submitted an adverse report on the
original route and suggested that a shorter, more scenic and less
costly route would be to follow the Old Stage Road from Rocky Point to
the Taylor place, thence on a direct line to where Jackson Street would
intersect Ross Lane. The board of viewers included J. F. Brown of Eagle
Point, E. T. Newbry of Talent and County Engineer Paul Rynning.The original route provided that the highway extend from Blackwell Hill on the Pacific Highway to a point on the Jacksonville-Ruch highway near the Hollywood orchards. At the first reading of the petition it developed there was considerable opposition to the plan. The final hearing on the petition is scheduled for early next month. Medford Mail Tribune, April 23, 1931, page 3 WEST SIDERS ROAD PROJECT TURNED DOWN
"At a short session of the county court this morning, the petition of
the West Side Development Association for the establishment of the
West. Highway was formally denied, based upon the viewers' report, and
sentiment against the project in the district affected.County Court's Action Taken on Recommendation of Viewers and Sentiment in Area Affected by Plan County Engineer Paul Rynning stated the report that the county intended to suspend operations on the Little Butte Creek market road this year and devote its funds and energies on the Dead Indian market road was without foundation. The county will carry out its initial plans for the Little Butte Creek market road, as far as finances will permit. The county court today formally defined its plans for the continuation of the Little Butte Creek market road and took similar action upon the Pleasant Creek road and the Lovell Gateway road, in the upper Applegate. Vacate Old Highway
A portion of the old Crater Lake Highway that traversed the Nye
ranch was declared vacated. This portion of the road has not been used
for years.Road oiling operations are now underway in the Applegate, on Wagner Creek, and on Ross Lane. Housewives of the Eagle Point area have been assured that a "dust palliative" will be spread on the main road through that town. A delegation of husbands recently besought the county court for oiling. A considerable portion of today's business was the signing of the monthly payrolls. The county court adjourned at 11 o'clock to attend the funeral services for Philip W. Hamill, well-known valley orchardist. Medford Mail Tribune, May 6, 1931, page 4 OILING PROGRAM ANNOUNCED FOR
COUNTRY ROADS
Work To Start About June 1 Says
Engineer Rynning--
The road oiling and bridge program of Jackson County, for the coming
summer and fall, calls for oiling of approximately seven miles of road,
listed to date, and removal of the steel bridge over Rogue River at
Gold Hill, to replace the covered bridge over the mouth of Little Butte
Creek, on the Elks' picnic ground road between Agate and Dodge bridge,
County Engineer Paul B. Rynning announced today.Gold Hill Bridge To Be Moved to Little Butte. Both projects will start about June 1, weather permitting. Grading of Valley View Road near Ashland, and similar work on the Dead Indian Road, as far as Deadwood Junction, will also be conducted by the county. The Forest Service will continue the grading towards Lake o' Woods. Oiling projects, to which additions are expected, to make up the annual 10-year oiling program, are: Stewart Avenue, one mile; Phoenix-Jacksonville road, one mile; Evans Creek Road, one mile; Delta Waters Road, one mile; Arnold Lane, off Jacksonville road, one-half mile towards Wing's Dairy; Barneburg Road, from Con DeVore slaughterhouse to Hillcrest-Phoenix road junction, approximately a mile and one-half; Wagner Creek Road, one-quarter of a mile past the schoolhouse. Engineer Rynning also announced the county would apply oil with county equipment without cost on streets or roads where residents pay for the oil. Medford Mail Tribune, May 23, 1939, page 2 Old Derby Road Being Improved.
PROSPECT, June
4.--(Special.)--The old Derby road which turns off at the McLeod bridge
is being widened at its intersection with the Brophy Road. Some years
ago the people of this community could only reach Medford via this
road. Except in summer the mud was often axle deep, and the Brophy Road
was even worse. Old residents are the only ones who can really
appreciate the present roads and highways.Medford Mail Tribune, June 5, 1932, page 5 GARBAGE DUMPING STARTS ON ROADS
Reports were filed with county authorities today that the summer
dumping of home garbage along the country roads has started. The number
of the auto that dumped a large load of cans and paper near the Alice
Hanley gate was secured, and the offender will be advised to remove the
debris at once. Reports of similar depredations have been received from
the Applegate. People out for an evening ride are blamed. Last spring
county authorities launched a campaign against the use of county
roadsides as garbage dumps and the practice was curbed, only to be
resumed recently.Medford Mail Tribune, June 26, 1931, page 6 'OLD MILITARY' IS URGED AS NAME OF PIONEER ROAD
Property owners
along the road above the "Old Stage Road" in the west part of the
valley appeared before the county court this morning and asked that the
route be officially designated as the "Old Military Road" because of
the historical significance attached, and because it would be more
fitting than a poetic monicker.The county court will give the road an official name, but is between about seven fires. Some want the road called the "Ridge Route," some like "Valley View Highway," others "Paradise Way," "Gaze-Away," and the owner of a vineyard wants it called "Vineyard Road." Mrs. E. E. Pomeroy addressed the court in behalf of the name "Old Military Road." She said she had been informed by Miss Alice Hanley and Fred Theiss, pioneers, that it was the first road through the valley and was rich in pioneer lore and history. The name is also favored by major portion of the pioneers. Medford Mail Tribune, July 22, 1931, page 5 Would Keep Historic Name
To the Editor:Yesterday's Mail Tribune tells us that the county court has been called upon to give the "Old Military Road" an official name. While many names have been suggested, we feel that the historic name should be retained. To we descendants of the pioneers the original names seem almost sacred. The "Old Military Road" is the second oldest road into the Rogue River Valley. The first road was built into and through this valley in 1846. The Rogue River Valley was at that time an unexplored wilderness inhabited by tribes of warlike Indians. The 15 men who blazed the trail through the valley were pioneers from the Willamette Valley. This road was called the "Old Immigrant Road or "Old South Road." Fort Lane was built by order of the government in 1853-54, and the "Old Military Road" was then built to bring men and supplies by a short route from the Willamette Valley. Let us keep the historic name. Alice Applegate Sargent
Jacksonville. July 23, 1931."Communications," Medford Mail Tribune, July 25, 1931, page 4 ORCHARDIST ASK ROAD REPAIRS TO HALT FRUIT LOSS
The county court today inspected the road leading to the Hillcrest,
401, Hall and Young, Vilas, Kershaw and other orchards, following the
claim of J. C. Hall and Robert K. Norris that the road, which bears a
heavy portion of fruit hauling at this time of the year, was in poor
condition, causing the pears to sustain "road punctures." They asked
that some temporary repairs be made now and permanent work completed
before the opening of another fruit season.They were assured that the road would be placed on the 1932 road improvement budget. The road leads from the Crater Lake Highway to a heavily planted orchard district. Road work throughout Jackson County is now practically at a standstill. Two small crews are working, one on the Emigrant Creek near Ashland and the other in the northern end of the county. Both are special levy improvements. The county court recently invoked a road work retrenchment policy. Many complaints have been received recently from farmers and orchardists that the roads were "wearing down," making fruit hauling damaging to pears. After the first rains, if any, the county will place its maintenance equipment on the roads, in preparation for winter travel. Medford Mail Tribune, August 31, 1931, page 3 ROAD WIDENING JOB COMPLETED
The widening and straightening of the Crater Lake Highway between the
Butte Falls road junction and Trail has been completed, and the road is
now in first-class condition.The county court Tuesday inspected this stretch, visited the Elk Creek, Laurelhurst, and Butte Falls-Prospect road, to determine the need of improvements asked for. All major road work tn Jackson County is now at a standstill. The usual fall activity on the Lake of the Woods and Dead Indian roads is suspended for this season. Some maintenance work has been done on the country roads, but is also restricted until after the fall rains, if any, when the scraper and grader will be placed in operation to remove the bumps and ruts of fruit hauling. Medford Mail Tribune, September 17, 1931, page 5
Again referring to markers, the POOREST marked highway is the one
leading from Medford to its airport. Met a stranger at the airport the
other day and he had completely lost his way, en route, and cursed the
City and airport and everyone in Jackson County. When one curves around
the Big Y he comes to a fork in the road. Right there is where a good
big sign pointing the way to the airport should be placed. There is
none now and strangers certainly are not mind readers and how are they
going to know whether to drive straight ahead or swing to the right.
Why not two or three markers on the way there? The C of C and
others of
our community have been crying for tourists and telling us how we
should address them and treat them to make them feel at home and
WELCOME. Well let's put in plenty of highway signs.
The city has taken away their "restroom" facilities and a free parking space, which certainly should be a part of that "welcome" that we PRETEND to be interested in. So let’s give them "signs." Resolution naming county road Hillside Drive.. "Clerk's Monthly Statement of County Court Proceedings," Medford Mail Tribune, July 27, 1949, page 15 New Names Give to Many Rural
Roads in New Plan
The rural house numbering program being carried out in Medford's fringe
areas by the Jackson County Engineer's staff at the request of the
Medford post office has resulted in new names for several rural roads
in this area. County Engineer Paul Rynning said he has been reluctant
to tamper with road names that have become accepted through long use
but that in some cases the new designations have been unavoidable.
When the project is completed, the Medford post office will inaugurate city mounted service in a number of areas now receiving rural motor route mail service. The new system will also provide more accurate addresses for rural residences now designated only by a route and box number. Some Names Changed In cases where road names have been confusing and non-descriptive, or in instances where a road bearing the same name jogged in several different directions, names have been altered, changed or added. The Phoenix-Jacksonville highway, from Jacksonville to the Griffin Creek Road, is now to be known as Stage Road South, as distinguished from the Old Stage Road from Jacksonville to Gold Hill Buckshot Road, from the old Crater Lake Highway to the Lone Pine School, will continue with that name, but that portion that runs in a northerly direction will be known as Springbrook Road, including a small section formerly known as Crestbrook Road. The name Biddle Road will cover the entire length of the road running from Medford to the airport, doing away with that portion now called Morrow Road. Only the east-west street running into Biddle will continue to be known as Morrow Road. A new quarter-mile stretch of Biddle Road will be constructed from the Crater Lake Highway connecting with the dead end of what was once Morrow Road just north of McAndrews Road. Rynning expects it will be of particular value to east side residents. New Crews Road Part of the old Biddle Road in the vicinity of Medford's former sewer disposal plant has been renamed Crews Road. At the end of Beall Lane, two previously undesignated roads will now be called Freeland Road and Sunnyvale Road. New addresses, for home owners on the roads involved in the program, are now being mailed out by the Medford post office. Medford Mail Tribune, February 16, 1950, page 1 New Four-Lane Highway Recalls
Many Memories
of Muddy Trail to Phoenix Chasing Runaway Horses Featured Early Day Trips Hour and Half Trek Now 10-Minute Drive By Helen J. Perry Mail Tribune Phoenix Correspondent
Phoenix--The
new four-lane intercity highway between Medford and Ashland with the
northbound one-way bypass around Phoenix brings to mind of many older
residents of Phoenix the improvement through the years since 1884 when
the road was just a wide muddy trail in winter and a dust cloud in the
summer.
It was quite an excursion to go to Medford in those earlier days. Most of the time it was a trip not relished because the road was full of rocks, chuckholes and mud or dust, according to the season. After hitching up the horse and buggy, the family dressed up in their best bib and tucker and climbed aboard for Medford. The trip was a long pull, taking about an hour and a half, that is, if everything went well. Journey Recalled Lily Reams Coleman and her sisters recall these trips with many a chuckle. In the winter, their mother carefully tucked them into the buggy, complete with hot bricks and heavy lap robes. In the summer they were almost in disguise, wearing dusters for the trip and arriving in Medford coughing and choking from the clouds of dust raised by the horse and buggy. Anna Towne Smith, who has lived in Phoenix since she was four years old, remembered the troubles along the road in 1896, caused by frisky horses that would shy at a piece of paper blown along the trail, sometimes upsetting the buggy and running away. Quickly picking themselves up, they would all join in chasing the fractious pony, repairing the buggy and then set off again. Cows, chickens, horses and pigs roamed at large in those days, and there was often a delay while the children jumped down from the buggy to shoo the animals out of the way. Another original Phoenix resident is Mrs. Lily Caldwell Blackwood, 90, who celebrated her birthday this October. She traveled in her hack back and forth over the trail from Phoenix to Jacksonville and Medford, many times taking orders of berries on her trips. A breakdown of the buggy en route meant another loss of time because if you could not fix it yourself, or happened to be near one of the few ranches along the way, one just sat and waited for another traveler to come by and help with the repairs. One Blacksmith Shop Instead of the modern service stations and motor repair shops that dot the highway nowadays, Phoenix, in 1896, boasted of one blacksmith shop called Hukill's. They did all the repairs on the buggies, mended the harness and shod the horses. Advent of the Southern Pacific train service was the next step in the progress of travel between Phoenix and Medford. When the railroad was completed and the first run made, it was a great day of celebration. The schools were closed for the day, and people came from far and near to see the new train. When the engineer blew the whistle for the first time, it caused quite a commotion. Men shouted, women screamed, children hid in their mothers' skirts or ran for dear life away from the noise, and Aunt Maria Coleman waved her parasol and shouted "Praise the Lord." Now in the worst weather one could ride the train to Medford and not have to fight the mud and trail dust. Fare on the train was 20¢ one way, and it was well worth the money, especially for the ladies. The men usually rode horseback if traveling alone on business and made the trip in a lot less time than in a buggy. However, the horses would shy and rear in panic whenever they came close to the railroad tracks or the locomotive, that new and frightening visitor to the Rogue River Valley. Now in the year 1935, the old wagon trail of 1896 has been replaced by the modern four-lane paved highway to accommodate the high-powered cars that traverse them. A one-way traffic section has been built around the town to facilitate the heavy flow of traffic in a safe and orderly manner. The people who suffered the hardships of early-day travel marvel at the safety zones, traffic lights and warning posts and accommodations of today's highway. Travel time between Phoenix and Medford is 10 to 12 minutes for drivers who adhere to the safety engineers' admonition--"Never exceed a speed which is reasonable and prudent for existing conditions." Medford Mail Tribune, November 15, 1953, page 14 Wagon Trip to Roseburg 73 Years
Ago Took Five Days,
County Judge Recalls Rugged Climb Over Mountains Worst Part of Journey Blacksmith's Services Needed by Travelers By Harry Nordwick Mail Tribune Staff Writer
In the near
future oldtimers will be completely lost on new Highway 99, which will
sweep in straightaways and gradual curves from the Siskiyou summit to
the interstate bridge on the Columbia River.
This highway improvement in western Oregon will lop off a number of miles traveled the length of the state, especially in the southwest Oregon area. Several sections have already been completed between Medford and Roseburg, which is generally considered the worst section. A traveler along the new asphaltic-concrete speedway in the Cow Creek Canyon section can still occasionally see a two-wheeled dirt road adjacent to Cow Creek and ploughed under in other sections by the modern highway or the pretzel-shaped nightmare which used to be Highway 99. Recalls Trip Many readers will recall the old 99, but few are still around to remember the old stage road which was once the north-south link with the Rogue Valley. However, one distinguished local citizen can recall one experience in his youth, which took place some 73 years ago on this same stage road. It has a particular spot in his memory, as it was a trip to see his first "iron horse," or railroad engine. The citizen, County Judge James Blin Coleman, was four years old at the time. The year was 1880. The circumstances surrounding the taking of such a "lengthy" excursion (it took about five days up and three or four back as compared with the modern time of about 2½ hours) were twofold: the Judge's father, Matthew Hubbard (Uncle Hub) Coleman, a county pioneer of 1853, had discovered a legal question concerning part of his farm, and also a friend wanted him to haul barrels to Roseburg, from whence they would be shipped by freight on the Oregon and California Railroad, which terminated at Roseburg. Roseburg at that time was the site of the district land office where M. H. Coleman hoped to assure title to his land by use of the homestead filing act. Somehow the title to 160 acres of his farm in the Coleman Creek area southwest of Phoenix (named after him) had been lost. The section was right in the center of his farm, including buildings adjacent to the two-story log house in which the family lived. He had originally obtained title to the property under the preemption law and entering the property. This was done by filing and paying $1.25 an acre. In order to regain the lost section, he would have to file under the new Homestead Act and occupy it for five years before permanent ownership, according to his son. Young Coleman and his parents started out on the journey with the owner of the barrels who was moving from the county. The Colemans' Steel-X (steel-axled) wagon was pulled by a pair of bays, which the Judge says he "can see yet." One was a dark bay gelding called Bill, and the other was a dark bay mare named Florie. The team pulled the heavy wagon, which featured rear wheels 72 inches high. These freight-type wagons were sometimes hooked together two and three in a bunch and pulled by a string of eight horses, J. B. Coleman continued. The driver usually rode the rear (left) horse and drove with a single or jerk line to the left leader. This "loose" method of driving the series of horses made it possible to maneuver well around the many bends in the road, the Judge noted. Crossed River The route followed by the party went through Central Point from Phoenix and crossed the Rogue River at Gold Hill. The Judge couldn't remember what crossing method was used at that time, whether the old Cavanaugh Ferry or toll bridge. From here the road kept on the north side of the river and passed through Woodville (Rogue River) and continued on the north river road past the present site of Grants Pass. The latter could not be remembered by the son, and Kerbyville had been the Josephine County seat, and a whole township from Jackson County was given Josephine to provide a county seat on the new railroad which came through about three years later. In short order the road began the tortuous climb over Sexton Mountain and through the canyons to Wolf Creek and Canyonville, which were settled at that time. Each night the group camped along the road without the aid of convenient motels which now dot the entire route. As usual, they had wagon trouble instead of the usual tire or motor trouble of the modern tourist. Axle trouble developed near Canyonville. While Mrs. Coleman and her son stayed in the wagon, M. H. Coleman and the other man went into Canyonville to see if they could get the needed part. It was found that it would take four days to get the part down from Portland, so a blacksmith from the town agreed to ride back to the damaged wagon and stub-weld it back on, thus providing a predecessor to the mechanical help of today. After the axle was repaired, the party rode on to Roseburg. "It wasn't a bad road," J. B. Coleman explained, "although it was pretty steep in places. It traveled up and down over the draws." First Train Upon arriving at Roseburg, the Colemans camped below the railroad track, he noted, and his father went directly to the land office to file the homestead claim. While he was on this business, his son and wife walked along the railroad track where the Judge saw his first train. He related that "as the train got nearer I pressed tighter against an adjacent fence till I was plastered against it when the puffing engine went by. I told my mother that if I got a little madder I would jump right at the big machine." He described the engine smokestack as the funnel-shaped type. The engine, "a tiny little thing," was pulling a tender full of wood and had a sandbox and several cars, he remembered. The Judge continued his association with trains in about the fall of 1883 when he rode on the first passenger train into the Rogue Valley. [Passenger service didn't begin until 1884.] The O and C extended its lines to Ashland where he was met later [in 1887] by another railroad from the south. On the return trip from Roseburg, the son recalled an incident in a field near Woodville where his father stunned a crow with his huge blacksnake whip and gave it to his son for a pet. The crow stayed a pet until it recuperated and then flew hastily away from its tearful, brief owner. Added to Home After returning to the farm in the Rogue Valley, the Colemans had established a residence on the homestead property and showed improvements on it. About 60 feet from the main dwelling was a smokehouse which was just over the line of the property in question. The elder Coleman added a kitchen and bedroom to the smokehouse and lived there for the next five years. During this time the children stayed in the main house but ate in the smokehouse, the Judge said. After the prescribed time, M. H. Coleman took three witnesses with him to Jacksonville who ascribed that Coleman had made more than $500 in improvements on the land. A minor charge for this final proof and the original $15 filing fee was the only cost of the land. The entire farm then amounted to about 400 acres. It was sold in five or six pieces at a later date, with the last deed made out in June 1908 to the new owners. Medford Mail Tribune, November 22, 1953, page 14 Winding Greensprings Highway Was
"Modern" Route in 1920s;
A lot of people love scenic mountains.
In the summer
at least. When winter comes, this love can easily turn to hate as icy
and snow-crusted roads turn the scene into [a] hazardous nightmare.New Road to Klamath Proposed By Harry Nordwick Mail Tribune Staff Writer For some time just such a route has been so considered by a large number of travelers over the Cascade Range from the Rogue Valley. It's called Highway 66 on road maps, but known hereabouts as the Greensprings route. The latter name is quite appropriate, as the motorist climbs to 4,000 feet on negotiating Greensprings Mountain, even though there is a higher spot farther on the route called Hayden Mountain. Public opinion on the route was expressed earlier this year when the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce conducted a series of community clinics. After a vote, it was determined that completion of a new and faster route to Klamath Falls was one of the two most important projects that should be completed in the county. Not New Idea The route suggested was via Lake o' Woods, as paving for all-weather travel was being completed from Klamath Falls to Rocky Point junction near the lake. The idea wasn't exactly new. It had already been presented at least twice to the Oregon State Highway Commission and twice turned down in past years. However, a group became interested again, and after a Jeep trip over the proposed route via Lake Creek were even more convinced. Action was taken by State Rep. Robert Root last summer when he wrote a letter to the commission and received an answer that the commission felt a survey would be justified. At the present time, the commission is "well along on a physical and economic survey of the Lake Creek route," Root states, and the group has written him that the survey is expected to be completed by three or four months. At that time, they will have arrived at an "economic quotient," he reported, on the feasibility of the route. Less Maintenance Cost In comparing the Greensprings route with the proposed one, Root explained that the Lake Creek highway, which is already a secondary state highway to McCallister Soda Springs, would involve lower maintenance cost than the present one, involve a lower grade and less snow. He described the new route as an "all-weather" one. In rough estimates, making the Lake Creek road into a primary highway would cost around $2,225,000, while reconditioning the Greensprings route would be near $8,000,000, Root said. Both roads are almost exactly the same mileage to Klamath Falls from Medford, but the Lake Creek route is considered potentially faster as it will be without the infamous "horseshoe" turns of the Greensprings. At their worst, turns on the Lake Creek road would be comparable to the new Siskiyou Highway. The present 19-foot width would be extended to 32 feet. Besides a better route to the east, the road would also open up a good highway to relatively inaccessible timber and to an excellent winter recreation area, the state representative continued. Historically speaking, there's a lot to say for the old route. In this modern day, high-compression engines must be held back by the safe driver or he's liable to end up at the bottom of the adjoining valley in the middle of the first Greensprings road, which is still used by neighboring ranches. Was "Modern" Route However, the winding grade of the current route was the "modern" road for the "modern" cars after the first World War which putted up it in good style and were thankful they did not have the old stage road to contend with. To appreciate the present road, one has only to look at the first road. It can be seen off to a precarious right in the valley bottom while ascending the mountain. The road into Buckhorn Mineral Springs follows the stage road exactly till it turns to the right, and the stage road continues on up the mountain. Mileage variance between the old and the current road is as much as one-half to 1 mile, according to Paul Rynning, county engineer. Members of a pioneer family, closely associated with the route to Klamath Falls, still recall this early stage road use. Mrs. Frances Howard Worth, Granite St. in Ashland, reported that her grandfather, Zenas Howard, operated the Howard stage station from 1877 on the route. This property entered the family from a land grant to an uncle of Mrs. Worth's father, who was a Civil War veteran. It is now known as the Summit Ranch. Besides the stop at the Howard station, the stage also made stops at Parker station and then Keno. From Keno the stage went by ferry to Linkville, now known as Klamath Falls. The road also went by the old DeCarlow Ranch, which was another sanctuary in the wilderness. The DeCarlows later moved to the present highway and established the Pinehurst community. Mrs. Worth's father, Charles B. Howard, was a stage driver 1884-85 in his youth and in 1889 married and moved to Parker station. A sister, Mrs. Alice Howard Parker, 87, who lives in Ashland, also moved to the station when she married into the Parker family. This station was also a government telegraph station, and Charles Howard and Sumner Squire Parker went to work as linemen on the telegraph line. A brother, Walter Howard, who resides with his niece, Mrs. Worth, was a stage driver during the period for the Klamath River route from Ager into Klamath Falls. Later, after moving away, Charles Howard and his family lived in California and Arizona, Mrs. Worth related, and returned in 1915. At this time they found no service for passengers to Klamath Falls. The only route was by a short line railroad from Weed to Klamath. Howard then began operation of a bus line with headquarters first at Ashland and later Medford. The first vehicles he used were Model T Fords. Mrs. Worth even took to driving one of the "buses" in the summer of 1917 when she was 18 years old. The Model Ts were used for about two years, and then the firm utilized seven-passenger Studebakers. After about three or four years, Cadillacs were in use with special body work done by a mechanic in Medford in lengthening the sedan chassis. Mrs. Worth described the roads as "very rocky and steep. The bus would twist with the road as we drove." Added to this was the fact that it was only a good-weather road. Regular travel lasted only from about April to the first part of November of each year because of the snow and mud conditions. Service was begun earlier each spring by using the Klamath River route. This meant traveling over the graded Siskiyous road to Hornbrook, then east to Shovel Creek, Ager and up the Topsy grade. She noted that the Topsy grade wasn't quite as bad, although it was "very narrow" and "quite dangerous" with the Klamath River down below the road. Sought Better Route Such road conditions were naturally outlived with modern "horseless carriages," and Charles Howard soon began a movement to obtain a better route over the Greensprings. He obtained petitions and made several journeys to Salem to obtain a survey and grading of a new road. Results were soon to materialize. Construction began in 1919 with the Greensprings section let to contract by the state, and county crews building part of the road from about Jenny Creek to the Klamath County line. In July of 1919, a young state highway engineer became location engineer and ran a survey to Keno. He was the present Jackson County engineer, Paul Rynning. His first trip to the project was on one of Howard's buses, he reported this week. He remembers the old road as "about straight up" where it reached the top of the valley. Rynning worked under Kenneth Hodgman, division engineer, and Jack True was foreman of the county road gang which worked part of the road on a cost-plus basis. Travel on the stage road was so rough, he continued, that a round trip would usually wear out a set of bands on a Model T's gears and brakes. Construction problems in those days were also quite different, he noted, as there were no tread tractors and gas shovels. Work included use of the old steam shovel, a lot of horses, and plenty of powder. He added that cleaning and grubbing stumps was the hardest part of the job. Horses plus liberal quantities of TNT removed these obstacles. "In those days," the engineer continued, "the boys would as soon blow a stump to bits as carry it out." Work continued on the new road in 1920 and was soon covered with rock macadam. Oiling did not take place until after 1925, he added. For a number of years, the bus trip to Klamath was an all-day affair, according to Mrs. Worth. After traveling to one end of the route the bus would start back the next day after an overnight stay. The bus would leave at 8 a.m., be at DeCarlows for lunch and into Klamath by about 4 p.m. One Trip Each Way Later, about 1924 or 1925, Henry Grimes became a partner of Howard, and he operated from the Klamath end. Both would start from opposite ends and meet in the middle, switching passengers, he said. This allowed one trip a day each day. About 1930, the partnership sold the bus line to [the] Southern Pacific and its subsidiary Greyhound Bus Lines. The late SP agent A. S. (Rosie) Rosenbaum helped negotiate the transaction, Mrs. Worth reported. After sale of the bus line, Howard purchased the Summit Ranch, where the family again lived. When asked what she thought of a new route to Klamath Falls, Mrs. Worth reported that she "hoped that the present route was at least maintained for the beautiful drive" which she knows so well. Medford Mail Tribune, November 29, 1953, page 9 Five-Day Wagon Trip to Crater Lake
Modern man is struggling to keep a few
primitive areas left in Oregon.Was Real "Outing" for Hardy 1909ers Two Teams Needed to Make Toughest Hills; Curves Bad Car Made Round Trip in One Day in 1911 By Harry Nordwick Mail Tribune Staff Writer It wasn't so long ago when the struggle was to carve modern advancements out of the whole primitive area. This turnabout has occurred swiftly since the turn of the century and has left a number of Jackson County residents rather agog with the changes. Changes also leave a host of memories wrapped up with the creak of wagon wheels and smell of saddle soap, and later with the goggled-eyed and duster-clad humans in "horseless carriages." Early Route An early route from this area was the Medford-Crater Lake road. However, in those days it was slightly different than the present paved road, which is now declared by many to be too "curvy" for modern vehicles, at least from Trail to Cascade Gorge. This feeling is espoused even in the face of the historical fact that it took four to five days in [a] heavy wagon, one way, to reach the lake, while now the local resident, crammed in a car with visiting relatives, can zoom up in 2½ hours. Among a number of local residents who well remember both methods of travel are Mrs. Myron Root of 28 North Berkeley Way, who took many early wagon trips; Assistant City Superintendent Clatous McCredie, who slid down a pathless rim to Crater Lake's very edge with Mrs. Root's party; Seth Bullis of the California-Oregon Power Company, who sped to the lake and back in the amazing time of one day with a 1911 Winton Six; William von der Hellen, pioneer road contractor, who worked as early as 1906 on park road crews, and later as private contractor; and Paul Rynning, county engineer, whose second job was location engineer for the state highway department from Prospect to Medford in 1919. His first was work on the Greensprings route. First Excursion Mrs. Root's first excursion to the late was in 1909 when she went in a two-wagon party. She was able to verify specific incidents of this and later trips with letters written by a chaperone. She was a member of the Rev. Kirby Miller's wagon group, whose son later became a Rhodes scholar. Their wagon was pulled by a pair of "balky white horses," Mrs. Root related, and this pair plus the famous William Stewart mules hitched to the other wagon "made some interesting experiences." The other wagon was headed by William McCredie, father of Clatous. "Never traveling more than 30 miles a day," Mrs. Root continued, "we made our first camp at Elk Creek, near the old fish hatchery." She related how the old dirt road didn't follow the present route but hugged the river and then would head "straight up." The road pitch was so bad the teams had to be hitched together to make the grade for each wagon. In one instance, at the top of a hard climb, the party met a caravan from Klamath Falls coming down with a woman driver on the wrong side of the road. After a precarious passing, the party got around the wagons using poles on the outside curves. Travel on Foot The party was able to wagon to the base of the rim on this trip, near the present government camp, but the rest of the way was on foot or horse. The group arrived late in the day after a four-day trip, Mrs. Root said, and even though dusk was near she walked to the rim. She described the sun setting in the west and blue of the lake as "the most glorious thing I had ever seen, and not one man-made thing was within sight to mar the picture." In remembering his journey with the group, Clatous McCredie reported that he and Mrs. Root "crawled" down to the lake's edge without benefit of any path. A picture in Mrs. Root's possession revealed another party utilizing a water-path [i.e., a watercourse] in ascending the crater's rim two years later. McCredie also remembered that it snowed about two inches while the group was camped below the rim. He said the area was filled with "thousands of chipmunks." Although the party forded Union Creek, he said that a couple of logs had been placed over the road for automobile travel with flattened tops for the wheels. Travel by wagon was "a lot of fun," McCredie recalled, "as time didn't mean anything then." The group had ponies, which they rode along the way. Wagon members walked a lot, as the wagons were full of provisions. In 1911, Mrs. Root took her second trip to the lake and noted "great improvements" in the road during the brief period between trips. With her party were Josephine (Jo) Riley Holmes, still a resident of Eagle Point, Mrs. Ira Canfield and brother, and Myron Root and Robert Wilson, a cousin of Mrs. Root and now with the state highway department. This trip was described as "hilarious" by Mrs. Root. She said the group didn't meet a car this trip, which took 17 days. On this trip there was a boat at the water's edge, she continued, and the group borrowed it and rowed to Wizard Island. "On the way over the boat sprung a leak, and we had to bail like mad coming back," she said. "There was no path down to the water, and we just slipped down a dry creek bed." She described the "freight trains" which were met along the way, and the interesting stories they told. She remembered one freight wagon which turned over and all the party turned out to pick up the spilled apples. Another interesting part of the travel was heating water for the horses, as the animals could not drink the icy water from the snow-fed streams. Freighters often helped the party up steep grades, she reported, and one told her husband that use of freight horses in getting the party over a hill helped him also, as he couldn't pass anyway. The party of 10 also spent about three days at Mill Creek Falls, where they had lost some ponies. An accident happened here, which displayed the rough road. One driver was thrown from the wagon seat when he hit a rut near the falls, which threw him onto the ground, knocking him unconscious. Upon reaching the camp at the base of the rim, she noted that a small "horse-pin" road had been hewn out of the rim up to the top, which wasn't there in 1909. The road was so hazardous that the party had to cut down lodgepole trees and used them in lifting the rear of the wagons around the curves, she related, in what probably could be termed the original horseshoe curves. "It was so difficult," she added, "that only young people would ever have attempted to get a wagon up the road." However, she enjoyed the trip so much she made it again the next year. A few years later, in 1914, Bullis took his speedy trip to the lake. The occasion was a publishers' convention at Medford, and Bullis took a group up in his Winton Six and back in the same day. Bullis described this as "quite a feat in those days." Most of the other members of the group, including Myron Root, who drove a Franklin, stayed overnight at a lodge. Bullis said that the group motored via Derby to McLeod on the old Crowfoot Rd. and hit a similar roadbed to the present one from there to Annie Spring. The road then wound up from Garfield ski run to behind the present lodge. This same year an article in the Mail Tribune described a new Southern Pacific folder citing a round trip fare via Medford to the lake from Portland at $31.20 with "good accommodations and an excellent campground" at the lake and auto taxi service from Medford to the lake on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Another article in the paper described a party of four motoring to the lake who turned off the road near Derby to look for a campsite "when their car hit a cougar, causing fender damage." Corkscrew Hill On Sept. 7, 1914, a letter from Dan C. Kingman, U.S. Army engineer, was published in the Mail Tribune, and it told of proposed elimination of "Corkscrew Hill" within the park boundaries. It reported that, in the engineer's opinion, the hill was the only piece within the park that presented "unusual difficulty to auto traffic. With the exception of this hill which will be eliminated this season, the road in the park is much better than the larger portion of the road between the park line and Medford." Von der Hellen, who with Chris Natwick and George Brown and son received a contract to clear and grade that portion of the present highway in April 1919 from Prospect to the park entrance, said that such a statement of the roads was possibly true, as the "higher up you went the wetter the ground and the firmer the ground." The road was worked out much more at the lower elevations and far more dustier, he added. The original road followed practically along the route of the present road, he noted, except for where it would "dodge a tree, instead of [going] straight by removing it." He said that in some places it was 200 to 300 feet off the old road. Von der Hellen also stated that the biggest construction expense was in clearing the right-of-way. There was very little rock to move in the deep pumice soil, he continued, with only 2 to 3 percent of the yardage removed of rock content. All the dirt moving was by horses, with stumps removed by TNT, furnished by the government. "It took more TNT than usual to move stumps in the porous pumice soil," he stated. The three contractors utilized three camps; three miles north of Prospect, Union Creek and Whisky Creek. He recalled one incident at their camp when Sen. George E. Chamberlain, a famous Oregon statesman, and Ralph Watson, Oregon Journal political writer, stopped with Model T Ford trouble and stayed overnight. The camp blacksmith repaired the car. A similar incident occurred when the blacksmith, doubling as a mechanic, repaired the vehicle driven by Tommy Luke, prominent Portland florist. No Serious Accidents The contractor reported that construction in those days "was not very dangerous," and he could recall no serious accidents. They finished their 22-mile road piece in November of 1920, he added. Engineer Rynning, who went to work on the project in September of 1919 as location engineer from Prospect to Medford, reported that the section from Prospect on was not oiled until after 1925. He remembers that winter as the "one of the blue snow." In describing the route at that time, Rynning said that the ferry over Rogue River at Shady Cove was still operating, with the bridge completed about 1921. A lot of travel crossed the Rogue at old Bybee bridge and went on the north side of the river, he said. The ferry couldn't be used part of the time, as the black sticky near it bogged down cars. The Shady Cove settlement was nothing but one or two houses at that time, he added. Trail had one store, operated by a man named Ash, he continued, and there were also stores at McLeod and Cascade Gorge. The Grieve resort at Prospect was one of the main stopping places on the route. From there on, Rynning said that the dust was hub-deep and in some places so thick "you could hardly breathe." The trip took an easy half a day by car to the lake and "you never thought of coming back the same day." Construction Easy Road construction on one stretch at that time was relatively easy, he pointed out, as a section from Cascade Gorge down to the Evergreen Ranch was built earlier by prison labor under Gov. Oswald West about 1914. All that was required here was to widen it on the same grade. William Grieve, father of James Grieve, was in charge of the prisoners, Rynning said. The road dealt no serious engineering problems, Rynning said, with the heavy rock work from Cascade Gorge down to Trail. The old dirt road in this stretch was followed "fairly close," he added. All of the persons traveling the old road agreed wholeheartedly on one thing; that is, there was plenty of dust. This got increasingly worse with the pumice or volcanic "froth" nearer where Mt. Mazama erupted, forming the crater for the lake. When the new roadbed was completed, Will G. Steel's prediction as superintendent of the national park in July 1914, in a Mail Tribune article, seemed realized. In that year he reported the Crater Lake Auto Stage (Hall Taxi Co.) as leaving Medford "loaded to its fullest capacity. . . . In a few years Crater Lake was bound to be the most famous resort in America." Now, it is annually visited by thousands of tourists over the Medford entrance road. However, it is not likely that many of the modern tourists achieve a thrill like Mrs. Root, who hiked to the rim "with not one man-made thing in sight." Medford Mail Tribune, December 6, 1953, page 14 Highway Over Siskiyous Oldest
Route in County;
"That'll be $1.25 please. Hope you find
the road good over the summit."Tolls Charged Many Years Numerous Troubles Encountered During 1913 Construction Old Stage Trips to South Recalled By Harry Nordwick Mail Tribune Staff Writer That's exactly what would have happened to you if you drove your buggy over the Siskiyou summit after 1859 and up to about 1913. It seems hardly possible that the old roads were financed in such a way with the current more indirect methods now in use. But it worked and was one way, at least according to records, to keep roads in fair shape and still make some money for the person that "owned the road." It seems hardly possible in a time of great public road projects that private persons controlled the roads on an original "pay as you go" basis. According to Jacksonville Museum records of the Siskiyou Wagon Road Company, the road was first opened for toll charges on Aug. 28, 1859, and two horsemen were the first customers at 25 cents each. The Lindsay Applegate family operated the road after moving from the Umpqua to the toll house near the present railroad location of Steinman. Business Not Bad Business wasn't half bad. Everybody paid, evidently based on some index of road wear and tear. Prices started with 25 cents for a horseman to a drove of 700 sheep for $20. The most consistent revenue was the stage company, which paid a monthly rate, averaging about $80. At the end of the Civil War, this was just about the only revenue during the bad winter months. However, a year's total for 1864 was $3,738--a tidy sum in those times. Road maintenance was extremely hard work in those days. The Applegate cash journal and "Diary of the Weather," which is being preserved by Mrs. Myrtle Lee at the museum, reports that during the particularly stormy winter of 1871 the drifts were quite deep. On Feb. 21, 1871, the diary stated that the company "break (broke) snow all day with three men and two yoak (yoke) of oxen pulled the stage to the summit." They also reported "blasting" rocks out "of the canyon" on numerous occasions. The road in use at this time was evidently not the first road in entirety, as a diary entry of Dec. 28, 1868 reports of a trip to the summit of the mountain on "the old (1848) road" on which they "got two deer killed there yesterday by Frank French." Lindsay and Jesse Applegate made their first trip from Yoncalla in a party of 15 men over the Siskiyous (boundary mountains) into Mexican territory about 1846, according to a short essay by Frank L. Applegate, prior to the above-mentioned road. A path very near to the toll road was evidently used by the U.S. Exploring Expedition in 1841. A group led by Lt. Emmons passed over the boundary range into Mexican territory and passed by Pilot Rock. Charles Wilkes, USN, who recorded the adventure of the naval expedition, said that in places the group traversed ". . . a steep and narrow path, where a single horse has barely room to pass." Indians impeded their progress, he related, with the burning of trees to fall across the path "and many other impediments placed to prevent the party from advancing." Sold Road in 1871 Such were the hazards of early travel over the Siskiyous. The Applegates sold the toll road privileges to James Thornton in 1871, and Thornton in turn sold to the third and final owners, the Dollarhide family. A well-known native of the Ashland community, Clarence E. Lane, remembers may trips over the mountains. He related that in the early days the road "was traveled quite a bit. The Ashland band and ballplayers would often go over the mountains to Yreka." He remembers the old stage route, which went from Ashland, with as many as six stages leaving in one morning. First stop was either Casey's or Barron's, he related. They would then climb a small hill over to Wagner Soda Springs where the road forked for the Greensprings route to Linkville (Klamath Falls) or over the Siskiyous. "Depending on the weather, the stages would then leave the station. If it was snowing, sleds would be used from this point," he continued. The Siskiyou stage road would then wind up to a point beyond the present Steinman on the railroad right of way where the toll gate was located. According to the Applegate toll book and diary, various travelers would spend the night at the toll house. The road then wound up to the summit where the stages would meet in a widened area just this side of Cole's, the next stage stop, Lane said. It was a long time before the road was improved for all-weather travel. A "better roads" movement, in which Jackson County was the premier county of Oregon, saw action by 1913. Judge Frank L. TouVelle, Jacksonville, who was county judge at the time, recalls purchasing the toll road rights for the county from the Dollarhides for $1,600. TouVelle said that the dirt stage road was followed closely on the new grading project, as "there wasn't enough money to buy new right of ways." Didn't Come Easy Although part of a historic link of Pacific Coast states, the new road didn't come easily, as attested to by articles in the Mail Tribune during the period. An Oct. 16, 1913 article reported that the only thing holding back the advertising for bids was securing rights of way "for the new road over the Siskiyous" and "for alterations along the present road, such as eliminations of sharp turns and the deeding of needed strips for a uniform width of 60 feet. . . ." Further, "in many places the present road is but 40 or 50 feet wide." On Nov. 20, the firm of H. A. Keasel and W. M. McDowell of a logging firm at Tacoma, Wash., was awarded the grading contract for $107,534.30--the lowest of nine bids. The award was the basis for elaborate plans by a committee headed by Benjamin Sheldon for the digging of the first shovelful of dirt of the new road. Accepting an invitation on the occasion was Samuel Hill of Seattle, called by the Mail Tribune the "most prominent good roads enthusiast of the Northwest." The M-T edition of Nov. 28, 1913 had this to say of the occasion: "In the presence of Gov. Oswald West and the state highway commission and a hundred prominent citizens of Jackson County, the first shovelful of earth in the construction of the Pacific Highway in Oregon was over, Kittredge, the resident engineer reported on Jan. 21 that plans for the Siskiyou camp for convicts and at Gold Ray quarry were abandoned "on account of the large number of unemployed in the county." Originally the road was to be 24 feet wide, with 16 feet of hard-surfaced road, and a maximum grade of 6 percent. However, on Feb. 11, the county court decided, along with the highway engineer, to pave only 8 feet in width over the Siskiyous with 8 feet graded on each side, according to the M-T. "This will cut down the cost and leave money enough to complete the grade through the county," the article added. Contractor Sweeney located his first camp at Steinman, with later ones at Siskiyou and also near Cole's or at Colestin where the heavy rock work is on the other side of the divide. Judge TouVelle accomplished one of his campaign promises with the depositing of cash from most of the $500,000 bond issue in Jackson County banks. That was the recognizing of county warrants at par value. A grand jury investigation was held on the contracting matter, but the evidence against the Portland contractors was not sufficient for indictment. Certain "highly scandalous unsigned letters" were referred to by the jury in regard to alleged attempts by the contractors to discredit TouVelle and Bowlby, according to the M-T. After the paving, the 8-foot stretch was not widened to 16 feet until 1920, according to County Engineer Paul Rynning. Siskiyou County Work At the same time Jackson County was paving its stretch, Siskiyou County in California was working on its part of the Pacific Highway. The new road was the turning point in the history of two Siskiyou County towns as Yreka outbid Montague for the highway site. The old road passed through Montague in what was called a "disgraceful stretch of mire." The Siskiyou line met the Jackson County road a mile north of Cole on the mountaintop. Grants Pass in Josephine County was not interested in the Pacific Highway at this time, and Hill proposed that the county send its 1915 tourists to Crater Lake and thence through central Oregon over "good natural roads to Biggs. . . ." Hill suggested this route, as the Willamette Valley area had also "refused to cooperate" in his Pacific Highway plan. Grants Passers were even wooed by a "Lt. Marshall," who was really an escaped convict, who offered to re-route the highway via the Applegate and leave Medford off the line. Fortunately, he was discovered as an impostor. In the fall of 1933, what had been considered "modern" in 1913 was again out of date, and work began on the first unit of a new route that was above and to the west of the 1913 road. On Dec. 14, the M-T reported construction under way on the first unit by William von der Hellen and Pierson from Neil Creek to Wall Creek. This entirely new road was a considerably different one from the old type "which followed the line of least resistance," according to von der Hellen. He related that hard workers and new equipment were able to cope with the building. He termed some of the new roadbed as through "tombstone granite." He completed about five miles of the present road, with the remainder done in units. The road was completed to the state line in about four years, he added. This road is still modern and was actually one of the first attempts to straighten the Pacific Highway in Oregon. This project was continuing in Jackson County last summer, with the next county stretch to be from Blackwell Hill to Central Point. Medford Mail Tribune, December 13, 1953, page 14 Two Roads Played Vital Part in
Early Jackson County Travel;
Two Jackson County roads played a vital
part in
early-day history, although their present-day importance is
overshadowed by other thoroughfares. These are the Dead Indian Rd. and
Highway 238 via Ruch and Applegate.Now Less Used Dead Indian, Ruch Roads Antedate Automobile Travel Both Much Improved in Recent Years By Harry Nordwick Mail Tribune Staff Writer Within the memory of County Judge James Blin Coleman, there have been at least three roads over the Dead Indian route to Lake o' Woods and Ft. Klamath. The first road was the Civil War road in the early Indian days, he related, which was used by newspaper men who raced over it to Ashland to telegraph the message of Captain Jack's hanging Oct. 3, 1873 at Ft. Klamath Remember Route The next road went on the left side of the ridge from the present one, according to County Engineer Paul Rynning, who surveyed the present route. Travel over the second road is remembered by several parties who took early wagon, buggy or car trips. This was really a tough trip, according to Rynning, as the grade up to the summit was 26 percent before it was reduced to 10 percent on the present road. In August of 1897, a party went over the route from the Rogue Valley to Lake o' Woods in a wagon owned by Barney Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Lane of Ashland were among those making the trip, which lasted about 12 days on the road both ways, including their stay at the lake. En route, the group camped at Arthur Hunt's ranch near Beaver Creek, according to Lane. He described the road as "terribly rough" and "bumpy," being "all rock" in several places. "We didn't have any flat tires like modern cars, but a lot of loose wheels, which we bound down with wire," Lane continued. Got Lost He also noted "sticky mud," which forced the driver to remove the brake blocks from the wagon. Upon arriving within sight of Lake o' Woods, Lane said that he and Jack Briggs took off ahead of the rest in their haste to get to the lake's edge. "It couldn't have been over 200 yards," he explained, "but we got lost. We fired our guns and those at the wagon returned the fire. A little later we came out about 10 feet from where we started, going in a complete circle." The Ashlander related that travel over the road was very sparse, with cattle from the nearby ranches the chief users of the road. A few years later, in August of 1903, a group of four traversed the same road from the other end on a circle drive via Crater Lake. Making this journey in a covered buggy or "hack" were Chet Parker, Route 3, Box 361, Press Phipps of Medford and "Doc" Edwards and Art Anderson. The group accurately recorded their journey with numerous photographs which were printed by George Mackey, brother to Henry (Stovepipe) Mackey, famous Medford photographer, according to Parker. Visited Ft. Klamath After visiting Crater Lake, the group went to the Ft. Klamath area and toured the buildings still standing. After viewing the old sternwheeler Jessie at Rocky Point on Pelican Bay, the group went on to Lake o' Woods, where they stayed overnight. Parker said that the group built a fire to ward off the mosquitoes, "but that they came right into the smoke and almost ate us up." It took the group two to three days to go from the lake into Ashland, he noted. He referred to the Dead Indian Road as a "cow trail," and remembered a few homesteaders along the route. While descending the steep road from the summit into Ashland, Parker said that they tied a log on the back of the hack to hold down the speed of the buggy on the grade. All members of the group were fully armed with rifles but didn't shoot a thing, he added. Coleman also remembered a Model T auto trip about 1918, which took about four hours to reach the lake. Rynning also noted the same type of vehicle use and said he utilized the same method as the buggy party by using a fir tree on the rear of the car to keep the rear end down while coming down the grade. The present road replaced the second road over a period of about 10 years, Rynning said. The first survey was made in the spring of 1920 and a section built the same year. Grading continued a section at a time until the 1930s. "The biggest change," he added, "was reducing the grade from Ice House Canyon to the summit by 16 percent." The whole road has never been paved, although about 4 miles of the lower end was oiled. The county crews are still working on it, the engineer pointed out, by improving the old alignment, widening and cutting off bad points. Early Day Road One of the earliest roads in the county was the Ruch Rd. from Jacksonville. Kasper Kubli, a pioneer in the Applegate Valley, used a wagon road in the fall of 1852 and camped directly across the Applegate River from the present community of Applegate, according to his grandson, E. W. Kubli, who now lives one-half mile from the original pioneer homestead of the family. The grandfather operated a pack train from Jacksonville to Crescent City, Calif., which utilized the Applegate River road route and was the principal means of getting freight into booming Jacksonville. The route was precarious at the best, and at one occasion Indians raided the pack train, E. W. Kubli said, and his grandfather and the grandfather's brother were the only ones who escaped, although the brother was seriously wounded. During the same period from about 1852 to 1859, Peter Britt also operated a pack train over the same route, according to Mrs. Myrtle Lee, curator of the Jacksonville Museum. A Spanish pack box-type saddle for pack mules is now in the museum which was used on the route. Travel was apparently considerable, and settlement increased a few years later as the Kublis erected a trading post and stage house in 1857, which was operated until 1900. The house was located about 2 miles from the present Applegate community. Just Trail E. W. Kubli reported he could remember when the road into Jacksonville was "just a trail. We used to pull the singletree out from the buggy when we went down the old Jacksonville Hill road because it was so steep," he related. He described it as a one-way road with "lots of places almost impassable." Kubli reported very little difference from the old dirt road to the present paved road down through the Applegate Valley. The main change was the rerouting of the road over Jacksonville Hill. The old route over the hill left Jacksonville by way of Oregon St. and is still in existence, meeting the present road at the top of the hill. At the top of the hill a highwayman once held up the stage going to the famous Blue Ledge copper mine in the early 1900s. The stage driver, Oscar (Duke) Lewis, is still a resident of Jacksonville. Travel to the Blue Ledge was very busy over the Jacksonville-Ruch section and then up the Upper Applegate Rd. where it branches at Ruch, according to Mrs. Harry Whitney of Jacksonville. Mrs. Whitney was an employee of the mine for a period, and her husband also worked there. She recalled about three stages a week to the mine. The first stop after leaving Jacksonville was the old Henry Bowden place, where the horses were watered and whiskey sold "by the gallon." Stops followed at Ruch, McKee (dinner served), Watkins and Joe's Bar. A place called Eileen, about one-half mile from the mine, was the last stop and first stop after payday. Mrs. Lee also recalled taking a stage out the Applegate as a young girl to stay a week or so at the Basye ranch. She recalled that the stage had to ford the Applegate in one place and she was "scared stiff." Recalls Trip Early travel over the road to the Upper Applegate and main valley road is well remembered by Dave Dorn, who was born in the U.S. Hotel 75 years ago. Dorn, now night watchman at the Jacksonville Museum, lived on a mining claim in the Upper Applegate for many years, and was also road supervisor for Jackson County on the Jacksonville-Provolt section from 1918 to '19. At the time he was in charge of the road, the small creeks were forded and wooden bridges were over the larger streams. He recalls traveling down to the Josephine County line and "catching fits from the adjacent farmers who thought they weren't getting their share of road work from the taxes they paid." Dorn said they thought their whole tax bill went for road improvement and not other functions of government, also. Repairing roads in those days was "pick and shovel" work, he added, and he usually hired one or two men to help him. When the work got too heavy there were always men available living along the road who helped him. On really big jobs, he would use a team from a farm and haul a scraper along the road surface, Dorn said. Three Tracks The road got very muddy in places, he continued, and when cars became frequent there would be "three tracks down the road. Two for the tires and one for the crankcase." The "straight up" portion of the old road was alleviated over Jacksonville Hill before the present road was paved. Rynning ran the survey over the hill and said "we thought it was a good job in those days." The same section is now being changed right now with the grading done from the top of the hill back towards Jacksonville for about 1½ miles, and paving is scheduled for next spring. The old "kinks" are removed. This section over the hill was the principal change over the old dirt road and very welcome at the time, according to Dorn. Heavy oiling of the road was done first from Medford to Jacksonville and from the top of the hill to Ruch about 1924, with the center section from the hill to Jacksonville completed about 1927, Rynning noted. Paving was later completed from Ruch to Grants Pass. The road was made a secondary state highway in 1928. Tiller-Trail Route Another road out of the Rogue Valley, which is "modern" in vintage compared to those two, is the Tiller-Trail Highway. Completion of the route by the 1940s was done with much controversy, as it would leave out Grants Pass and other Highway 99 points. The road was oiled in sections during the '30s. Rynning pointed out that although the route has only one summit, it is higher than any one of the three on Highway 99. The route was early heralded in the Mail Tribune as shortening the distance between Medford and Portland by 40 miles and an hour in time, according to an article on July 11, 1929. The article noted that the Tiller-Trail route was the original road surveyed and was "once considered the most practical route for the present Pacific Highway." It was termed an "easy grade" and supported by Willamette Valley communities, Portland commercial interests and stage concerns. The route would also give a faster and shorter route to Crater Lake from these points, the proponents believed. However, the road never materialized as an arterial highway and is still in relatively little use, especially in the winter. Medford Mail Tribune, December 20, 1953, page 14 Post Office House Numbering Done
A
house numbering system for several roads in the Medford area has been
completed by the Medford post office, according to Postmaster Moore
Hamilton.
Roads on which house numbers have been established are Pacific Highway to Talent, South Stage Rd. from Kings Highway to Pacific Highway, Oak Grove Rd., Madrona Lane, Casino Rd., Bellinger Rd., Ross Lane, Brookdale Rd. and Pierce Rd. Work on the numbering system was done by Leslie Shorey of the county engineer's office, working with post office officials. It completes present house numbering work, but plans call for all roads which the Medford post office serves eventually to be numbered, Hamilton said. Medford Mail Tribune, June 30, 1954, page 14 Last revised April 5, 2024 |
|
