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The Infamous Black Bird Southern Oregon History, Revised


Ansil A. Davis and the Medford Roller Mills

The Medford Roller Mills were on South Front Street, on the northeast corner of Front and Ninth.


Medford Roller Mills 1889

    An attempt will be made to induce someone to establish a flouring mill at this place. Dr. Adkins, D. H. Miller and B. W. Powell have been appointed as a committee by the board of trade to solicit contributions toward a fund which will be offered as a bonus to someone who will establish that enterprise.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, November 25, 1887, page 3

Davis & France Roller Mills Flour Sack
Davis & France Roller Mills flour sack

    Our prospects for a flouring mill seem to be good. A gentleman from Portland is in town and agrees to put up a large mill at this place if a certain subsidy will be raised, and it is likely that his terms will be acceded to.
"Medford Squibs,"
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 9, 1887, page 2


    Medford has raised the $2000 bonus and will have a flouring mill.
"Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, December 22, 1887, page 3



    The bonus asked by Gove & Co., a Portland firm, to put up a flouring mill at this place, being about subscribed, we expect to see this enterprise established here in time for next season's crop. The liberality of our people is to be commended.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 23, 1887, page 2


    Mr. Schultz, representing Gove & Co. of Portland, who have agreed to build a grist mill here, has been in town lately and selected a site where to locate the enterprise.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 27, 1888, page 3


    It is reported that the parties who promised to put up a flouring mill at this place have crawfished, and the prospects for such an enterprise are not so bright as they were, we are sorry to say. Medford needs and should have this mill. The cash bonus of $2000 is said to be open to any responsible party who will give us the enterprise.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 10, 1888, page 2


    The flouring mill enterprise is said to have collapsed. It is also reported that the water right, necessary thereto, has been taken up and must be purchased, which is another drawback. We are very sorry to learn that such a state of affairs exists, as the mill would have been a great help to our town.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 24, 1888, page 2


    Mr. Schultz, who is to build a flouring mill at this place, has purchased of A. S. Jacobs a half interest in the property known as the Riddle House. He is making a bid for the balance of this fine property, and if he can buy it will purchase adjoining buildings on D Street, and not only increase the extent of the hotel but raise the whole to two stories. Mr. Schultz will, in addition to this, erect the mill this season.
Southern Oregon Transcript, Medford, March 13, 1888, page 2


    J. E. Drucks, late of Portland, will soon begin the erection of a large roller flouring mill.
"Medford Notes," Oregonian, Portland, May 17, 1888, page 3


    The citizens of Medford, with their accustomed enterprise, have made arrangements with parties from Minneapolis, Minn., to establish a fine, large flouring mill, with the latest improvements, in our town. This will no doubt prove of great benefit to southern Oregon in general.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 24, 1889, page 2


    A. A. Davis, a Minneapolis gentleman, is making    arrangements to put up a grist mill and have it completed by the 1st of August. He has already secured ground for its location, and it will be run part of the time by water power and part by an engine. Its capacity will be 50 barrels per day.
"Medford Doings," Valley Record, Ashland, January 24, 1889, page 3


    A big grist mill for Medford is one of the certainties. Hurrah for the enterprise of our leading citizens.
     A. A. Davis of Albert Lea, Minn., is the gentleman who proposes putting up a patent roller mill here, and has already purchased considerable real estate.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 31, 1889, page 3


    A. A. Davis, the grist mill man recently from Albert Lea, Minn., purchased 3¼ acres of lots on C Street, Saturday for $950.
"Medford Doings," Valley Record, Ashland, January 31, 1889, page 3


    J. B. Coyle went to Medford last week to take a look at that new railroad town. He reports that he finds Medford one of the thriving towns. The people are going ahead with public works, investing money and making the town boom. They are erecting a big flour mill and will have an electric light plant before the summer is over.--[Roseburg Plaindealer.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 28, 1889, page 3


    The ground is being cleared off for Medford's fine roller flour mill, which will be a fine drawing card for this city.
"Items from Medford," Valley Record, Ashland, February 28, 1889, page 3


    Work has been begun on the new flouring mill near the stock yards, and it will be ready for business by next harvest. It will be equipped with modern machinery throughout.
    Mr. Davis, who with Jos. France is engaged in putting up the grist mill at this place, has gone to Minnesota for the purpose of settling up his business affairs, and will return in a few months. Meanwhile the construction of the building will progress.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 7, 1889, page 3


    Work on the flouring mill is progressing rapidly under the supervision of one of the proprietors, Jos. France.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 14, 1889, page 3


    The masonry for A. A. Davis' grist mill is finished. Mr. D. is still east.
"Medford Doings," Valley Record, Ashland, March 14, 1889, page 3


    A. A. Davis left last Tuesday for Chicago, where he goes to purchase the machinery for the flour mill.
"Medford Items," Ashland Tidings, March 15, 1889, page 3


    The grist mill is moving steadily forward. The stone foundation is already finished.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 28, 1889, page 3


    On Monday last work was begun on the framework of the new grist mill. It will be rapidly pushed to completion, and it is thought will be ready to handle a portion of the growing grain crop this season.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 2, 1889, page 2


    A neat residence is being built in town for A. A. Davis of Minnesota, the mill man.
    Lumber for the big grist mill is being hauled from Welch's in Meadows precinct and is rapidly put into the building.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 9, 1889, page 3


    Our grist mill is looming up nicely.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 16, 1889, page 3


    A. A. Davis' new residence in the western part of town has been completed. It is one of the finest buildings in town.

    The work on the new grist mill is progressing nicely. The siding is all on and the roof, which is to be of iron, will be put on the first of next week. The machinery is expected to be here by the 10th of June.

"Medford Items," Ashland Tidings, May 24, 1889, page 2


    The machinery for the big grist mill is expected to arrive next week.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 30, 1889, page 3


    A. A. Davis, who made a good fortune in the mercantile business at Alden, will start with his family this week for Medford, Oregon, where he will locate. He is building a mill and intends to operate it.
"Standard Notes,"
Freeborn County Standard, Albert Lea, Minnesota, May 30, 1889, page 5


    A ROLLER MILL FOR MEDFORD.--Work has been commenced on a roller mill of a daily capacity of sixty barrels, and it is expected that the mill will be ready to grind the coming crop. Power will be supplied at a cost of several thousand dollars, which will run the mill for at least eight months in the year. Steam will have to be relied upon at other times.
The West Shore, Portland, June 1889, page 348.  Steam ran the mill at all times.


    Davis & France's fine, large mill building is finished, and the machinery will be received in a few days.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 6, 1889, page 3


    Mr. France is of the opinion that the flouring mill will be ready for business by August 1st next.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 13, 1889, page 3


    The machinery for Davis & France's grist mill has nearly all arrived and is rapidly being put into position. We will soon have the finest mill in southern Oregon.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 20, 1889, page 3


    The machinery for the new grist mill has arrived, and has already been placed in position. Mr. Davis returned with his family Wednesday.
"Medford Items," Ashland Tidings, June 21, 1889, page 2


    The mechanics are putting in the elevator and conveyor system in the new grist mill, which will soon be ready to handle the crops in this vicinity.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 27, 1889, page 3


    Capt. A. L. Kidder of Meadows precinct was here on Tuesday. He has been assisting in the construction of the Medford flouring mills.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 11, 1889, page 3


    France & Davis will soon have their new mill running.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 1, 1889, page 3


    The new grist mill steamed up for the first time on Tuesday. They will begin grinding the first of next week. Medford can now boast of the finest roller mill in Southern Oregon.

"Medford Items," Ashland Tidings, August 2, 1889, page 3


    N. H. Spencer of Griffin Creek delivered the first wheat at the new mill last week.
    Davis & France are receiving wheat at their new mill. They will soon have a warehouse in operation also.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 8, 1889, page 2


    IN OPERATION.--The new flouring mill at Medford is in full operation. About a week ago the machinery was in place and the engine steamed up for a trial of the machinery, and after a few hours' running to get the different bearings regulated, the mill commenced work first on chop, then on the manufacture of flour. There are four floors, including the basement, which is occupied with a boiler and engine and heavy pinion wheels that turn the machinery above. The first floor proper contains the complete roller machinery, made by E. P. Allis, and takes the place of the old burr. There are four of these mills, which are equal to four run of burrs. There are no burrs in the mill. The second floor contains the purifying machinery, which takes the place of the old bolt, under the burr and bolt system of making flour. This machinery is called the scalper and cyclone. The third floor contains the machinery that cleans the grain, and takes the place of the old-time fanning mill and smutter, and the grain passing through this apparatus is divested of all foreign substances, such as grains of oats, smut, cheat, shrunken and imperfect grains of wheat, leaving the grain absolutely clean and pure, ready for the rollers. L. Rouse and his brother D. Rouse are the millwrights who built this mill and placed the machinery.--Mail.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 15, 1889, page 1


Patent Flour.
    Messrs. Davis & France, of the Medford Roller Mills, yesterday presented the Times office with a sample sack of the fine flour which they are making, and an inspection by experienced hands proves it to be of the finest quality. The neat and attractive packages in which it is put upon the market will doubtless help to make it what its name implies, "Hard to Beat." It is manufactured by the straight roller process--gradual reduction--no burrs being employed. Look out for their advertisement next week.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 15, 1889, page 3


    Our new mill is manufacturing a superior quality of flour, which is highly spoken of by all who have used it.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 15, 1889, page 3


    Much wheat is being contracted for by Messrs. Davis & France, who expect to build up a fine trade in the product of their new roller mills.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 22, 1889, page 3


    The ladies all praise the new roller process flour made by the Medford mills.
    The Medford roller mills shipped their first carload of flour to Yreka last Friday.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 29, 1889, page 3


    Two carloads of fine flour were shipped from the roller mills to Grants Pass last week.
    The new roller mills are securing the cream of the wheat that comes to this market.
    The roller mills are compelled to run 15 hours per day to keep up with the demand for their fine flour.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 5, 1889, page 2


    Attention is called to the new advertisement of the flouring mills at Medford. The proprietors, Davis & France, are pushing the product of their mill into every market in southern Oregon and northern California, and its superior quality warrants the prediction that it will fully meet the demand of their trade and hold its own wherever introduced.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 5, 1889, page 3


Medford Roller Mills.
MEDFORD, OREGON.
DAVIS & FRANCE,  -  -  -  Proprietors.
WE HAVE NOW ONE OF THE BEST-EQUIPPED FLOUR MILLS IN THE STATE, and the
ONLY FULL ROLLER PROCESS MILL
in Southern Oregon. These mills are now manufacturing the best grade of flour ever offered to the trade in this section and are prepared to fill all orders for flour, mill feed, etc., on short notice. All orders by mail or in person will receive prompt attention.
Test the Flour and You Will Use No Other.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 5, 1889 et seq., page 3

Medford Roller Mills ad, September 7, 1889 Medford Mail
September 7, 1889 Medford Mail

    The business of the roller mills is increasing rapidly.
    The safe of Davis & France of the Medford roller mills was blown open by burglars Wednesday night but the box, containing but $40 as luck would have it, was captured by the burglars. Citizens should exercise unusual caution during the coming week. There are always a number of cracksmen following the fairs on the circuit.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 26, 1889, page 3


Safe-Crackers at Medford.
    Burglars entered the flouring mill at Medford and blew open the office safe at some time between Wednesday evening and yesterday morning. They obtained some $40 in cash for their trouble, and up to last evening no clue to the identity or whereabouts of the thieves was reported.
Ashland Tidings, September 27, 1889, page 3



    The new roller mills has shipped a fine lot of flour to Roseburg, which is there finding a ready market.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 3, 1889, page 3


To Hog Raisers.
    I wish to say to the farmers of Jackson County that I imported several head of full-blood Poland-China hogs from Minnesota last year, and now offer them for sale. They are fine, and received first premium at last September's fair held in this county. Will be sold at reasonable rates. Can be seen by calling on A. A. Davis at the Medford Roller Mills, Jackson County, Oregon. Also have some oak lumber and some wagon tongues for sale.
A. A. DAVIS.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 5, 1889 et seq., page 3


    Olwell's mills at Phoenix will hereafter be operated in connection with the Medford Roller Mills. The combination will prove a strong one.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 23, 1890, page 3


To the Farmers of Jackson County.
    Having found it impracticable to operate our mill at Medford as an exchange mill, we have purchased the Washington Mills of Phoenix, and will continue to operate them on the exchange plan. As soon as practicable we will overhaul the mill and place it in first-class repair. So bring on your wheat and we will prove to you that you will be treated as well by the new firm as the old.
Respectfully yours,
        Davis & France.
Medford, Or., Jan. 20, 1890.
Democratic Times,
Jacksonville, January 23, 1890, page 3


    The product of our roller mill is sold in considerable quantities at Eugene, where A. Goldsmith recently received a carload. Medford flour is gaining a big reputation everywhere.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 30, 1890, page 3


    Davis & France, proprietors of the flouring mill at Medford, have bought the Phoenix mill of P. W. Olwell, and intend to overhaul and improve it. They will operate both mills, Mr. Joseph France taking charge of the Phoenix mill.
"Brevities," Ashland Daily Tidings, January 31, 1890, page 3


To the Farmers of Jackson County.
    Having found it impracticable to operate our mill at Medford as an exchange mill, we have purchased the Washington Mills of Phoenix, and will continue to operate them on the exchange plan. As soon as practicable we will overhaul the mill and place it in first-class repair. So bring on your wheat and we will prove to you that you will be treated as well by the new firm as the old.
                                   Respectfully yours,
DAVIS & FRANCE
Medford, Or., Jan. 20, 1890
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 20, 1890 page 4


    A. J. Daley, of the Eagle Point flouring mills, has let the contract for a complete set of the new patent roller process machinery, of the capacity of 50 barrels a day, which is to be put in the mill as soon as the freight trains will bring the machinery. Mr. L. Rouch, who put up the Medford mill, is to have charge of the job. Jackson County will soon be known abroad as the location of mills making the best flour in the state.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, March 7, 1890, page 3


    A very nice flouring mill, under the supervision of Ferry & Davis, of Minnesota, turns out flour in quality such as Stockton, Cal., might be proud of.
"The Fine State of Oregon," Daily Freeman and Republican, Waukesha, Wisconsin, July 3, 1890, page 1


    A movement has been on foot for several months to organize a second flouring mill in Medford, its stock being owned by a number of farmers of this vicinity. Seven thousand dollars worth of stock has already been pledged, the plan being to secure three thousand more in cash before purchasing machinery. A good lot has been secured near the depot.--[Mail.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, July 4, 1890, page 3


    A movement has been on foot for several months to organize a second flouring mill in Medford, says the Mail, its stock being owned by a number of farmers of that vicinity. Seven thousand dollars' worth of stock have already been pledged, the plan being to secure $3000 more in cash before purchasing machinery. A good lot has been secured near the depot.

"Oregoniana,"
Oregonian, Portland, July 6, 1890, page 4


    A. Lamb, who has had charge of Ganiard's mill near Gold Hill, has removed to Phoenix, where he will act as miller at Davis & France's milling establishment. He is a first-class miller and manufactures a superior article of flour.

"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 18, 1890, page 3


    A. A. Davis of the Medford roller mills made a trip to Portland and the Sound cities during the week.

"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 25, 1890, page 3


    Our roller mill has changed hands and will also be operated on the exchange plan hereafter. The high standard of the flour manufactured here will be maintained.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 1, 1890, page 2


    The milling firm of Davis & France, operating the Phoenix and Medford mills, was dissolved this week, Mr. France retiring.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, August 1, 1890, page 3


    We learn from J. A. Hazel of Alden, who made a hurried business trip to the county seat last Thursday, that A. A. Davis has purchased Joseph France's interest in the flouring mill at Medford, Oregon, which he is now managing alone. Mr. Davis has been even more prosperous in his Pacific Slope home than he was while in Alden.
Albert Lea Enterprise, Albert Lea, Minnesota, August 14, 1890, page 16



    Mr. France, recently of the milling firm of Davis & France, of Medford and Phoenix, is up on Puget Sound, and is contemplating building a flouring mill at Fairhaven.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, August 22, 1890, page 3


    Frank Brandon has gone to Medford to make flour in the roller mill at that place. Frank is a good miller, and has had experience with the roller process.
"Personal," Ashland Tidings, August 22, 1890, page 3


    Eighty barrels per day is the output of the Medford roller mills at present.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 26, 1890, page 3


    Hon. W. P. Sergeant sends us a copy of the Buckley, Washington Banner, from which we extract the following interesting item: "Joseph France, from Medford, Oregon, has purchased an interest in the Buckley Lumber Company. The management propose to enlarge the mill to double its present capacity, and will put in another engine and an extensive box factory. They have also purchased the corner lot just back of the Chamberlain store building and are now erecting what will be, when completed, the largest store room in town. It will be stocked with groceries, provisions, hay and grain, and will be run in connection with the mill company."

"Standard Notes," Freeborn County Times, Albert Lea, Minnesota, November 5, 1890, page 14



    A. A. Davis is receiving a large amount of wheat, the good roads greatly facilitating hauling same to market.

    A. A. Davis was last week granted a franchise for an electric light plant, the power for the generator to be furnished presumably by the flouring mill engine.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 12, 1890, page 2


    The Medford Roller Mills, which have been closed for a week past for repairs, started again Monday morning. They are now running on full time.
"Medford Items," Ashland Tidings, January 9, 1891, page 2


    Davis' roller mills are once more running on full time, after closing a week for repairs. They are doing a big business.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 16, 1891, page 2


    A. A. Davis has remodeled and ornamented his dwelling house, adding greatly to its appearance.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 30, 1891, page 2


    Miller & Strang fixed A. A. Davis' tin roof of his roller mill, that the winds lifted off some time ago, in good shape.
"Medford Doings," Valley Record, Ashland, March 5, 1891, page 3


    MEDFORD ROLLER MILLS, corner D and 9th streets. This mill was started almost two years ago by the proprietor, A. A. Davis. It is a four-story building 40x50 feet in size, and has a capacity of from seventy-five to eighty barrels for each twenty-four hours. It is supplied with all the latest machinery, run by an engine of forty horsepower. Mr. Davis has about $14,000 invested in plant and machinery. He also runs the Phoenix mills situated at the town of Phoenix about five miles from here. His trade extends down to Redding, Cal., and up to the Willamette Valley. These mills are a credit to the county and deserving of much commendation. Mr. Davis is a gentleman of large experience and an active, enterprising man. He is a School Board Director and was a member of City Council one term. He came here two years ago from Alden, Minnesota, where he was in the general merchandising business, and also held a number of official positions.
P. W. Croake, The Rogue River Valley, "The Italy of Oregon," Glass & Prudhomme, Portland, Oregon. Undated, written March 1891.\\
    MEDFORD FLOUR.--A. Goldsmith has received another carload of the celebrated Medford flour. He will keep this excellent brand of flour in stock at all times hereafter.
Eugene City Guard, May 2, 1891, page 1



    The Medford roller mills are shipping forty carloads of wood from the north for their engine.
"Here and There," Ashland Tidings, May 22, 1891, page 3


    A. A. Davis has been in the Sound country drumming up business for the "Medford Straight" flour during the past week.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 10, 1891, page 2


    A. A. Davis started for Olympia, Wash. on business, but will not be gone long.
    D. W. Hazel has gone to Olympia, Wash. to look after A. A. Davis' milling interests there. His family will probably follow soon.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 2, 1891, page 2


    A. A. Davis is now compelled to spend a large proportion of his time on Olympia, attending to his milling interests there.
    Wm. Olwell has for some weeks held the responsible position of manager of the Medford roller mills, and will, of course, give the best of satisfaction, as he was raised in a mill and has good business qualifications.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 9, 1891, page 2


    The machinery of the Davis Flouring Mill of Tumwater started on Monday morning. Mr. Davis is an experienced mill owner, and owns and operates several other mills. He brings the greater number of his employees with him, all of whom thoroughly understand their business. Mr. Pottinger of Medford, Ore., bookkeeper for the firm, arrived yesterday.
"Tumwater Tums," Olympia Tribune, Olympia, Washington, October 9, 1891, page 1


    The Medford mills were paying 75 cts. per bushel for wheat last week.
"Brevities," Ashland Tidings, November 27, 1891, page 3


    Flour has taken another jump forward and is now quoted at $24 per ton at the Medford mill.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 4, 1891, page 3


    A. A. Davis, with commendable Christian remembrance, delivered a sack of his best flour to each and every needy family in town he could hear of on Christmas Eve. The Ladies' Union Relief Corps found him a valuable assistant in their commendable work.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 1, 1892, page 2


    The Medford Roller Mills started up again Monday after being shut down for about ten days for the holidays and to repair the mill generally. Only day runs are being made at present.

"Local News," Medford Mail, January 7, 1892, page 3


    Owing to wheat shortage the Medford flour mills run on half time at present. Too much wheat was shipped out of the valley this year. This should never be; at least enough should stay with us to keep local industries busy the year round, as by this means employment can be given to a greater number of men.
"Local News," Medford Mail, January 14, 1892, page 3


    A. A. Davis is gaining political strength every day. He received one vote for councilman.

"The Election," Medford Mail, January 14, 1892, page 3   Davis wasn't on the ballot.


    The Mail says that the Medford mill is running on half time on account of scarcity of wheat, and complains that too much was shipped out of the valley this year. Local millers will have to tone up their nerve and "get a move on them" early in the season when the wheat market is on the boom, as it was in 1891, or the outside buyers will trespass on their needs every time.
"Brevities,"
Ashland Tidings, January 22, 1892, page 3


    G. W. Howard of the bank is at Olympia, Wash. He is interested in the milling business with A. A. Davis, and may locate there permanently at an early day.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 12, 1892, page 2



A New Deal.
    The Medford Roller Mills from this date will exchange as follows: For one bushel of good, clean wheat or pounds enough of dirty wheat to make 60 lbs. of clean wheat will give 30 lbs. best flour, 20 lbs. mill feed--bran and shorts mixed--which would be 50 lbs. for 60 lbs. lean wheat. When flour is wanted in my sacks 2 lbs. of flour less to the bushel will be given. Change is made to stop the talk of taking one-half, as some customers cannot see that 38 lbs. flour, the exchange heretofore, was more than half. Hoping this will be more satisfactory.
        I am yours respectfully,
                A. A. DAVIS.
Medford Mail, February 18, 1892, page 3


Letter from Oregon.
To the Editors of The Enterprise:
    MEDFORD, Oregon, February 9, 1892.--We see you asked for some one of the many readers of your paper to write something, therefore we will say we are making garden here; some have had their gardens planted for two weeks past. Have any of the Minnesotans made garden this spring yet? No, I guess they will have to wait till the snow disappears first. I notice that you have had some very cold weather there. I will say the coldest it has been here is 2 degrees below freezing. I see I. E. Starks thinks there is no place like Alden, Minn. Very well; it will do for all who want to face the winds and blinding snow, but we Alden people who did not care to live longer there find ourselves in a warmer climate, where the roses will bloom all the year round. A. A. Davis, who is in the milling business here, owns as fine a mill as there is on the coast; says he is satisfied to stay here where we have one of the finest climates in Southern Oregon. We are only 25 miles from the California line and we have all taken a trip over the great Siskiyou Mountains, which is one of the most interesting portions of the trip between Portland and San Francisco, from the base to the summit of the range, a distance of twelve miles, the train rises a distance of 1,900 feet. This is on the Oregon side. On the southern slope the grade is not as steep. This is considered a heavy grade for a steam railroad. Just on the California side are the great health-giving mineral springs, and the train stops so all passengers may drink of the sparkling water, which surpasses the great Saratoga Springs in New York. The water is very pleasant to drink. Respectfully,
MR. AND MRS. EDWIN BROWN.
Albert Lea Enterprise, Albert Lea, Minnesota, February 18, 1892, page 1


    Wm. Olwell, late bookkeeper at the Medford Roller Mills, is back at his father's ranch near Central Point, where he will remain several weeks and lend a hand at pruning their 160-acre orchard.
"Local News," Medford Mail, March 10, 1892, page 3


    Ed Pottenger is visiting in the city from Olympia, where he is in the employ of A. A. Davis in the milling business.
"Local News," Medford Mail, March 31, 1892, page 3


    Will Olwell is once more at his post of duty in the Medford roller process flouring mill.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 22, 1892, page 3


    A. A. Davis recently returned from Olympia, Wash., where he is engaged in milling business with G. W. Howard.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 20, 1892, page 2


    B. F. Yount left Sunday evening for Davenport, Wash., where he goes to enter the employ of the A. A. Davis Milling Co., who are putting in a flourishing mill in that place. His family will remain here for a couple of months at least.

"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, July 1, 1892, page 3


    A. A. Davis is in Olympia again and Will. Olwell is managing the Medford mills.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 1, 1892, page 2


    The flour mill has closed until the fall trade.
    A. A. Davis, who is building up an extensive milling business in the state of Washington, came home Saturday to remain for a while.

"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, July 8, 1892, page 3


    B. F. Yount of Medford last week preceded his family to Davenport, Wash., to enter the employ of the A. A. Davis Milling Co. at that place.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 8, 1892, page 2


    While the flour mill is closed it is being completely rehauled and cleaned. A wagon scales is being put in, and everything will be in shipshape order about the 1st of August, when it is expected the fall run will begin.
"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, July 15, 1892, page 3


    The A. A. Davis mill property has been improved largely inside and outside.
    B. F. Crouch, who has been working on J. Nunan's fine new residence at Jacksonville, is home again and is engaged at work on A. A. Davis' addition to his dwelling.
"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, July 29, 1892, page 3


    The flouring mill was shut down this week on account of the crank pin of the engine getting out of repair, which necessitated it being sent to Portland.
"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, August 12, 1892, page 3


    The Medford mill has reduced the price of flour to $20 a thousand, but the Eagle mill is selling for $17.50 a thousand. The rates may be still lower later on.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 12, 1892, page 3


    Davis' mill has everything in readiness for the coming season, and will start up on new wheat in a very few days.
    A. A. Davis is engaged in building a new addition to his residence. B. F. Crouch is doing the work, which is first-class.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 12, 1892, page 2


    The A. A. Davis roller mill is running again.
    Mrs. B. F. Yount left last Friday evening for Davenport, Wash., where she goes to join Mr. Yount, who is in the employ of the A. A. Davis milling company at that place.
"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, August 19, 1892, page 3


Fire at Medford.
    Monday night about 1:30 a.m. the wood pile of A. A. Davis, lying between his flouring mill and the railroad track at Medford, was discovered ablaze. The alarm soon brought Medford's entire population to the scene as well as the hose company. The water supply was so weak that it was of no service, and the only water to be had was that pumped from wells, and wet blankets used. The wood, some 220 cords, was consumed by the flames, and herculean efforts finally stanched the fire there after the flames had severely scorched and blistered the flour mill building. It was a miraculous escape, and had the mill once caught fire all the powers of heaven and earth would not have saved the town from complete destruction.
    Mr. Davis thinks the fire was started from a spark from the engine of the northbound freight train which passed just before.
Valley Record, Ashland, August 25, 1892, page 3


Fire! Fire!
    Our city was saved, and that by a miracle and hours of hard and hot work, but A. A. Davis, of the flour mills, is the loser by about 200 cords of cord and slab fir wood. The fire occurred last Tuesday morning at about 1 o'clock, the origin of which is unknown, but as usual there are no end of theories advanced.
    This immense pile of wood stood about 50 feet west of the flour mill, and only because the wind was favorable can it be said that all that portion of the city in the vicinity of the fire escaped devastation by the terrible flames. Of course we do not forget that even though the elements were kind, the mill and all property adjacent would have burned ten times over had it not been that our citizens turned out by the score with buckets and drained every well in the neighborhood. How they did work with buckets and carpets and small hose until broad daylight! A harvest of blistered hands and faces and stiff joints tell the tale. Finally the Jacksonville suction well fire apparatus was sent for and speedily subdued what was left of the terrible fire fiend's handiwork.
    What of Medford's water supply? There was none! No water in the ditch for two days previous, and what little there was in the tank the fire boys made good use of. The lesson was a costly one to Davis, the sufferer, but perhaps cheaper in the end.
    Phoenix citizens had been given permission to use for irrigating what little water there was in the ditch at this season of the year, providing they would clean out the ditch, and thus Medford found itself almost in the "soup," as the saying is. But there let us be thankful all is as well as it is. We will only add that there is a certain clique who on these occasions always hold aloof from any good work that might be rendered. They sit or lounge around, making side remarks, and even hindering the public-spirited workers who know no fatigue.

Southern Oregon Mail, August 26, 1892, page 3


A Card of Thanks.
    The Thanks and gratitude I feel to the kind friends who worked so nobly to save my property Monday night would take a whole page of this paper to express. Thanking you each and all,
            I Am Yours Respt.,
                        A. A. DAVIS.

Southern Oregon Mail, August 26, 1892, page 3


Fires at Medford.
    A pile of wood, about 275 cords, in front of the Medford flour mill burned last Tuesday morning about 1 o'clock, and it took hard work to save the mill, as there was no water in the ditch at the time. The loss of the wood was $800; no insurance. The fire was seen at Jacksonville, and the fire engine was taken down from that place by the cars.
    Wednesday night about midnight a fire was discovered in the platform between the freight depot and passenger depot of the Jacksonville railroad, and was promptly put out, water being on hand that time. Some people think the fires were of incendiary origin.

Ashland Tidings, August 26, 1892, page 3


Fire at Medford.
    Some miscreant set the large woodpile in front of the Medford Roller Mills afire on Tuesday night, and that town was in danger for awhile. It was with the utmost difficulty that the mills were saved. The fire engine from Jacksonville was sent for and brought down by a special train, and did good service. About 150 cords of wood were burned. There seems to be no doubt that this was the work of an incendiary.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 26, 1892, page 3


    A. A. Davis went north Saturday to look after his milling interests on the Sound. The mill at this place is being repainted to obliterate the marks left by the late fire. The mill is running night and day at present. C. N. Hastings of Sprague, Washington, is night miller and W. Halley, night engineer. Wm. Olwell is still general superintendent.

"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, September 2, 1892, page 3


    The roller mills are running night and day. During the absence of A. A. Davis on the Sound C. N. Hastings, Mr. Johnston and Wm. Olwell have entire charge, the latter being manager.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 9, 1892, page 2


    Clarence Kellogg, day engineer in Davis' flour mills, expects to soon leave for Portland, to take a position as engineer on one of the riverboats.

"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, September 30, 1892, page 3


    A. A. Davis last week returned from looking after his milling interests in Washington.
    Mr. Halley has succeeded Clarence Kellogg as engineer at the Davis flouring mills, the latter having gone north to accept a position on a Columbia river boat.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 21, 1892, page 2


    Will Olwell has gone to Davenport, Wash. to take charge of the mill of Davis & Co. at that place, now ready for operation. He is a straightforward business man, and his many friends wish him success in his new home.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 28, 1892, page 3


    Night miller Hastings of the A. A. Davis flour mill of this city departed for Walla Walla, Wash., last Sunday where he will take a position in a flour mill. The Davis mill will not run of nights hereafter.

"Local and General," Southern Oregon Mail, November 4, 1892, page 3


    The Davis flour mill at Medford has ceased running its night shift, and Mr. Hastings has gone to Walla Walla.
"Pressed Bricks," Valley Record, Ashland, November 10, 1892, page 1


    There were no gay pink and green rayons then, "back in the good old days." And they didn't call them lingerie. The undies were made from "A. A. Davis' Best." But many oldtimers remember the cloth as it gleamed from teeter-totter and rail fence, in the '90s when "times were hard."
    Some mothers had time to boil the letters out of the sacks, but the majority left them in, and everyone knew that A. A. Davis' flour mill was supplying southern Oregon with underwear.
"
Newbury Recalls Days of Flour Sack B.V.D.'s," undated 1930s Medford Mail Tribune clipping, RVGS


    A. A. Davis' handsome residence has been greatly improved by its new coat of paint.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 2, 1892, page 2


    Jos. France and his son have become interested in flouring mills at Athena, Umatilla County, and also in merchandising on Puget Sound. We are glad to learn that they are doing well.
"Here and There," 
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 3, 1893, page 3


    The annual meeting of the stockholders of the Jackson County Bank was held at Medford last Saturday, and W. I. Vawter was elected president, Wm. Slinger, vice-president and J. E. Enyart, cashier. The directors for the ensuing year are W. I. Vawter, J. E. Enyart, Wm. Slinger, A. A. Davis and C. H. Pierce. Satisfactory dividend was declared besides passing a creditable sum to surplus account. The small amount of stock yet on standing was entirely taken up by the present leading stockholders and resolutions passed to increase the capital stock as fast as the growth of the valley would justify.

Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 10, 1893, page 3


    The local flouring mill last week consigned a carload of mill-stuff to Redding, Cal.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 24, 1893, page 3


    Mr. P. J. Halley, one of the engineers at A. A. Davis' flouring mill, is laid up this week with a severe cold.
"City Local Whirl," Medford Mail, March 17, 1893, page 3


    Mr. A. A. Davis, the popular and jovial merchant miller of Medford, was up at Ashland Monday for a brief business stay.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, March 24, 1893, page 3


    The following is a list of the committees which will make arrangements for the approaching teachers' institute: Entertainment--N. L. Narregan, Madge Griffiths, N. A. Jacobs, Ella McGuire, Lila Sackett, Della Pickel, Myrtle Nicholson. Arrangements--I. A. Webb, J. H. Faris, A. A. Davis, D. H. Miller, Charley Wolters, W. I. Vawter, M. Purdin. Music--M. E. Rigby, Della Pickel, Mrs. W. I. Vawter, J. R. Erford, Rev. T. H. Stephens, Prof. John Weeks, Ida Redden, Grace Faucett, Mrs. M. Pickel, E. Phipps, Mr. Chambers, May Isaacs, Sada Amann, Rebecca Shideler, Mrs. Clara Brown, D. T. Lawton, Mrs. M. M. Stephens, Rosetta Waters, organist.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 14, 1893, page 2


    The interests that is taken by parents who have sons that are members of the public school band is evidenced by the recent purchase of new instruments by Mr. A. A. Davis for his son Scott. The instruments purchased were a latest improved patent bass drum and a pair of the very finest Turkish cymbals, and the Mr. Davis Jr. handles them in a way very masterly. The cost of the instruments was $35.
"City Local Whirl," Medford Mail, April 21, 1893, page 3


    Flour has raised with the elevation of the price of wheat and is quoted at $18 a thousand at some of the mills.

"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 21, 1893, page 2


    The wheat crop of the valley is now all in the hands of a dozen persons, and were it not for the amount in store at the warehouse the local mill might have to run on short time. Davis' business sagacity, however, enabled him to secure a call option on a large amount which he has in store for the farmers.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 28, 1893, page 2


    A. A. Davis, the mill man, shut down his flouring mill yesterday for an indefinite time. This is done because of the vast amount of flour he now has on hand.

"City Local Whirl," Medford Mail, May 5, 1893, page 3


    The flouring mills at present are shut down and will remain closed for some time, owing to the large amount of flour accumulated.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 12, 1893, page 2


    A. A. Davis was last week engaged in negotiating for a five-stamp mill for the Crawford mine at Willow Springs, in which he now owns an interest.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 19, 1893, page 3


    Much has been said in the newspapers of the valley regarding the recent purchase by A. A. Davis, of this place, of an interest in the mining property which was formerly known as the Crawford-Fitch-Cardwell mine. A Mail reporter, to get the facts as they stand, has interviewed Mr. Davis regarding his purchase of an interest in the property, and also machinery, and from him we learned that the company has ordered two carloads--representing an even $5,000 in cold cash--of the latest improved machinery, direct from Chicago, and that it is expected to arrive here within about ten days. They now have men at work building a foundation upon which to place the machinery and are otherwise getting everything in shape for its immediate placement upon arrival. When the machinery is in proper shape to begin work, the ore will be taken from the tunnel in cars and run out on an elevated railroad track to a point thirty feet above the crushing machinery and then dumped on to a grizzly, thence on through the several machines, which by the way are automatic throughout. The capacity of this machinery is one ton per hour, and it will be run night and day. They are now in on the tunnel 160 feet and are still going further. As to the amount of gold and other minerals contained in the ore which they are producing, Mr. Davis preferred not to make a statement--saying that he would rather wait until the mine was in working shape and then let it tell its own story.
As Mr. Davis is a shrewd, thorough business man and after surveying well the premises has decided to invest the amount of money he has in this machinery, the conclusion that the mine is a valuable property is easily arrived at. If careful attention to business, and by one so well versed in all business capacity, will prove to us the value of Southern Oregon mines, then this one will be the leader. The mine spoken of is located in the Willow Springs district, and the new company which is now operating it is recorded under the name of "The Medford Mining and Milling Company," with headquarters at Medford, where all the officers reside.

"Mines and Mining," Medford Mail, May 26, 1893, page 1


    A. A. Davis has purchased 160 acres of land from J. C. Whipp this week. The land adjoins his company's mining property and extends down the gulch to the old stage road.

"City Local Whirl," Medford Mail, May 26, 1893, page 5


    S. H. Vawter, recently of this city, has taken charge of the Davis mine near Central Point, Ore. The Davis is a gold mine which is developed by a 160-foot tunnel showing a five-and-one-half-foot vein, the ore of which will assay $16, although pockets run from $200 to $500 per ton. A Huntington mill will be placed on the property immediately.--Spokane, Wash., Northwest Mining Review.
"All the Local News," Medford Mail, June 9, 1893, page 3


    The baseball boys have recently put up a good, substantial backstop at their grounds--opposite Davis' flouring mill.
"All the Local News," Medford Mail, July 14, 1893, page 3


MEDFORD ROLLER MILLS
A. A. DAVIS, PROPRIETOR
    Owing to the many business enterprises contributing to the credit of Southern Oregon as a manufacturing center, there undoubtedly has, beyond question, no one single establishment of any kind contributed by its capable management, practical skill, and business ability, to bring this about more than the management of the Medford Roller Mills. The many improvements that have been made in the last ten years in the manufacture of flour have nowhere been so pronounced as in this country, and the fact has been fully established that Medford produces flour, not only of superior quality, but of marked excellence and fineness. The leading brand manufactured is "Davis' Best," a flour unsurpassed for fitness and freedom from mixture, and is a prime favorite wherever used. This mill, with its 100-barrel capacity per day, was built four years ago and is fitted up with the most improved roller machinery procurable. Mr. Davis is an active, reliable and enterprising businessman. He and his establishment is deserving of all the commendation we can give.
"Medford," Medford Mail, July 14, 1893, page 1


    Will Olwell, the gentleman who at one time operated the Phoenix flouring mill, but now bookkeeper for the A. A. Davis Milling Company at Davenport, Wash., is in Medford for a visit with friends and relatives.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, July 21, 1893, page 3


    Frank Wait has two teams engaged in hauling flour from Grants Pass to Waldo for A. A. Davis, who secured the contract for furnishing H. Gasquet with 110,000 pounds thereof.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 11, 1893, page 3


    A. A. Davis of Medford has been in Josephine County this week looking after the flour market.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 11, 1893, page 3


    Flour has tumbled in price and is quoted at $16 a thousand. It will probably go lower as harvest progresses.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 18, 1893, page 3


    Flour is retailing at 65 cents a sack in Jacksonville and can probably be bought for less by the thousand pounds. This is the lowest quotation we ever heard of.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 13, 1893, page 3


    Chas. Hastings, who was formerly in the employ of A. A. Davis and the Medford Distilling Co., is now engaged in the life insurance business at Portland.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, November 17, 1893, page 2


    Flour is selling at the very low price of $13 a thousand--the lowest ever known in southern Oregon.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, November 17, 1893, page 3


    We are sorry to learn that the grist mill at Athena, Umatilla County, in which Jos. France and sons, formerly of Medford, are interested, has been closed by the sheriff. Times are very hard in eastern Oregon, and money cannot be had at any price. Thousands of acres of grain could not be harvested there, on account of the rains, which set in about threshing time and continued several weeks. Add to this the fact that there is no market for the wheat which was saved, only at an extremely low figure, and the unfortunate condition of the people in eastern Oregon and Washington is apparent.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, November 24, 1893, page 3


    Wheat is quoted at 45 cents a bushel, but millers are not buying at even that figure.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, November 24, 1893, page 3


MEDFORD ROLLER MILLS
A. A. DAVIS, PROPRIETOR
    Owing to the many business enterprises contributing to the credit of Southern Oregon as a manufacturing center, there undoubtedly has, beyond question, no one single establishment of any kind contributed by its capable management, practical skill, and business ability, to bring this about more than the management of the Medford Roller Mills. The many improvements that have been made in the last ten years in the manufacture of flour have nowhere been so pronounced as in this country, and the fact has been fully established that Medford produces flour, not only of superior quality, but of marked excellence and fineness. The leading brand manufactured is "Davis' Best," a flour unsurpassed for fitness and freedom from mixture, and is a prime favorite wherever used. This mill, with its 100-barrel capacity per day, was built four years ago and is fitted up with the most improved roller machinery procurable. Mr. Davis is an active, reliable and enterprising businessman. He and his establishment is deserving of all the commendation we can give.
Medford Mail, December 1, 1893, page 1


    Flour is now selling at $14 per thousand pounds, but the price of grain remains stationary. Some has been sold as low as 40 cents a bushel.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 15, 1893, page 3


    A. A. Davis' mill has been shut down temporarily.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 4, 1894, page 3


    Wheat is still very low in price--40@45¢--and the outlook for an improvement is not flattering.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 18, 1894, page 3


    Medford is to have a new industry, one which is out of the line usually accorded to cities of her size, but we are going to have it soon, and it is the manufacture of a superior quality of baking powder. The gentleman who is the owner and manager of the enterprise is W. H. Hembree, he who a few years ago was employed as engineer in the Davis flouring mill, but who has since been "on the road" for a San Francisco tea and spice house, and it was while thus engaged that he caught onto the baking powder idea.
"All the Local News,"
Medford Mail, January 19, 1894, page 3


Mill Going To Close.
    The Medford Roller Mills will close down tomorrow night until sometime in April. Overstock of flour on hand--caused by wheat being held so much above the market price that it cannot be manufactured and shipped to outside markets. The cause for overstocked local markets explains itself.
Medford Mail, February 23, 1894, page 3


    A. A. Davis' mills at Medford have closed down until April, on account of having too big a surplus of flour.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 26, 1894, page 3


    Wm. Walker, a prominent agricultural implement dealer of Alden, Minn., is visiting A. A. Davis of the Medford mills.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 12, 1894, page 2


    A. A. Davis, the flouring mill man, took Tuesday morning's train for San Francisco. His mission, he states, is purely business, with a few midwinter fair luxuries on the side. He will be absent about ten days. The trip is made chiefly to look after some large shipments of flour and feed recently made to that city from his Big Bend flouring mills at Davenport, Washington.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, March 16, 1894, page 3


        A. A. Davis of Medford has been at San Francisco looking after a shipment of twenty carloads of flour from Davenport, Wash., in which he is interested with G. W. Howard. The Ashland Tidings attempts to make political capital out of the fact that the wheat from which this flour was made sold for 24 cents per bushel, and says that during the last presidential campaign the Democrats promised that that cereal would bring $1.25 per bushel in case Mr. Cleveland was elected. Anybody who would make such a promise is a fit subject for the insane asylum, and we have only the word of Republican editors that it was made at all. These calamity howlers ought to wait until we get some Democratic laws in force before they accuse the Democrats of being responsible for the financial depression now prevalent, which is due as much to their misrepresentations as to anything else. Such howling may be good politics, but is very poor business to be engaged in.

Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 22, 1894, page 2


Going to Toot Next Monday.
   
The whistle of the Davis flouring mill will be heard again next Monday morning, and the housewives will begin the process of regulating the family clocks. The mill has been doing a little barley grinding this week, but not until Monday will it begin running regularly.
Medford Mail, March 30, 1894, page 3


    The Medford flouring mill starts up today, after being shut down for several weeks.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 2, 1894, page 2


    A. A. Davis:--"I had just about arranged positively for the erection of three buildings on my property, facing west on North C Street, in fact had received bids for their erection, when I received a letter from eastern parties, with whom I had made verbal contract for their rental, to the effect that they had decided not to come west this spring. This, of course, knocked out my plans, for a time at least. The building was to be brick, 75x80 feet in size, two stories high, and divided into three ordinary store buildings or one colossal store room, as renters desired. However, I have not wholly given up the idea of building, as I am figuring upon putting up a brick hotel building 90x100 feet in size on the corner of C and Sixth streets. This building I am ready to build as soon as a suitable renter can be had. When I build I will put up buildings that will be a credit to the city and am desirous of renting to only good, square men."
"Echoes from the Street," Medford Mail, April 20, 1894, page 2


    W. L. Halley:--"I spent several days down at A. A. Davis' quartz mills, located at what is known as the Comstock of Oregon, in the Willow Springs mining district, making some needed repairs, and also laying something like 150 feet more of water pipe to increase the volume of water for milling purposes. The ore now taken from the shaft bids fair to make it the best paying mine in Southern Oregon."

"Echoes from the Street," Medford Mail, June 1, 1894, page 2


    Mr. and Mrs. E. Brown returned this week from Walla Walla, Wash. They were accompanied by E. McClintick, the father of Mrs. A. A. Davis, who will visit in this section for a short time.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 6, 1896, page 3


    A. A. Davis' flouring mill is running night and day, a night shift having been put on Tuesday. A. Lamb, of Phoenix, is running the night shift as miller, and P. J. Halley as engineer. A. E. Johnson is the day miller and W. L. Halley the day engineer, as of yore. The run is thus doubled up to enable the mill to catch up on back orders for flour. Just how long it will run nights cannot now be stated.

"News of the City," Medford Mail, September 25, 1896, page 7


    D. W. HAZEL and E. McCLINTICK left Monday evening for Alden, Minnesota, at which place they formerly resided and where Mr. Hazel expects to remain until fall. Mr. McClintick is the father of Mrs. A. A. Davis and Mrs. D. W. Hazel.
"Purely Personal,"
Medford Mail, April 9, 1897, page 6


MEDFORD ROLLER MILLS.
A. A. DAVIS, PROPRIETOR.
    In referring to various enterprises that are represented in this city, the Medford Roller Mills are worthy of extended notice. The mills are fully equipped with all the latest and most approved machinery for the manufacture of the full high-grade roller process flour. Their location enables them to obtain choice selected wheat such as is essential to produce a superior grade of flour that these mills have an established reputation for making.
    They also manufacture graham flour, corn meal and feed of all kinds. They have a large city trade, as well as outside, from those parties who deal in a superior grade of flour. To those who live abroad and who have not used this mill's product, we can safely commend it as being far superior to most flour, and surpassed by none for quality and whiteness.
"Our Business and Professional People Briefly Mentioned," Medford Mail, May 28, 1897, page 3


    Your correspondent is in receipt of a beautiful card announcing the graduating exercises of the Medford, Oregon, high school to be held in that city this evening, and among the list of fifteen graduates we notice the names of Scott V. Davis and W. D. Hazle, formerly two of Alden's young lads.

"Alden and Vicinity," Freeborn County Times, Albert Lea, Minnesota, June 4, 1897, page 5



    The following item clipped from the Medford Mail may be of much interest to the citizens of Alden, as it pertains to a former Aldenite:
    "Mrs. A. A. Davis met with quite a serious accident Wednesday morning, one which, had not the hand of Providence been outstretched, would have proven fatal. The lady was crossing the main line of the S.P. railroad track near the Rogue River depot, when she was struck by a step on the work train and thrown about eighteen feet from the track, where but a few minutes later she was picked up in an unconscious condition by friends who saw the accident and was carried to her home and Dr. Geary quickly summoned. A careful examination by the physician disclosed the fact that the thighbone was fractured. Her injuries were at once given the required attention, and as we go to press, Thursday afternoon, she is resting very easy and will undoubtedly be all right when time sufficient to knit together the fracture has been given. How the accident occurred is explained in this way: Mrs. Davis was on her way to her dressmaker, carrying under her arm a parcel of dress goods. She had noticed the passenger train leave the depot but a few minutes before she reached the track and not noticing the movements of the work train, which had been standing on the sidetrack, she gave no thought to any danger in crossing the track and did not see the work train which was then backing down very quietly and slowly on the main line, in fact so unconscious was she of its approach that she did not know what struck her. It so happened that just at the time she was crossing the track the parcel under her arm began slipping and her attention was given to recovering it--hence it can be easily understood why the approach of the train was unnoticed."

"Alden and Vicinity," Freeborn County Times, Albert Lea, Minnesota, July 2, 1897, page 5  Reprinted from the
Medford Mail, June 25, 1897, page 7.


    Harvey Hall has jumped the Anaconda mine in Williams Creek district, owned by A. C. Tayler, A. A. Davis of Medford and others, because assessment work on it was not done in 1897. This is not right.

"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 24, 1898, page 3


    E. F. Nichols of Sams Valley sold the first load of 1898 wheat to A. A. Davis of Medford for 55 cents a bushel, a fair figure, everything considered.

"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 25, 1898, page 3


Elisha McClintick is Dead.
    Another of the old residents of Freeborn County has gone to join his fathers, and friends are mourning the death of that sturdy old pioneer, Elisha McClintick of Nunda. He died last night at the age of seventy years.
    For over thirty years, Mr. McClintick has been identified with the growth and development of Freeborn County. In the early days he resided at Alden, where his work as a feeder of threshing machines was the talk and admiration of the country folks who measured a man's physical capacity by what he could do and had done. The warm place he held in the hearts of his neighbors bespeaks volumes for him who is no more.
    Mrs. Hawker of Alden, Mrs. A. A. Davis and Mrs. D. Hazel of Medford, Oregon, and Al. and Sigel McClintick are daughters and sons of the deceased.
    The funeral will be held from the Bear Lake church tomorrow.
Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, Minnesota, August 11, 1898, page 4


    News was received here last week that Miss Grace Davis, daughter of A. A. Davis, a former Aldenite, but now a resident of Medford, Oregon, was married to a Harry Hosler.

"Alden," Freeborn County Standard, Albert Lea, Minnesota, August 17, 1898, page 8


    A. A. Davis returned a few days since from San Diego, Calif., where he has been for the past several months for the benefit of his health.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 17, 1899, page 3


    A. A. Davis and his wife, Angella Davis, of Medford, have commenced an action against the S.P. Co. for $30,000 damages. Mrs. D. was struck by a railroad engine some time ago and received injuries which have crippled her for life. G. W. H. Davis of Tacoma and Smith & Norton of Grants Pass are the plaintiffs' attorneys.

"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 22, 1899, page 3


    W. T. York closed a real estate deal this week which is of no little importance to our town, the same being that of selling to the Big Bend Milling Company a business property, situated on Seventh Street, adjoining the Lindley brick, and now occupied by F. M. Wilson, the baker. The purchase was made from attorney G. W. White and the price paid was $2000. The members of the above named company are W. I. Vawter and A. A. Davis, of Medford, and G. W. Howard of Oakland, Calif. These gentlemen now own a frontage of land on Seventh Street of seventy-five feet and on C Street of 140 feet. Upon all this property are now small buildings, but the Mail learns that soon a large brick building will be constructed thereon, covering all of the land. Should this be true a great improvement in the appearance of the town shall have been made. The building may not go up this season, but it is a certainty for next year. A conclusion naturally arrived at is that the principal part of the first floor will be for banking purposes--and its occupants the Jackson County Bank.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, June 23, 1899, page 7


    A. A. Davis and wife have commenced a damage suit against the Southern Pacific railroad company for $30,000 for damages sustained by Mrs. Davis about two years ago. Readers of the Mail will remember reading an account in these columns of the injuries received by Mrs. Davis. The lady was crossing the track near the Rogue River Valley crossing and was struck and thrown from the track by a construction train which was backing down from the depot.

"Additional Local," Medford Mail, June 30, 1899, page 6



    Robt. P. Neil, having sold his interest in the Ashland flouring mills to W. J. Virgin, the latter has formed a combination with A. A. Davis, which now controls the Medford, Central Point and Ashland mills.

"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 17, 1899, page 3


    The case instituted against the S.P.R.R. Co. by A. A. Davis and wife, for damages, has been dismissed.

    A large part of Davis' warehouse collapsed under the weight of the wheat stored in it this week, making a great noise and causing considerable commotion.

"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, January 19, 1900, page 3


    A. A. Davis is having one of his old wheat warehouses, near the depot, torn down. He will extend the remaining house to the north forty or sixty feet--same width as the old one. This will give him more room for storing the immense wheat crop which is now promised.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, May 18, 1900, page 7


    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


    The Sugar Pine Co.'s big traction engine and train brought the first load of lumber of the season from Big Butte to Medford, 26 miles, last week, being 16,000 feet. A. A. Davis is superintending the hauling. The company have 16 teams hauling the lumber from Gray's mill to Big Butte, a distance of 16 miles.
Valley Record, Ashland, May 31, 1900, page 1


    D. B. Russell, the miller, left this week for Fort Jones, Calif., at which place he has employment in a flouring mill. W. J. Virgin, the "Co." in the A. A. Davis & Co.'s mills in Medford and Ashland, will do the milling in the Medford mill--with Scott Davis, his able assistant.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, June 15, 1900, page 7


    Messrs. A. A. Davis & Co. are building a 40x40-foot extension to their warehouse, west of the Southern Pacific depot.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, June 22, 1900, page 7


    A. L. Eisenhart, a miller from California, has taken a position in A. A. Davis & Co.'s mill in Medford, and will move his family here this week. Mr. Eisenhart is an all-round mill man, being familiar with all the several requirements--even to that of running the engine.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, August 3, 1900, page 6


    Mrs. A. A. Davis died at the family residence in Medford on the 10th inst., after a lingering illness. She was a lady of many good qualities and highly respected by all who knew her.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 13, 1900, page 3


Obituary--Mrs. A. A. Davis.
    Died--In Ashland, Oregon, at the home of H. H. Hosler, on Aug. 11, 1900, Mrs. Angelia M. Davis, aged fifty years, one month and twenty-one days.
    Angelia Melissa Langdon was born June 20, 1850, at Beaver, Penn. In early childhood she lived in Iowa and from there she moved to Minnesota, where, on Nov. 5, 1871, she was married to Mr. Ansil A. Davis. Four children blessed this union: Mrs. Effie Halley and Orin Davis, of Medford, Mrs. Grace Hosler, of Ashland, and Scott Davis, also of Medford. Deceased also leaves two brothers and two sisters behind to mourn her loss. One of these is Mrs. Hazel of our own city. The brothers and the other sister still reside in Minnesota.
    Eleven years ago Mr. and Mrs. Davis moved to Medford with their family. Here Mr. Davis engaged in milling and other business, and prosperity attended his efforts, so that today Mr. Davis is accounted one of our most substantial and prosperous business men in Southern Oregon.
    The deceased was a lover of her home, and greatly attached to her family. She was converted a few years ago and united with the Presbyterian Church of Medford, while Rev. A. S. Foster was its pastor. Mrs. Davis had been a great sufferer for several years. Three years ago she was struck by a work train, and severely injured. She never regained her full strength after the accident occurred. About two years ago she gradually grew worse, and all that medical skill could do was done for her; but it was impossible to cure her. Toward the end she often spoke of the rumbling, roaring water which she heard, and said it must be the river of death drawing near. She seemed ready and was prepared to go. Among her last words were the following to her daughter, Mrs. Halley: "You all can and do move around, while I cannot; but must lie here helpless, but someday I will make a grand move--to Heaven. That will be grand, won't it, Effie?"
    The funeral services were held last Sunday at 2 o'clock at her home in Medford, whither her body had been brought from Ashland. Her pastor, Rev. Adolph Haberly, preached the funeral sermon. A large number of relatives, friends and fellow townspeople were present at the funeral to pay their respects to the departed. The floral offerings were numerous and beautiful. The remains were laid to rest in Odd Fellows cemetery under the shade of a protecting oak.
    The words of the following poem were a part of Mrs. Davis' mother's obituary and are included here because they are dear to the family.
   

TO MOTHER'S MEMORY.
Gone, and the world to go on as before,
Gone, with a smile, from the old homestead door;
Dear faithful heart, to come back never more,
    To your old home, nevermore.
   
Gone, and the seasons to come and go,
Wreathing her grave with blossoms and snow,
Snow, on the bosom that sheltered us so--
    Cruel and pitiless snow.
   
Home is not home--mother's not there;
Dark is her room; empty her chair;
Angels have taken her out from our care,
    Lifted her over life's stairs.
   
Even the sunlight misses her face,
Mute things her sayings and doings retrace,
Winds sing a dirge about the old place;
    So lonely seems that old place.
   
Dear willing hands, they've well done their share;
Tired and worn, a pitiable pair;
Once they were slender, soft and fair,
    Long years ago, they were fair.
   
No more in anguish the poor heart will bow;
Fadeless the crown that encircles her brow;
Clad in the garments of angel-hood now:
    Fetterless evermore now.
   
And when we've done with earth and its care,
Folded our hands in a last mute prayer,
Mother will reach for us over life's stairs;
    Over life's wearisome stairs.
   
Sleep, Mother, sleep, with your hands on your breast;
Poor, weary hands, they needed their rest;
We loved you well, but God loved you best;
    Dear heart, He's given you rest.
Medford Mail, August 17, 1900, page 3


Obituary--Mrs. A. A. Davis
    Died--In Ashland, Oregon, at the home of H. H. Hosler, on Aug. 11, 1900, Mrs. Angella M. Davis, aged fifty years, one month and twenty-one days.
    Angella Melissa Langdon was born June 20, 1850, at Beaver, Penn. In early childhood she lived in Iowa and from there she moved to Minnesota, where, on Nov. 5, 1871, she was married to Mr. Ansil A. Davis. Four children blessed this union, Mrs. Ellie Halley and Orin Davis, of Medford, Mrs. Grace Hosler, of Ashland, and Scott Davis, also of Medford. Deceased also leaves two brothers and two sisters behind to mourn her loss. One of these is Mrs. Hazel of our own city. The brothers and the other sister still reside in Minnesota.
    Eleven years ago Mr. and Mrs. Davis moved to Medford with their family. Here Mr. Davis engaged in milling and other business, and prosperity attended his efforts, so that today Mr. Davis is accounted one of our most substantial and prosperous business men in Southern Oregon.
    The deceased was a lover of her home, and greatly attached to her family. She was converted a few years ago and united with the Presbyterian Church of Medford, while Rev. A. S. Foster was its pastor. Mrs. Davis had been a great sufferer for several years. She never regained her full strength after the accident occurred. About two years ago she gradually grew worse, and all that medical skill could do was done for her, but it was impossible to cure her. Toward the end she often spoke of the rumbling, roaring water which she heard, and said it must be the river of death drawing near. She seemed ready and was prepared to go. Among her last words were the following to her daughter, Mrs. Halley: "You all can and do move around, while I cannot, but must lie here helpless, but someday I will make a grand move--to Heaven. That will be grand, won't it, Ellie?"
    The funeral services were held last Sunday at 2 o'clock, at her home in Medford, whither her body had been brought from Ashland. Her pastor, Rev. Adolph Haberly, preached the funeral sermon. A large number of relatives, friends and fellow townspeople were present at the funeral to pay their respects to the departed. The floral offerings were numerous and beautiful. The remains were laid to rest in Odd Fellows cemetery under the shade of a protecting oak.
    The words of the following poem were a part of Mrs. Davis' mother's obituary and are included here because they are dear to the family.
TO MOTHER'S MEMORY.
Gone, and the world to go on as before,
Gone, with a smile, from the old homestead door;
Dear faithful heart, to come back never more,
        To your old home, nevermore.

Gone, and the seasons to come and go,
Wreathing her grave with blossoms and snow.
Snow, on the bosom that sheltered us so--
        Cruel and pitiless snow.

Home is not home--Mother's not there;
Dark is her room; empty her chair;
Angels have taken her out from our care.
        Lifted her over life stairs.

Even the sunlight misses her face,
Mute things her sayings and doings retrace,
Winds sing a dirge about the old place;
        So lonely seems that old place.

Dear willing hands, they've well done their share;
Tired and worn, a pitiable pair;
Once they were slender, soft and fair,
        Long years ago, they were fair.

No more in anguish the poor heart will bow;
Fadeless the crown that encircles her brow;
Clad in the garments of angelhood now;
        Fetterless evermore now.

And when we've done with earth and its care,
Folded our hands in a last mute prayer,
Mother will reach for us over life's stairs;
        Over life's wearisome stairs.

Sleep, Mother, sleep; with your hands on your breast;
Poor, weary hands, they needed their rest;
We loved you well, but God loved you best;
        Dear heart, He's given you rest.
Medford Mail, August 17, 1900, page 3


    Died in Ashland, Ore., at the home of her daughter, Mrs. H. H. Hosler, on Aug. 11, 1900, Angelia M. Davis, wife of A. A. Davis, aged 50 years, 1 month and 21 days. The funeral services were held at the family residence Sunday, Aug. 12, at two o'clock. Interment took place at the Odd Fellows cemetery. The deceased was a half sister of Mrs. F. Hawker, Mr. Albert and Sieg McClintick, of this place; Mrs. D. W. Hazel, of Medford, Ore.; and an own sister of Harlow Langdon, of Geneva. Mrs. Davis was one of the early settlers of Freeborn County, coming here with her parents when but 14 years of age. She was united in marriage to A. A. Davis, formerly a merchant at this place, where they resided until eleven years ago when Mr. Davis went to Oregon, where he engaged in the mining and milling business and where she has resided until the time of her death.

"Alden News," Freeborn County Times, Albert Lea, Minnesota, August 24, 1900, page 13



Former Marion County People.
    Albert L. Eisenhart, formerly of Salem and Silverton, where he was well known, has wed Miss Edith Hardesty, a former Silverton girl, but later of California, and are now located in Medford, Oregon, where Mr. Eisenhart holds a responsible position with the Medford Flouring Mill. Miss Hardesty is a graduate of a law school and was well known in Silverton, where she made her home for a number of years and assisted her father in the practice of law. Mr. Eisenhart was a member of the firm Eisenhart Bros., lessees of the Silverton Flour Mills.
The Daily Journal, Salem, September 1, 1900, page 3



    J. D. Heard has purchased the A. A. Davis residence property, in West Medford, paying $3000 therefor. The property is among the most desirable in the city, and Mr. Heard is to be congratulated upon having become its possessor--and Medford is to be congratulated that these good people have decided to make permanent their heretofore temporary residence. The residence is now occupied by F. Osenbrugge, and possession will be given in March, at which time his lease expires.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, December 7, 1900, page 7


    J. D. Heard and family have returned from California, to permanently locate. Jeff. has purchased A. A. Davis' residence in the western part of town, paying $3000 for it. His little daughter, who has been in a sanitarium for the benefit of her health, has almost fully recovered.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 10, 1900, page 3



    H. W. Jackson came over from his company's mine, in Josephine County, this week. The company, which is made up principally of A. A. Davis and Mr. Jackson, own mining property in Josephine County which bids fair to outrival anything yet brought to light. They own mountains, almost of nearly pure copper, and aside from this they have a gold ledge nearby, which is wondrous rich. Mr. Jackson brought out with him several samples of copper, some of the larger of which were sent to the Paris mineral exhibit. The copper ore also contains from $40 to $60 of gold and silver.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, December 14, 1900, page 6


    Jeff. Heard and A. A. Davis were in Jackson Creek district, situated west of Jacksonville, one day this week, looking at some mines.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 21, 1901, page 5


    Dr. J. W. Odgers this week sold to A. L. Eisenhart his residence property, on South C Street. The price paid was $500. Mr. Eisenhart is the miller in A. A. Davis & Co.'s flouring mill. Himself and wife are very fine people, and The Mail is pleased to know that they are to become permanent residents of our town. The sale was made through the W. T. York real estate agency.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 29, 1901, page 7


    A. A. Davis and J. D. Heard have returned from a trip to California where they went to investigate the oil lands in that state and secure some information regarding the oil industry.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, April 12, 1901, page 6


    A. A. Davis and J. D. Heard have got back from their trip to the oil regions of California.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, April 18, 1901, page 7


    J. D. Heard has moved to his fine residence in West Medford, which he purchased from A. A. Davis several months ago. Mr. Osenbrugge, who has been occupying the premises, has moved to H. L. Gilkey's residence.

"Additional Local," Medford Mail, June 7, 1901, page 6


    J. D. Heard is making numerous improvements about his recently acquired beautiful home--the A. A. Davis property. Nearly the whole interior is being remodeled, and many changes are being made on the exterior, and the grounds also are being rearranged and improved. John Osborne is doing the carpenter work, and J. L. Demmer is arranging the lawn and garden.

"Additional Local," Medford Mail, June 14, 1901, page 6


    D. B. Russell, of Ft. Jones, Calif., formerly miller in the Davis & Co.'s mills at this place, passed through the valley last week en route to the Willamette Valley upon business.

"Purely Personal,"
Medford Mail, July 26, 1901, page 6


    A. A. Davis & Co.'s warehouse, an annex to the flouring mill, took a tumble Monday afternoon. The entire underpinning gave way, and 7000 bushels of wheat and 3000 bushels of barley, together with the entire structure, dropped to the ground, a distance about three feet. The sides of the building were bulged out a considerable [omission] and a few of the sacks of wheat were bursted open, but the loss of grain is really nothing. The grain and building will be left as they are until the grain is used up, when in all probability the old building will be torn down and an elevator built in its place. The company has had in contemplation for some time the erection of a modern designed elevator and the collapsing of the warehouse will doubtless hasten its building. An elevator would do away with the custom of sacking the wheat, which is now in vogue in the valley.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, September 20, 1901, page 7


    The Medford flour is guaranteed to be as good as any flour, and 20 cents a barrel cheaper.
"Additional Local," Medford Mail, December 6, 1901, page 6


    The A. A. Davis & Co. milling company received two carloads of wheat from Walla Walla this week. The crop of this valley was short last season which makes this importation from outside points necessary.

"Additional Local,"
Medford Mail, March 7, 1902, page 6


    The Medford flouring mill began rolling wheels this week. The not overly large crop of wheat last year has made the flouring mill run of the valley a short one this season, but everybody seems much encouraged for next season, as wheat now growing is said to be looking fine.

"City Happenings,"
Medford Mail, March 7, 1902, page 7


    A few months ago A. A. Davis, the wealthy mill owner of Medford, presented his son, Scott, with two fine residence lots in Medford, and now that young man is making ready to erect a fine dwelling house thereon. The lots are situated in the J. A. Morey addition on J Street, at the head of Sixth Street. They are very nicely situated for residence purposes. The residence Scott will put up will be 26x38 feet in size and one and a half stories high. It will conform in every respect to the most modern architectural designs and unless the plans are very misleading it will be one of the prettiest and most convenient structures in the city.

"City Happenings,"
Medford Mail, March 14, 1902, page 7


    Scott Davis is having rock hauled for the foundation of his new residence, which will soon be built near G. W. Isaacs' place.
"Additional Local," Medford Mail, March 21, 1902, page 6


    The Oregon Granite Co. is at work this week putting up a new granite monument base for the Taylor boys. The base when completed will weigh 4000 pounds and takes the place of a sandstone base. They are also placing a granite foundation for Scott Davis' new residence.
    Messrs. A. A. Davis & Co. are making ready for a new warehouse adjoining their flouring mill. The building will stand where stood the old one, which collapsed last fall, and will be 60x60 feet in size. A good, solid foundation will be put beneath it, and it will be constructed in the best possible manner and capable of bearing up all the load which can be put upon it.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, April 4, 1902, page 7


    Work is progressing rapidly on the new warehouse being built by A. A. Davis to replace the one which collapsed last winter. The roof is now being put on. Contractor Hazel is putting up a good, solid piece of work and pushing it as fast as possible and expects to have it finished in about ten days.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, April 25, 1902, page 7


    A. A. Davis, who is interested in the Shelley Creek mines, left for Josephine County Thursday, accompanied by his son Orrin.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, May 8, 1902, page 7


    Scott Davis has a large crew of workmen engaged in the construction of his new home, at the head of West Sixth Street.
"Additional Local," Medford Mail, May 16, 1902, page 6


    A. L. Eisenhart, miller at the A. A. Davis & Co.'s flouring mills, was in Ashland Saturday upon business.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, June 6, 1902, page 6


    The Medford roller mills started up last Monday for a two weeks' run. Owing to a shortage of wheat in the market of this section the mill will only be run sufficiently to supply the home trade until the new crop of wheat comes in, after which the mill will be run to its full capacity.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, June 6, 1902, page 7


    Ed. Phipps, who with his brother, Dr. Ira D. Phipps, owns a good farm on Big Sticky, has planted forty acres to corn this spring and he states that he has a fine stand and that it looks very promising notwithstanding the backwardness of the spring. Mr. Phipps finds corn to be one of his most profitable crops, it yielding about forty bushels per acre. Some of it he sells to the Medford grist mills, to be made into corn meal, which, by the way, is as fine-flavored as any ever produced in the old burr mills of the southern states, but the greater part of his corn he feeds to hogs, he fattening each year from fifty to one hundred head. Mr. Phipps' neighbors are also quite extensive corn raisers, there being about 300 acres of corn in his immediate vicinity, and it all gives promise of a big yield this season.
     The Mail is in receipt of a booklet descriptive of the Big Bend country, in Washington. It is a very finely gotten up affair, and in it are found all the facts of interest to prospective homeseekers, together with halftone cuts of the representative business men, business places and fine residences of Davenport, the principal city of that great wheat country. The picture of Mr. W. J. Olwell, vice president and assistant manager of the Big Bend Flouring Mill, appears in the booklet, as does also one of Mr. A. A. Davis, of Medford, who is president of the above-named milling company.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, June 13, 1902, page 7


MEDFORD'S CITIZENS.
Who Are Interested in Davenport, Washington.
    Through the courtesy of Ed. Olwell, one of the Olwell Bros., now a progressive business man of Davenport, the metropolis of the Big Bend country, in Washington, the Democratic Times has received a neatly prepared advertising booklet. It is constructed in a first-class style, and would reflect credit on a much larger place. It shows that other Jackson County citizens, besides Mr. Olwell, are interested there. The names of A. A. Davis and W. I. Vawter are mentioned as prominent officers in the Big Bend flour mills, of which W. J. Olwell is vice-president and manager. He is also a city councilman. One of the principal brands of flour of this mill is "Davis' Best." The booklet shows that Davenport is a progressive town of 1,500 inhabitants, and a desirable place in which to locate.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 19, 1902, page 7


    G. W. Woody is accredited with having brought the first load of wheat of this year's crop to market, the same having been brought to the A. A. Davis flouring mill in this city on Thursday of this week. The wheat graded "best quality," but Mr. Woody could tell nothing of the yield except that it was good.
"Additional Local," Medford Mail, August 1, 1902, page 6


Dissolution of Co-Partnership.
    Notice is hereby given that the partnership heretofore existing by and between A. A. Davis and W. J. Virgin, doing business under the firm name and style of A. A. Davis & Co., in Medford, Oregon, and W. J. Virgin & Co., in Ashland, Oregon, is by mutual consent dissolved. All bills and accounts at Ashland will be settled by W. J. Virgin, and all accounts at Medford will be settled by A. A. Davis.
A. A. DAVIS,
W. J. VIRGIN.
Medford Mail, August 15, 1902, page 6


    The firm of Davis & Virgin, which has operated the Medford and Ashland flouring mills for some time past, was dissolved recently. Each has resumed charge and is operating his respective property.
"Local Notes," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 21, 1902, page 5


Fire at Medford.
    Monday night about 1:30 a.m. the wood pile of A. A. Davis, lying between his flouring mill and the railroad track at Medford, was discovered ablaze. The alarm soon brought Medford's entire population to the scene as well as the hose company. The water supply was so weak that it was of no service and the only water to be had was that pumped from wells, and wet blankets used. The wood, some 220 cords, was consumed by the flares and herculean efforts finally stanched the fire there, after the flames had severely scorched and blistered the flour mill building. It was a miraculous escape, and had the mill once caught fire all the powers of heaven and earth would not have saved the town from complete destruction.
    Mr. Davis thinks the fire was started from a spark from the engine of the northbound freight, which passed just before.
Valley Record, Ashland, August 25, 1892, page 3



Try It and You Will Buy--
    The Medford flour. It is again the best on the market. Ask for it.
Medford Mail, September 26, 1902, page 6


    J. F. Reppy, of Clinton, Iowa, was in Medford a few days since upon a visit to his old-time friend, A. A. Davis. Mr. Reppy and Mr. Davis were neighbor merchants in a town back in Minnesota some twenty-odd years ago. Mr. Reppy is engaged in the lumber business and is at present looking after matters of that nature down in Josephine County.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, October 3, 1902, page 6


    A. A. Davis left Tuesday morning for Davenport, Wash., to be absent upon his annual tour of inspection of his business interests at that place. The company, of which he is president, operates a large flouring mill at Davenport, which is superintended by W. J. Olwell, formerly of Jackson County. Mr. Davis reports that crops in that locality have been good this year, and that his mill is doing a fine business.

"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, October 10, 1902, page 6


    A. A. Davis, one of the officers of the Big Bend Milling Co., which does such a large business in the San Francisco and foreign markets, left for Davenport, Wash. one day this week, where the mills of the corporation are located.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 16, 1902, page 2


TRY IT AND YOU WILL BUY
    The Medford flour. It is again the best flour on the market. Ask for it.
Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, October 23, 1902, page 3


    Manager Wilson is making several improvements at his opera house which will add considerably to the comfort both of the people who may attend gatherings there and of those behind the scenes. The house is now fitted for steam heat throughout, the steam being conducted from A. A. Davis' mill, and pipes are arranged so that an even temperature can be maintained in all parts of the house. Also, Mr. Wilson is having the dressing rooms and the area behind the scenes ceiled so as to exclude all drafts, together with various other improvements which will be appreciated both by players and playgoers.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, October 31, 1902, page 7


    A. A. Davis returned Wednesday evening from his annual trip of inspection to his interests in and about Davenport, Wash.
"Purely Personal," Medford Mail, November 7, 1902, page 6


Medford Flour for Klamath.
    Sixteen four- and six-horse teams arrived from Klamath Agency on Monday and loaded up with supplies purchased from our merchants, the biggest item being 45,000 pounds of Davis' Best flour from the Medford Flouring Mills, which is purchased by Agent Applegate for use at the Klamath and Yainax agencies. As is usual with the Indians they brought their wives and families with them, and until Wednesday noon our merchants were busy selling them goods of all descriptions, and local kodak fiends were industriously catching snapshots of "klootchmen and tenas men" [women and children]. That these people, after a journey of nearly 100 miles to Ashland, saw fit to put 12 miles more onto it and come from that town to Medford to do their trading speaks well for the reputation our merchants have in Klamath for fair dealing, and the quality of the goods they handle.
    By the way, there is quite a contrast between those Indians who were here last week and the blanketed savage of 40 or even of 30 years ago. These people are dressed comfortably and in the main cleanly, they drive good teams and have good vehicles, have money to purchase the goods they want and understand the value thereof, and while here conducted themselves in an unostentatious and dignified manner. The Klamaths are now practically self-supporting, one of the very few western tribes which have attained that point in their progress toward civilization.

Medford Mail, November 14, 1902, page 2


    Sunday evening some new wires put up by the telephone company between the residences of A. A. Davis and L. B. Warner crossed with the town's electric light wires, and the consequent difference of opinion between the two brands of electricity resulted in the burning out of the fuses in several telephones and also in the electric light system. The town was in darkness for some time until the difficulty was found and remedied, which was very promptly done.

"City Happenings," Medford Mail, November 14, 1902, page 7


WILL THEY EVER FIND IT OUT
    That the Medford flour is again the best flour on the market?
Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, December 4, 1902, page 3


TRY IT AND YOU WILL BUY
    The Medford flour. It is again the best flour on the market. Ask for it.
Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, December 25, 1902, page 3


    A. Eisenhart, miller for A. A. Davis, is being visited by his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Eisenhart.
"Medford Squibs," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 2, 1902, page 3

A. A. Davis ad, January 29, 1903 Grants Pass Rogue River Courier
January 29, 1903 Grants Pass Rogue River Courier

    The flouring mills at Central Point, which have been lying idle for several years, have been sold by Messrs. Davis and Virgin to G. S. Butler of Ashland. They may be operated at an early date.

"Brief Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, March 25, 1903, page 2

A. A. Davis, 1904
1904.

A. A. DAVIS. That concentration is one of the rarest and most necessary gifts to which man is heir is admitted by all who note the present tendency to business and general specialization. Competition, the lash which forces the energies of men to their highest level, makes a standstill position impossible, even though the best possible has already been attained. Were A. A. Davis approached as to the secret of his success as a flour manufacturer he would unhesitatingly attribute it to a continuous study of his occupation, to his ability to keep in the front ranks, and to furnish as good, if not a little better, flour than is placed on the market by his competitors. Mr. Davis' fair and honest attitude towards the public is of the contagious kind, and is shared by many of the men prominent in the business ranks of Medford. Yet special mention is due him because he is the pioneer and largest operator in his line in this part of the state, and because he has established business interests which have no peer as far as substantiality, good management and developing power are concerned.
    The owner and manager of the Medford Flouring Mills, president and business manager of the Big Bend Milling Company of Davenport, Wash., and director in the Jackson County Bank of Medford, came to Oregon in 1888, and was born at Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wis., April 30, 1851. His father, Chandler Davis, was born in Vermont, and his mother, Ann (Hudson) Davis, is a native of the state of Massachusetts. Chandler Davis was a pioneer of Wisconsin, locating in Dodge County in 1849. He was a carpenter, millwright and contractor, and in the Badger state, with its large milling and lumbering resources, found ample scope for his skill. He not only started one of the first mills in his section, but invested in a large tract of land which he partially cleared of timber. In 1863 he removed to Freeborn County, Minn., and near Albert Lea engaged in farming until coming to Tacoma, Wash., in 1894, his death occurring there in 1903, at the age of seventy-six years. His last years were spent in retirement, and he is survived by his wife, now seventy-six years of age.
    The oldest in a family of three sons and three daughters, the present miller of Medford worked with his father on the farm in Minnesota until his twenty-third year, when he embarked in a general merchandise business at Alden, Minn. There he conducted a successful business for twelve years, at the expiration of that period disposing of his interests prior to his departure for Oregon. With this hardy and practical training he came to Oregon in 1888, and at Medford started the first roller mill in this part of the state or south of Albany, with a capacity of sixty-five barrels a day. Soon afterward he increased his capacity to eighty barrels a day, the present output of the mill. Davis' Best brand is shipped to all of the local markets, and established the reputation of the owner as one of the best flour makers on the coast. In the meantime he has bought up large quantities of grain, and from being the first in the line in the place, he has advanced also to the largest purchaser in his locality.
    The flouring mills operated by the Big Bend Milling Company at Davenport, Wash., were built by Mr. Davis in 1890, who also incorporated the company for $100,000, and is third owner with William I. Vawter, president of the Bank of Jackson County, and George W. Howard, of San Francisco. The Davenport mills have a capacity of three hundred and fifty barrels per day, the flour being shipped to local and foreign markets. As the president of the Big Bend Milling Company, Mr. Davis spends a portion of his time in Washington, although he makes his home at Medford. With Mr. Virgin he is interested in the now discontinued mill at Central Point, and he is owner of a flouring mill at Phoenix, Ore. Mr. Davis has invested heavily in timber lands in different parts of the state, and is the owner of valuable mining properties in Jackson County. In fact there are but few great resources of the Northwest that are not being promoted by his capital and personal interest. That men like to be associated with him in business, and that when so doing regard their future as practically assured, is not surprising when
the conservative and cautious methods of this financier are taken into account. He is a leader whom less wary and resourceful men might do well to follow, for he is an earnest advocate of industry, perseverance, of the mutual cooperation of employer and employee, of business courtesy and consideration, and' unswerving integrity.
    At Albert Lea, Freeborn County, Minn., in 1871, Mr. Davis married Angelia Langdon, a native of Pennsylvania, who died in Medford in July 1900, at the age of forty-nine years. Of this union there are two sons and two daughters: Effie May, the wife of W. L. Halley of Medford; Orrin Lee, interested in the flouring mill at Medford; Grace Bell, the wife of H. H. Hosler of Ashland, Ore.; and Scott Victor, in his father's mill at Medford. Mr. Davis is an active Republican, and aside from serving on the city council for five or six terms, has been a member of the school board for many years.

Portrait and Biographical Record of Western Oregon, Chapman Publishing Co. 1904, page 669


From The Sketch, September 14, 1907

    Word comes from Medford, Oregon, that A. A. Davis, well known to Alden people, was recently married to a lady of that place.
"Alden," Albert Lea Enterprise, Albert Lea, Minnesota, May 18, 1904, page 2


    Medford has a flour mill, established in [1889], A. A. Davis, proprietor. It has a daily capacity of 80 barrels.
"A Few Medford Enterprises," Medford Mail, March 9, 1906, page 21


    Scott Davis, who has been confined to his home for a couple of weeks past with inflammatory rheumatism, is now able to be on the streets again. He will probably leave soon for the Klamath Hot Springs, where he is hopeful that the hot mud baths will give him relief--and they surely will, but the longer he procrastinates the more deep-seated the disease and consequently more time and treatment will be necessary in effecting a cure.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, March 23, 1906, page 5


    The Big Bend Milling Co., which is composed of W. I. Vawter, A. A. Davis, Geo. W. Howard and others, has sold its timber holdings in the Big Butte and Rogue River districts. Nearly 6000 acres were sold to the Iowa Lumber and Box Co. and the balance, amounting to nearly 2000 acres more, was purchased by parties interested in the Butte Falls Lumber Co. The terms are private, but the transaction was the largest ever consummated in Southern Oregon and involved a large sum.
"A Brief Record of Local Events," Rogue River Courier, Grants Pass, October 19, 1906, page 5


    On Monday morning Geo. Daly, the miller at the Davis flouring mills, narrowly escaped death, but was badly injured by the accident. While oiling the machinery he was caught in one of the large belts, wrenching his shoulder joint and cutting a large gash over his left eye, and was otherwise bruised and hurt.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, December 14, 1906, page 5


    Cashier M. L. Alford, of the First National Bank, of this city, has purchased, from J. D. Heard, the residence property formerly owned by A. A. Davis, corner Eighth and I streets. The consideration was $3,000; Mr. Alford has already moved to his new home.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, April 5, 1907, page 5


A. A. DAVIS.
    One of Medford's citizens who has always been at the front in every movement for the improvement or advancement of the community is A. A. Davis. Mr. Davis' first move for Medford progress, made just after his arrival here, 18 years ago, was the substitution of a cash business basis for the primeval system of barter and exchange then in vogue, and ever since that time he has always been identified with every progressive move, lending his influence and financial aid freely and generously whenever called upon.
Medford Mail, April 26, 1907, page 2


    One of Medford's citizens who has always been at the front in every movement for the improvement or advancement of the community is A. A. Davis. Mr. Davis' first move for Medford's progress, made just after his arrival here 18 years ago, was the substitution of a cash business basis for the primeval system of barter and exchange then in vogue, and ever since that time he has always been identified with every progressive move, lending his influence and financial aid freely and generously whenever called upon.
Medford Mail, April 26, 1907, page 2


    The A. A. Davis flouring mill started operations Thursday morning after a rest of several weeks, and will continue as long as the wheat holds out. The crop this year is not a large one, owing to some extent to a decrease in acreage, much heretofore wheat land having been set to fruit, and then again the weather was too wet and cold during early spring to insure an abundant yield. E. W. Daily is the miller in charge at this mill.
"City Happenings,"
Medford Mail, July 26, 1907, page 5


Medford Flour Mill Will Not Close
    The Southern Pacific Co. has come to the relief of the local wheat situation. Owing to the failure of the wheat crop locally and nearby points, the flour mill was about to close down, not being able to secure wheat. This condition being made known to the S.P. Co. they have granted the extremely low rate of $3 per ton on wheat from Portland to Southern Oregon points. This will keep our mills running and keep the price of flour down, and also keep going an industry we could not afford to lose. The company should be commended for this act on their part.
Medford Mail, October 11, 1907, page 1


    The Capital City Nursery Co., through its local agent, L. W. Fansher, sold this week to Mr. A. A. Davis 8000 trees--5000 apples and 3000 pears. This is probably the largest sale ever made in the history of this county, to a single individual at one time.
"City Happenings," Medford Mail, April 10, 1908, page 5


    Give the name of the mill that makes the best flour in southern Oregon. The Blue Stem Hard Wheat flour stands at the head of the class, and [Davis'] Best is another brand that is having a big sale. This flour is all manufactured right here in Medford and more and more it is becoming the universal habit to demand from the grocer this brand. Its excellence is penetrating the whole surrounding country, and its market is reaching out in in all directions. This mill is a full roller mill, with facilities to produce the very best product, and they are doing it. They also manufacture corn meal, graham, germea, brans, shorts, rolled barley, etc.
    Medford Flour Mills, cor. S. Front and [Ninth] sts.

"What Do You Know About This?"
Medford Mail, December 9, 1909, page 6

Medford Roller Mills, March 1910
Medford Roller Mills as seen from the roof of St. Mary's Academy, March 1910.

840 ACRES SELL $350,000
Large Tract at Medford Bought by Oakland, Cal. Company.

    MEDFORD, Or., Sept. 28.--(Special.)--The largest real estate transaction of 1912 was consummated Friday when A. A. Davis sold to the M. T. Minnie Realty Company, of Oakland, Cal., 840 acres of land for $350,000. Two hundred acres of the land adjoins the Medford city limits on the east, and until recently was used as a golf course by the Medford Country Club. The balance is orchard property five miles northeast of Medford on the Pacific & Eastern Railroad, 430 acres being in young apple and pear orchard from two to five years of age.
    The new owners will plant the balance to orchard, subdivide and sell it in small tracts. The sale was made by Colonel J. F. Mundy.
    The orchard property which brought $400 an acre consists of a square mile of land, bisected by the railroad. The entire tract is under water. It is ideally located for orchard purposes. The land is well drained. Included are the buildings at Davis and the townsite. The Minnie Company will carry out Mr. Davis' original intention of subdividing and selling in small tracts. The property is laid out with roadways for division into five, seven and ten-acre tracts. Mr. Davis purchased the property five years ago at a fraction of its present value, but asserts he can do the same thing over again and probably will.
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, September 29, 1912, page 6


BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR
RECENT DEAL INVOLVES 840 ACRES OF LAND.
TOTAL PRICE PAID IS $350,000
A. A. Davis Sells Large Tract to M. T. Minnie Realty Co. of Oakland--
Medford Golf Course and 430-Acre Orchard.

    The largest realty deal of the year was consummated today, says the Mail Tribune, when A. A. Davis sold to the M. T. Minnie Realty Co. of Oakland, Cal., 840 acres of land for $350,000. Two hundred acres of the land adjoins Medford city limits on the east and until recently was used as a golf course by the Medford Country Club. The balance is orchard property five miles northeast of Medford on the Pacific & Eastern Railroad, 430 acres being in young apple and pear orchard from two to five years of age. The newcomers will plant the balance to orchard, subdivide and sell in small tracts. The sale was made by Colonel J. F. Mundy.
    The orchard property, which brought $400 an acre, consists of a square mile of land, bisected by the railroad. The entire tract is under water. It is ideally situated for orchard purposes. The land is sticky, with gentle slopes, well drained. Included are the buildings at Davis and the townsite.
    The Minnie company will carry out Mr. Davis' original intention of subdividing and selling in small tracts. The property is laid out with roadways for division into five-, seven- and ten-acre tracts.
    Mr. Davis purchased the property five years ago at a fraction of its present value, but asserts he can do the same thing over again and probably will. He says:
    "I have the utmost confidence in the future of the Rogue River Valley, and could do over again what I have done, with equal or greater profit, for I will have the benefit of my mistakes. No place that I know offers better opportunity than this section to the investor and developer.
    "When I paid $50 an acre for this unimproved property years ago, people said I was crazy, but I worked with a definite plan, each year planting a large acreage to fruit, and some of the orchards will soon be in bearing. There is a great deal of unimproved land here, just as available as this was five years ago, which can be developed with equal profit.
    "I shall probably, after a few months' rest, do the same thing over again, for I do not know any better investment than Rogue River realty. I have never lost faith or had 'cold feet' on my venture, and my faith and confidence has been justified."
    Mr. Davis is a pioneer capitalist and developer. He built the first flour mill in Medford and is a large timber owner. He furnished a large part of the money that started the Pacific & Eastern Railroad and was its first president.
    In the Minnie Realty Company are two brothers of George Morse of Talent, who has made considerable money in valley realty, and they will probably handle the property locally.
Ashland Tidings, September 30, 1912, page 6


    A. A. Davis has sold his residence on Tenth Street to parties living in Alameda County, Cal. The ranch located on Rogue River in which he was interested with his son, Scott Davis, was included in the sale.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, December 3, 1913, page 2

A. A. Davis House, May 1909 Medford's Magazine
May 1909 Medford's Magazine. The former Medford School, this was the "residence on Tenth Street."


DAVIS DISPOSES LOCAL HOLDINGS $100,000 VALUE
H. O. Nordwick of Oakland Purchases Medford Home, Flour Mill,
Table Rock Ranch and Butte Falls Timber Land from A. A. Davis.
Is Refitting Flour Mill and Will Operate This Summer--
Ranch To Be Model Hog and Dairy Farm.
    A large real estate deal has but recently been consummated and deeds signed whereby H. O. Nordwick of Oakland, Cal. becomes the owner of real estate in Jackson County valued to nearly $100,000.
    Part of the property included in the deal is the old A. A. Davis flouring mill, situated on the corner of South Front and Ninth streets, in this city. This is one of the most famous flouring mills of early days in Jackson County, and while it has not been in constant operation for the past few years, the mill equipment has been kept in fairly good repair, and most of the machinery is reasonably modern. However, Mr. Nordwick, the new owner, is laying plans to overhaul not alone the machinery but the building as well, and make of it a strictly modern and up-to-date mill for the manufacture of flour and feed. Several new pieces of machinery will be put in, and the large electric motor now in use will be dismantled and a number of smaller motors will be installed with which to operate the machinery individually. Repairs and changes will be made on the building, and it will be repainted--and the name "Medford Roller Mills" will be painted across two sides.
Mill To Operate
    Mr. Nordwick expects to have all these changes and repairs made within the next few weeks, and as soon as completed he will commence grinding feed, and as soon as the 1914 crop of wheat is ready for milling his mill will be in readiness to put on the market the splendid grade of flour for which the Rogue River Valley wheat is famous.
    This mill property includes a tract of land 100x115 feet in size, but does not include the brick garage which originally belonged with the mill property. The purchase price of the property was $20,000.
    The S. V. Davis and A. S. Rosenbaum ranch, on Rogue River, has also been acquired by Mr. Nordwick. There are 120 acres in this tract, and it figured in the deal at $42,000. This is one of the best pieces of alfalfa or fruit land in the county. Mr. Nordwick will move the buildings from their present site to a more advantageous location and will put up several new buildings, including a large silo. Sixty acres of the land will be leveled off and seeded to alfalfa, while the remainder of the land will be planted to corn and other crops. About twenty head of high-grade dairy cows will be purchased by Mr. Nordwick and put on the place, together with a band of high-grade hogs. It is Mr. Nordwick's intention to make of this a modern and model dairy and stock ranch. The fact that a water right for irrigating purposes goes with this place makes it an exceptionally good stock farm.
Davis Residence Bought
    Other property acquired by Mr. Nordwick is a timber tract of 500 acres near Butte Falls, and the A. A. Davis residence on West Tenth Street, in Medford. This is a large fourteen-room dwelling, together with half an acre of ground with a frontage on both Tenth and Eleventh streets. The residence's consideration was $10,000.
    In exchange for all these properties, Mr. Davis gets a large Venetian apartment house on Lake Merritt, in Oakland; a fine residence in Oakland and a tract of farmland near that city.
    Mr. Nordwick is now in Medford with his family and will personally look after the management of his holdings here.
Medford Mail Tribune, February 13, 1914, page 1


    A. A. Davis of Oakland, Cal. is spending a few days in the city attending to business matters and visiting old friends.

"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, February 15, 1915, page 2



MEDFORD FLOUR MILL PREPARES TO RESUME OPERATION
    After being closed down for a series of years, due to the abandonment of wheat for fruit in the Medford district, the old A. A. Davis mill, which formerly suppled the valley with its flour, is being rehabilitated and will be operated throughout the coming summer by its present owner, H. O. Nordwick. Not in years has there been such a large acreage of wheat sown in the valley, and the outlook is promising, although it is expected to import California, Klamath and northern wheat also. A fine brand of flour will be turned out, and another leak in the send of money out of the valley for food supplies stopped.
    F. S. Brandon, formerly proprietor of the "Wardrobe," who for 20 years before his undertaking merchandising, was a miller, and his brother, a well-known wheelwright, will have charge of the mill and are now busy installing modern equipment. They will be in readiness for hauling the present crop, and wheat growers are advised to bring their product to the home market.
Medford Mail Tribune, June 10, 1915, page 2


    A. S. Bliton of Medford, former publisher of the Medford Mail, was a visitor in this city Monday. Mr. Bliton is sales agent for the Medford Roller Mills and is placing the flour made by the mill with the local stores.

"Local News," Jacksonville Post, October 2, 1915, page 3



    The Medford flour mills have been remodeled and placed in operation after years of idleness.
"Fine Structures Show Progress of City in 1915," Medford Mail Tribune, December 31, 1915, page 8


LARGER ACREAGE OF WHEAT PROMISED
    The promise of an increased acreage of wheat in this valley this season carries with it the additional promise of a much improved quality of grain. Better seed has been selected and better seedbeds prepared. For several years prior to last season wheat was raised in this valley chiefly for chicken and hog feed, there being no market for it for milling purposes locally. The Medford roller mills was modernized, enlarged and otherwise equipped to supply the market for all the wheat raised. On account of this establishment of a local market the farmers concluded to produce a greater harvest of better grain.
    The Eagle Point mill has been modernized this year by the new owners and will enlarge the local demand for wheat and other grains.
    The Medford mill is equipped to produce cornmeal and rye flour also and is already putting out a splendid quality of all kinds of breakfast foods.
    The roller products of the valley this year promise, therefore, a large output of excellent quality of goods in their line.
Medford Mail Tribune, February 11, 1916, page 6
Medford Roller Mills, February 13, 1916 Sunday Oregonian
February 13, 1916 Sunday Oregonian

    H. A. Nordwick purchased the Medford Roller Mills about a year ago, after they had stood idle for a decade, and, putting in new and up-to-date equipment, now has a capacity of 40 barrels of flour a day. The opening of the mill has materially reduced the price of flour to the Medford housewife, and in spite of the dumping of cheap flours on the local market, has established a paying business which promises to grow steadily in the future.
"Medford Unites to Support Rogue River Valley Infant Industries," Sunday Oregonian, Portland, February 13, 1916, page 66


    H. O. Nordwick has carpenters at work building additions and porches to his residence, corner Eighth and Ivy streets.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, March 23, 1916, page 2


Medford Flour Mill Sold.
    MEDFORD, Or., Nov. 22.--(Special.)--E. N. Vilm and N. W. Vilm, of Anna, Ill., and Wichita, Kan., purchased today the Nordwick flour mill, located in Medford, for $8000. Messrs. Vilm, who are brothers and experienced millers, started at once remodeling and enlarging the plant. They will manufacture wheat, graham and corn meal flour, rolled oats, rolled barley and alfalfa meal. The Nordwick mill is one of the old landmarks in Medford and, except for a few months, has been idle for many years. Its closing was due to the transformation of the Rogue River Valley from a grain to a fruit section.
Morning Oregonian, Portland, November 23, 1917, page 5



Local Flour Mill Is Now in Operation

    The flour mill recently purchased by N. O. Nordwick of Medford by Messrs. N. M. Vilm and C. H. Vilm of Wichita, Kas., and E. N. Vilm of Anna, Ill., has been incorporated under the name of the Rogue Valley Milling Co.
    The mill property has not been in operation for a considerable length of time, but has been overhauled and remodeled by the new owners, and is now in operation, which means a great deal for the Rogue River Valley.
    There is a very large amount of grain grown in the valley, and the next few years will see a steady increase in the amount grown here, but in the past most of this grain has been shipped out of the valley, owing to the scarcity of local mills, and the opening of the mill here in Medford will do away with the necessity of shipping all of this grain to other milling centers.
    As a step in the conservation of foodstuffs the food administration appointed by our government has set a fixed price of $2.00 a bushel on wheat, with standard deductions as to the different grades and tests of same, but even at that the producer loses if he must ship his grain to a distant market, owing to the fact that he usually has to pay the freight and also sustain the loss in transit, loading and unloading, whereas if the farmer can sell his wheat at home these losses are minimized.
    The farmer is not the only one to suffer by the present system, for when the consumer has to buy his flour and grain products made by mills other than those at home he must pay the actual value of the flour with the freight charges to and from the large milling center added.
    The new milling company will manufacture two brands of flour--"Vilmo" and "Harmony." They are buying only the best grain in the valley for actual milling purposes and coupled with a good practical knowledge of the milling business and experience gained by years of work in this line, will put out a grade of flour equal to if not excelling any now made in the Pacific Northwest.
    The mill will be managed by E. N. Vilm and C. H. Vilm. N. M. Vilm, the president of the same, will not have an active part in the business. E. N. Vilm, vice-president and manager of the mill, has followed the milling industry all of his life, gaining his experience in various mills throughout the Middle West. C. H. Vilm, secretary and head miller, has in the past been connected with some of the largest mills in Kansas and Texas, and besides being a practical miller is an experienced cereal chemist. Both of these men know how to make good flour and are going to make flour of the grain raised in the Rogue River Valley for the use of the people of the valley, and urge the people here to help them by giving their flour a trial.
Medford Mail Tribune, February 6, 1918, page 4


FIRE GUTS ROGUE VALLEY FLOUR MILL
    The flour and feed mill of the Rogue Valley Milling Co., Ninth and Front streets, was destroyed by fire which broke out at an early hour this morning. Although the shell of the building proper is standing, the structure, machinery and stock of flour, feeds, grain and other materials is a complete loss. The origin is unknown.
    The loss is estimated, not authoritatively, however, at $30,000, with $19,000 of insurance.
Flames Envelop Structure
    The fire was discovered shortly after midnight, the alarm sounding at 12:15. The fire department responded promptly, but the structure was a seething mass of flames before it arrived on the scene, and it was only by well-directed efforts, aided by the new 1000-gallon American-LaFrance pumper, which fortunately arrived in the city last night, that the flames were prevented from enveloping other property.
    The fire department, immediately after arriving at the scene, played several streams of water on the flames and on adjoining buildings and succeeded in confining the blaze to the point of its origin.
    The building occupied by the Acme Motor Co. immediately adjoins the mill on the north, and dwellings are located directly across the streets in three directions, but efficient and prompt work by the fire department prevented the flames spreading to any of the adjoining structures.
Pumper Effective
    It is considered extremely fortunate by Fire Chief Elliott and other members of the department that by a coincidence the 1000-gallon American-LaFrance pumper arrived in the city last evening from Roseburg to make a demonstration scheduled for Friday. When the alarm was sounded the pumper accompanied the regular apparatus to the blaze and was immediately put into operation. Four lines of hose were attached, and for a five-hour period the pumper kept four streams of water pouring into the flames with a minimum pressure of 160 pounds. During the five hours the pumper was stopped only once, and then for the purpose of adding a new supply of gasoline.
Jackson County News, November 28, 1924, page 1


MEDFORD MILL FIRE
RESULTS IN DAMAGE OF NEARLY $25,000
Rogue Valley Milling Plant Is Totally Destroyed by Fire, Only Partially Insured
    MEDFORD, Nov. 29.--Fire of unknown origin destroyed the three-story plant of the Rogue Valley Milling Company, corner of South Front and East Ninth streets, shortly after midnight Wednesday night, causing much excitement and an estimated loss of $25,000.
    E. N. Vilm, who is proprietor and operator of the Rogue Valley Milling Company, having some time ago bought out the interests of his brother, and who is being deluged with sympathy by his many friends and business men in general, besides estimating his loss as $25,000, estimates that he carried insurance of $19,000.
    Of this insurance he states that $10,000 was on the stock, and $9000 on the building and machinery. Of his future plans Mr. Vilm says that at present he has none.
    He knew nothing about the fire, which had wiped him out of business, temporarily, until Thanksgiving morning, about 7 o'clock, no one having thought to notify him while the building was burning, and later, until that hour.
    The fire had gained much headway and the interior of the large building was first discovered about 12:15 a.m. Thursday, and then promptly reported to the fire department, which was quickly on the job. When the firemen arrived the structure was all ablaze and the roof about ready to fall in.
    While they could do nothing in the way of saving the building, yet they played several streams of water on it and at the same time played streams on the nearby dwellings, which for a time were also threatened with destruction--so much so that the families either moved their belongings out, or had prepared to do so.
    What made the fire in the mill buildings so hard to extinguish was its large quantity of stock of finished and unfinished flour, run of the mill, grain and brand stock. The firemen played streams on it for over five hours.
    The building was thoroughly gutted, and its walls are rendered useless. It is regarded as a complete loss. Of the stock it is thought only a small quantity of flour stacked in one corner, and on which the firemen played streams, was saved.
    Fortunately an American LaFrance fire pumper, which with its operator had arrived here Wednesday night for a demonstration to be made Friday, was available and put into use with its demonstrator at the fire, and was of very valuable assistance to the firemen, as it enabled them to have heavy pressure all the time.
    The destruction of the mill building removes a landmark of many years. It was originally built about 40 years ago as the A. A. Davis mill, it is said. Then it passed into the hands of H. O. Nordwick, who operated it for a time, and then disposed of it to the Vilm Bros.' Rogue Valley Milling Company. Some time ago E. N. Vilm bought out the interests of his brothers. From time to time since it was built as a substantial structure, the building had undergone alterations and improvements.
Ashland Daily Tidings, November 29, 1924, page 1


Rogue Valley Mill Temporary Quarters
    E. N. Vilm of the Rogue Valley Milling Company, whose plant was destroyed by fire early Thanksgiving morning, announces that he has secured temporary quarters in the C. A. Knight building, 327 S. Fir Street, where he will conduct a feed and grain business.
    Mr. Vilm has let the contract for salvaging the old mill and will rebuild as soon as this is done and the weather permits.
Medford Mail Tribune, December 11, 1924, page 7


Bicycle Pedal Cuts Artery in Pedestrian's Leg
    A. A. Davis was resting easily today in the Santa Cruz hospital from a severe cut on his leg which he suffered yesterday when struck by a bicycle at the junction of Walnut and Pacific avenues.
    He lost a considerable amount of blood from a broken artery in one leg which was cut by the pedal of the bicycle driven by William Piedemonte of 24 Taylor Street, a thirteen-year-old newsboy.
    Davis, who lives at 129 Mission Street, was rushed to the hospital by the Johnson ambulance service and placed under the care of Dr. A. N. Nittler. According to those who saw the accident, Davis had started to cross Walnut Avenue from the north side of Pacific Avenue when a passing machine caused him to step back into the path of the bicycle.
    Young Piedemonte was thrown from his bicycle by the impact, but was not injured.
Santa Cruz News, Santa Cruz, California, December 31, 1929, page 5


Accident Fatal to Ansel A. Davis After 4 Months
    Ansel A. Davis, 78, died today as the result of an accident in front of the New Santa Cruz Theater last December when he was struck to the street by a bicycle rider and suffered from the loss of blood when an artery in his leg was cut.
    Mr. Davis was in the Santa Cruz hospital for four days following the accident under the care of Dr. A. N. Nittler and then removed to his home at 129 Mission Street, where he appeared to be recovering from the injury. He was taken ill Thursday morning and died this morning at 4:45. According to reports from the home, his heart was not strong enough to recuperate from the loss of blood.
    The body is at the Wessendorf mortuary. Funeral services are pending the arrival of a son from Oregon. Mr. Davis is survived by his widow and the one son. He came to this city from his native state, Wisconsin, 15 years ago.
Santa Cruz News, Santa Cruz, California, April 10, 1930, page 3


DEATH CLOSES CAREER, LOCAL CITY BUILDER
A. A. Davis, One of Medford's Best-Known Pioneers, Passes Away at Pacific Grove, Cal.
    A. A. Davis, one of Medford's best-known pioneers, and 30 years ago the foremost business man of Southern Oregon, died at his home in Forest Grove, Cal. at 5 a.m. Thursday morning, April 10th. His son, Scott Davis, left yesterday noon to attend the funeral.
    Mr. Davis was the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Davis of Minnesota, later of Tacoma and now deceased. He came to Medford in 1889, 41 years ago, with his wife and family, and built the finest home then in the city, now the Waterman residence [106 South Ivy], facing the city park. He first engaged in the milling business, building the first flour mill in the city at the place now occupied by a garage on South Front Street, across from the S.P. freight depot.
    This business was prosperous from the start, and Mrs. Davis joined in partnership with the late W. I. Vawter, with whom he organized the Jackson County Bank, becoming one of its first officers. He and Mr. Vawter together built the Jackson County Bank building and the present store buildings next to it on Main Street and on North Central Avenue, running to Sixth Street.
    No man had greater faith in the future of Medford and the Rogue River Valley. Mr. Davis bought extensive timber lands in various parts of Jackson County, and large tracts of farm land, including and near the present Medford Golf Club, a portion of the timber properties he held to the time of his death.
    In both business and social circles Mr. and Mrs. Davis were acknowledged leaders in those early days. It was Mrs. Davis who turned the first spadeful of dirt marking the construction of what became the P.&E. Railroad. In 1900 Mrs. Davis (Angelina M. Langdon) was killed when run down by an S.P. work train near Ashland. Several years later Mr. Davis married Miss Ida Hale of Medford, who survives him, and 20 years ago Mr. and Mrs. Davis left Medford to make their home in California.
    In addition to Scott Davis, A. A. Davis leaves to mourn his loss the following children: Mrs. W. L. Halley of Medford, Orin Davis of Weed, Cal., and Mrs. Grace Hosler of Ashland; also two brothers, G. W. Davis, a lawyer of Tacoma, Wash., and E. H. Davis, well-known resident of Eagle Point, and one sister, Clara Lockhart of Minnesota.
    It is believed Mr. Davis' death was primarily due to a painful accident he suffered during the last Christmas holidays, near his home in Pacific Grove, when he was run down by a newsboy on a bicycle, badly cut and severely bruised. Before he could be rushed to a hospital he lost much blood, and although with characteristic fortitude he refused to stay in the hospital over four days, he was never able to regain his former health and vigor.
    At the time of his death, Mr. Davis was 79 years old, having been born in Minnesota, April 30, 1851.
Medford Mail Tribune, April 11, 1930, page B2


ELKS CONDUCT LAST RITES FOR ANSIL A. DAVIS
    Funeral services for Ansil A. Davis were conducted this morning at 10:30 at the Wessendorf mortuary by the Santa Cruz lodge of Elks, No. 824. Hymns were sung by Mrs. Abra Budworth and Mrs. Z. T. Croop, accompanied on the piano by Mrs. Leo Trumbly.
    The pallbearers were Walter C. Byrne, Fred R. Howe, Charles J. Klein, Floyd Rittenhouse, S. H. Campbell and Harry O. Smith. Entombment was in the Santa Cruz mausoleum.
    Mr. Davis died Thursday at his home at 129 Mission Street from the effects of an accident last December, when he was struck by a bicyclist and an artery in his leg cut.
    Mr. Davis, the owner and manager of the Medford Flouring Mills, president of the Big Bend Milling Co., of Davenport, Wash., and director of the Jackson County Bank of Medford, was born at Beaver Dam, Wis., April 23, 1851.
    At Albert Lea, Minn., in 1871, he married Angelia Langdon, who died in Medford in July, 1900. He is survived by two sons and daughters, Mrs. W. L. Halley of Medford, Orrin Lee of Medford, Mrs. H. H. Holser of Oregon and Scott Victor of Medford. Mrs. Davis was an active Republican, and served on the council five or six years, and had been a member of the school board for many years.
    He was a charter member of Medford lodge of Elks. He was married to his present wife in 1904 and had resided in this city for 13 years.
Santa Cruz News, Santa Cruz, California, April 12, 1930, page 3
 

    A. A. Davis came to Medford in 1889 and built the first and only flouring mill. This was on South Front Street, and was burned only a few years ago.
"Medford History Dates from Railway Inception," Medford Mail Tribune. Attributed to Jane Snedicor. Series begins February 28, 1932, page 3


Early Day Grain Mill Men Had Faith in Area Future
By Mary Alice Brusha
    There may be many men with more memories than Scott Davis, Raymond Miksche or Oliver Morton. Hardly any have more cherished or rewarding experiences of the early days in the feed, seed and grain business in the history of Jackson County.
    All three of these men share more than a common bond. They are sons of men who came to Southern Oregon back in the latter part of the past century and the early part of the present one. They are sons of men who made a success of the flour business in the days when wheat was the major farming commodity in Southern Oregon.
    Two of these early farm stores are still in operation at Medford. And like their fathers before them two of these sons are still giving the public the same type of efficient and expert service as well as the best merchandise obtainable in the field of farm products.
    There are not too many 1888 pictures of Jackson County available. This was the year Ansel A. Davis left Minnesota for Medford. Pictures could not have described the breathtaking beauty of the evergreen forests, nestled among the mountains, nor the acres and acres of ripening wheat.
    No man had greater faith in the future of the Rogue Valley than A. A. Davis. He immediately designed and built the first roller mill at Medford. It was also the first roller mill south of Albany, Ore.
    The site he chose for his mill was at the corner of Ninth and South Front streets, across the street from the present Southern Pacific freight depot. Today the spot is used for a parking lot.
    Davis soon increased the capacity from 65 barrels to 80 barrels a day.
No Electricity
    There was no electricity in the early days of the Davis mill. Wood was hauled to the new venture from all over the valley. Four-foot lengths of firewood, cut exactly right for the mill [boiler], were hauled by one- and two-horse teams.
    Scott Davis, a son of A. A. Davis, now 86, lives at 1914 E. Main Street. He began his career as a general "flunky." He held the top position of the company before he retired several years ago.
    "There wasn't a single thing in the flour business that I didn't do," he smiled.
    In recalling those first days, Scott said, there were sometimes as many as 40 teams and wagons extending far down Ninth Street waiting to be unloaded.
    The wooden sidewalks, usually filled with children, were the only escape from the dusty unpaved roads in the summer and the wet, black, sticky mud in the winter.
    Trips into town those days meant calling for the family meal and swapping stories for the men. The ladies looked over the new styles in fashion and bought provisions. To the children, it meant a chance to play.
    "But those were happy kids,'' Scott reminisced. "Kids growing up on raw cow's milk, mother's flapjacks and country smoked sausage."
Population 500
    "The population at the time we came to Medford was about [1000] people in 1888. There was only one house east of Bear Creek. The Southern Pacific railroad beat us to Medford by four years," Scott added. "It was constructed in 1884."
    At the same time Davis was building his mill, he was also building a home for his family. It is noted that at the time it was built it was the finest home in Southern Oregon. The house was constructed directly across the street from the present city library and will be remembered as the Waterman residence. Just recently the former law offices of Robert Boyer were moved from the exact site.
    Following the construction of the Medford Milling Co., Davis built a mill at Phoenix, Ore., in those days called Gasburg. [The Gasburg name was long out of use by 1888.] He then joined partnership with W. I. Vawter, and together they organized the Jackson County Bank. He was one of its first officers. Together they built the Jackson County Bank building and the present store buildings extending from the corner of Main and Central to Sixth Street.
    "Davis' Best" brand was shipped to all local markets, and its quality established the owner [as] the best flour maker on the West Coast. In the meantime, he bought up large quantities of grain, and besides from being the first in line in his place, he advanced to the largest purchaser in his locality.
In Washington Too
    The flour mills operated by the Big Bend milling Company at Davenport, Wash., were built by A. A. Davis in 1890. These mills had a capacity of 350 barrels a day. This flour was shipped to local and foreign markets. At all the Davis mills they manufactured baker's flour, whole wheat and graham flour, mixed feed, bran shorts and steam-rolled oats.
    A. A. Davis was one of Medford's best-known pioneers. In 1900 he was the foremost businessman in Southern Oregon.
    The flour mills were not by any means all of Davis' enterprises. Mr. Davis bought extensive timberland in Jackson County and immense tracts of farm land, including and near the present Medford Golf Club. He also held a vast amount of mining properties in Oregon.
    In 1910, Davis sold the Medford mill to a Harry Nordwick from California and moved to Pacific Grove, Calif., where he lived until he died in 1930 at the age of 79. The mill was sold again [in 1918] to Eugene N. Vilm, who continued making the same best grade of flour until the mill was destroyed by fire in 1925.
    Mrs. A. A. Davis (Angelina M. Langdon), Scott's mother, turned the first spadeful of dirt marking the construction for the P&E railroad at Medford. Ironically she was killed in a Southern Pacific train accident near Ashland in 1900.
    A son-in-law of A. A. Davis, Harry Hosler of Ashland, was the editor and publisher of the first flower catalog ever to be published in Southern Oregon. Mr. Hosler was in the flower business. His dahlias won for him four out of five prizes at the 1926 Jackson county Fair.
    A. A. Davis was born at Beaver Dam, Wisc., April 30, 1851. His father, Chandler Davis, was a native of Vermont. He moved to Wisconsin in 1849. [His] was one of the first flour mills in that region, along with many other buildings, some of which are still standing today.
    In 1863, Chandler Davis moved his family to Freeborn County, Minnesota, near Albert Lea, [and] engaged in farming.
    A. A. Davis, the oldest in a family of three sons and three daughters, worked with his father on the farm until his 23rd birthday, when he embarked in a general merchandise business at Alden, Minn. This venture, like all his undertakings, was a success, but at the expiration of 12 years he disposed of his interests and departed for Medford.
    Had A. A. Davis been asked the secret of his success, he might have unhesitatingly attributed it to his continuous study of his occupation, to his ability to keep in the front ranks and to furnish as good, if not a little better, flour than was placed on the market by his competitors.
    He was a pioneer and the largest operator in his line in Southern Oregon. And because he established business interests which had no peer as far as substantiality [and] good management [was] concerned, he proved himself a leader in every sense of the word.
Medford Mail Tribune, February 15, 1966, page 6



Last revised September 4, 2023