Awake: 6:35am Temp 60 Partly cloudy Overnight @ Ashland, OR
Casual morning for us: Kathy watches her favorite TV programs in the
bedroom while doing some ironing and I do my time on our computer in the
living room. We like this set-up…we each have our own space to do our own
thing; the air-pocket door separating the 2 rooms is rarely closed.
After lunch, we drive to the town of Jacksonville, OR (30 min). This town
began as a gold mining camp in the early 1850’s &, by 1859, had grown to
be the largest city in the state of Oregon. Later with the advent of the
railroad & because of its location, Jacksonville was by-passed & Medford
was born in 1886.
During the depression, Jacksonville folks survived by digging tunnels
under the town & mining the gold that is still there. The entire town is a
National Historic District & a visit there is like a giant step back in
time.
And stepping we did; 3.0 hrs worth….we signed in @ the visitors info
booth, picked up a walking tour map of the entire town area & started our
search for that gold. Turns out, a lot of the brick buildings downtown
under which the gold still might be were closed on a Monday. We did do a
thorough job however of identifying each downtown building by looking up
the original business owner’s name & the type of businesses that structure
had over the decades + other items of interest. These towns’ people kept
their records well. Our list of significant structures numbered close to
100. We didn’t take the time to see even half but we did go into the
Fisher Bros General Merchandize Store(my idea) which opened as a tent in
1856….& later, became the Marble Corner Saloon & now, Scheffeld’s toys.
This was a scary move on my part because this very well stocked store
carried a pretty full line of Brio railroad items + the Thomas Wooden
Railway selection & the Playmobil toys. I could see that look in Kathy’s
eyes & feel the wheels turning toward our grandson Matthew’s direction?
Anyway, this town is…by no means, a ghost town…each downtown building &
the outlying homes + other structures were as one would expect to see
after a many decades….without being modernized.
Next we do a, not so thorough, driving tour of the town…including a
curiosity drive through their cemetery up on a hill. This was a surprise
experience: they had sectioned off areas for: Jews, paupers, Catholics,
Masons, city dwellers, country folks, etc. The place was huge! We nearly
got lost just driving around. I had to back-track to get back on track &
find my way out! Kathy could have stayed longer as she really enjoys the
history to be found in a cemetery, however, I feel I’ll be in one of these
places soon enough so why tarry longer than necessary.
En route back to our camper, we find Harry & David’s Country Village, a
big Medford operation; we signed up for a tour tomorrow morning.
7:30 dinner: Pecan stuffed pork chops, broccoli & cauliflower in Boursin
cheese, fried red potato chunks & rice + a mixed salad & my garlic toasted
bread.
Late evening: we watch an antenna signal from PBS on: “Unusual buildings
in America.” So interesting, we nearly fell out of our chairs!
High temp today= 74 Lights out: 10:58pm
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