"Always A Good Time!"
[...as my sweet friend Lex demonstrates in this picture in front of the city signage:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/jacksonville-oregon-jacksonville#uvB3OkSAzRK7QLSr_M-M5w ]
SITREP
And THAT, believe it or not, is also this town's motto! Just 5 miles down the road from Medford, OR, this sister-city to Lawrence, New Zealand, is pack full of charm and history, and downright charming history!
THE SETUP
"A Sweet Trek Back Into Frontier History". Jacksonville was founded as a result of this part of Oregon's own mini-gold rush of 1851 & 1852. In fact, as a result of the gold frenzy seizing the West Coast at this time, a large Chinese Migration came up to Jacksonville, making it home to the first "Chinatown" in Oregon.
Jacksonville was the most prominent city and pushed a largish population for a few decades. But around 1874, the translatlantic railroad spur went through nearby Medford, OR, and so like the Cities of Walla Walla & Tombstone in other states, Jacksonville saw some "Bust" times, and it's eventual diminishment.
WINE COUNTRY
But the Jacksonville community still soldiered onward, and no Southern Oregonian a century ago probably could have anticipated how Jacksonville would suddenly take off like a jet in the 21st Century as an exciting & viable wine market. Lots of great wineries have popped up all over the Jacksonville, Medford and Ashland region. And though it IS a four (4) and a half road trip from the Bay Area and Sacramento, there is a lot to be said about enjoying a more pristine wine country that hasn't QUITE yet oversold it's soul to the same commercial forces that have inundated the Napa & Sonoma Valleys, just sayin. ;)
THE COURTHOUSE
The Southern Oregon Historical Society formed in 1946 to save the Jackson County Courthouse, by transforming it into the Jacksonville Museum on July 10, 1950. But it eventually closed in 2006 because of lack of funding. Though the courthouse is not open to the public, I still got a pretty rad picture of it:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/jacksonville-oregon-jacksonville#x8kPsCWh41wj0ajxn1tkrg
HISTORIC IMPRINT
Many of the old buildings of this main town center have been renovated & retasked as the newer sites of great restaurants - including the sushi joint - and coffe shops and the like. On their sides, there are some of the old advertisements that still emblazon the side of the building, such as this one from Levi Strauss:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/jacksonville-oregon-jacksonville#78XjkymeYAxkdseWYbQncA
THE LOWDOWN
A great trip into the historic past of our Western Frontier while looking ahead to exciting & new commercial opportunities in the Wine Industry. read more