| Jacksonville and Medford, Oregon |
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| Saturday, 17 April 2004 00:00 | |||
 Today we ventured into Jacksonville, a town of approximately 2000 and the city of Medford, both worth visiting.
Jacksonville, a designated National Historic Landmark is a quaint 19th century town, which originated because of the discovery of gold in 1851. It started out as a mining camp but as a result of the gold rush fever, it quickly evolved with saloons, gambling halls, shops, supply stores, a bank and many other businesses by 1852. During the "boom" years it was the hub of commerce in Southern Oregon but in 1884 when the railroad bypassed it, Medford became the primary link between the north and south. During the depression, the townspeople dug tunnels under the town and mined the gold that is still there! There is a walking map available for the history hound to follow and every historic building is clearly marked. We enjoyed poking around in the shops and cafes and talking to the friendly business owners and managers.
Medford came to be in 1884 with a population of 400 when the Oregon-California railroad made it a depot because it was on the valley route. By 1896 the population had grown to 2000 and today there are over 63,000 people living here. Agriculture, tourism, medical and other services are part of the economic development here. Today many of the residents we spoke with are transplants from all over the US. The temperatures here are mild and it has an average rainfall of only 18-20 inches and 3-4 inches of snow per year, a real draw for many.
There is no sales tax in Oregon and finally we have found a state that has drive-thru coffee kiosks, not Tim Horton's, but at least the coffee tastes good and is reasonably priced.
 We have found the residents extremely friendly and more knowledgeable about Ontario, Canada than some others. Oregon is just another of the many states we have visited with it's own beautiful characteristics and charm.
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