Following the discovery of gold in the winter of 1851-2, Jacksonville, Oregon,
became a melting pot of races, classes, and cultures as ambitious individuals
pursued the promise of riches. The offer of free land brought settlers
seeking opportunity. The influx of miners and settlers attracted merchants
with goods to sell and opportunists of all kinds.
Historic Jacksonville, Inc. brings the history of Jacksonville and
Southern Oregon to life through the stories of the people, places, and things
that have contributed to who we are today.
Can you believe summer is almost here!
Memorial Day weekend heralded the start
of our summer season and you’re invited to join us!
First up…
Walk through Jacksonville History!
Would you like to know what 19th Century Jacksonville was like? Then plan to stretch your legs in the comfort of morning temperatures at 10am any Saturday through August 30 on Historic Jacksonville, Inc.’s guided “Walk through History” tour!
Prepare to time travel back to the late 1800s when Jacksonville was the hub of Southern Oregon. Hear how gambling money built a church; how the Civil War ended a successful mercantile partnership; how a saloon housed the county’s first museum; how fire reshaped the town; and how a railroad both destroyed the town and preserved it.
10 a.m. every Saturday through August 30th
1 hour walking tour leaves from
New City Hall, 206 N. 5th Street
FREE! (Donations welcomed!)
Then we’re inviting you to
“Step Behind the Counter”
of the
1863 Beekman Bank Museum
between 11am and 3pm
any weekend through August 31!
Originally a gold dust office, its 1856 beginning makes it the oldest financial institution in the Pacific Northwest! And in the late 1800s it saw over $40 million in gold cross its counters – worth over $1 billion today.
Preserved as a museum since 1915, you’re invited to step behind the counter of this unique institution and peer in drawers containing old checks, stage schedules, and paperwork. Enter the vault that stored all those millions in gold. Interact with costumed docents sharing stories of late 19th Century banking practices, gold shipping, and handshake deals.
Spend as much or as little time as you like—although we suggest you allow at least 30 minutes. Tours are FREE, but donations are encouraged since all monies go towards the preservation and maintenance of this historic legacy!
Every Saturday and Sunday through August 31st
“Banking Hours” are
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Beekman Bank Museum, 110 W. California Street
FREE! (Donations welcomed!)
If it’s Friday the 13th,
we must be starting our
Jacksonville Haunted History
walking tours!
The ghoulies, and ghosties, and long-legged beasties are back — not to mention brothels and epidemics and hangings and murder and arson and saloons and haunted houses! Learn about the ghosts that still linger in Jacksonville’s historic district along with a little history about the buildings, their occupants, and life in a gold rush town.
Historic Jacksonville, Inc.’s guided Haunted History walking tours will again be offered on the 2nd Friday of each month from June 13 through August 8, with both Friday and Saturday tours in September and two weekends of tours in October.
Tours leave from the Jacksonville Visitors Center at the corner of North Oregon and C streets and last about 1 hour. Guests can choose from 2 different tours each night. The Courthouse route features brothels, epidemics, and hangings. The Britt Hill tours highlight murder, arson, saloons, and Oregon’s oldest Chinatown. And both tours have lots of haunted houses.
Tour offerings can change based on demand
so check each tour date for time and tour!
Tour sizes are capped; tickets are $10 per person; and reservations are required. Tickets are available at www.historicjacksonville.org/haunted-history-tours/.
Join us for one one of our very spirited evenings!
From June through December
you’re invited to experience different aspects of 19th century life
through the lens of Jacksonville’s richest and most prominent
pioneer family during
Americans were on the move during the second half of the 19th Century! The industrial Revolution brought huge changes in everyone’s lifestyle. In the span of only 50 years, travel options went from horseback, wagon or buggy, stagecoach, and sailing ship, to railroad, steamship and automobile! And Jacksonville’s pioneer Beekman family experienced them all!
View antique cars and learn about the rapid changes in transportation during the late 1800s when the Rogue Valley Model A’s join Historic Jacksonville, Inc. for “Travel in the Victorian Age” on June 21st.
As was typical of upper class Victorians of wealth and prominence, Beekman family members traveled the West and East Coasts, visited Canada and Alaska, criss-crossed the country, and toured Europe. Beekman’s 1870s “Carpenter Gothic” style home, located at 470 E. California Street in Jacksonville, remains completely furnished with family artifacts, many of them souvenirs from the family’s frequent travels.
This is just the first in a series of Victorian themed events that focus on different aspects of life in the late 1800s as viewed through the lens of Jacksonville and its most prominent pioneer family. Upcoming topics include Victorian Medicine (July 19), Victorian Hobbies and Crafts (August 16), Victorian Fashion (September 20 & 21), and Victorian Mourning Customs (October 18 & 19 and October 25 and 26).
Travel in the Victorian Era
Saturday, June 21st
Docent led 1- hour tours begin every 20 minutes from
12n through 3 p.m.
Beekman House Museum, 470 E. California Street
Admission, $10. Reservations required!
https://historicjacksonville.org/victorian-theme-tours/
And then there’s
Jacksonville’s
New Museum…
Jacksonville’s 1881 “Old City Hall” building will become the ADA accessible hub for a “Museum without Walls” that incorporates the town’s entire National Historic Landmark District (the first one on the West Coast)!
Our Old City Hall History Center base will give you an interactive overview of Jacksonville history and share the many ways that you can explore it through walking tours, Haunted History, trolley rides, photo exhibits, programs and presentations, and more!
And we’re adding a new GPS self-guided walking or driving tour that can be downloaded onto your smart phone or tablet. It will let you choose from existing tours, create your own tour based on your interests or available time, or provide you with information about the history of where you are. Every stop includes a photo of your location and its name, a short audio narration of its history with a photo loop of historic images, a text version of the audio, and an opportunity to explore further!
Grants and partnerships with the City of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Boosters Foundation, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, foundations and individuals are underwriting the initial design and infrastructure portion of the project. We would welcome your participation as well!
Please consider a donation to Historic Jacksonville, Inc. to help underwrite the project, capital construction, exhibits, and/or audio tours that will share our town’s storied history. It’s as easy as a click on our Donate button!
In the meantime, stay tuned for more museum information!
Then join our
when local dogs explore and share historic Jacksonville.
Here’s Mozzie, one of our tour guides.
He’s a 3-year-old Yellow Labrador who loves belly rubs
and excursions through Jacksonville’s Pioneer Cemetery.
He can also be seen walking the streets of our historic residential neighborhoods. He enjoys meeting other pups and can be shy when greeting new people (but he’s trying!), so be sure to stop and say hello.
Historic Jacksonville’s Walkabout Wednesday Club is a tribute to Storm Large, Jacksonville’s Great Dane “history ambassador.” Every Wednesday for over 7 years, Storm shared our town’s historic sites along with their stories. Club members continue her legacy.
We always welcome new club members, so if you are willing to pose and photograph your dog in front of one of Jacksonville’s many historic sites and share that image with the public, please let us know!
Contact info@historicjacksonville.org and we’ll give you some photography “tips.”
In the meantime, click here to check out the exploits of our Walkabout Wednesday Club, members.
And don’t forget there are always lots of virtual ways to
Explore Historic Jacksonville!
Want an overview? Watch our 30 minute video.
Want a quick sample? Check out our daily Facebook and Instagram posts.
Want to dig deeper? Visit one of the 50 sites on our Walk through History blog.
Enjoy a visit to the historic C.C. Beekman House when
Mrs. Julia Beekman “Invites You to Call”
for a tour of her 1873 home.
Or visit many of Jacksonville’s original residences through our 45 minute
“Step Back in Time” Historic Home video!
Tour Jacksonville’s pioneer cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in the Pacific Northwest that has remained in continuous use through our new 45 minute
Pioneer Cemetery tour.
View Jacksonville through the eyes of local pets as they sniff out the
history and stories of local sites each week in our
Walkabout Wednesday series.
Join us for our on-going “Thirsty Thursday” saloon series featuring early Jacksonville stories of beer, wine, whiskey, saloons, and “entrepreneurs”!
So many ways to see the places and learn about the people who transformed a gold rush town into the 19th Century commercial, governmental, and social hub of Southern Oregon! Enjoy the treasure trove of Jacksonville History on this website plus daily history trivia on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Find out how interesting and fun history can be!
Jacksonville 1883 (lithograph)
When Oregon was admitted to the Union in 1859, Jacksonville was the largest inland trade center in the new state, and Jacksonville and its residents played a dominant role in early Oregon history and statehood. But when the railroad by-passed Jacksonville in the 1880s, the town slowly sank into oblivion. However, that oblivion also proved to be the town’s salvation, preserving the historic buildings, homes, and character that you see today—Jacksonville’s National Historic Landmark District. Today, these landmarks live again through the efforts of the City of Jacksonville, volunteers, and private owners so that you can again experience Jacksonville in its heyday.