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.
We’ve Opened the Doors of
Jacksonville’s New History Center!
205 West Main Street
Jacksonville, Oregon
Open Daily, 11am to 3pm
Jacksonville’s 1881 “Old City Hall” building is now the ADA accessible hub of our “Citywide Museum” that incorporates the town’s entire National Historic Landmark District (the first one on the West Coast)!
Our Old City Hall History Center is designed to provide an overview of how a gold rush camp became the commercial, governmental, and social hub of Southern Oregon in the late 1800s. Interactive exhibits buiilt around five themes share stories of the people and events who made it happen. We’ll also introduce you to the many ways you can explore Jacksonville.
And we’re adding a new GPS Historic District walking guide that can be downloaded onto your smart phone or tablet. 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!
Did you know that the Christmas celebration we know today
was “reinvented” during the Victorian Era?
Learn about the international origins of our holiday traditions during
Victorian Christmas!
Experience a late 1800s Christmas celebration when Historic Jacksonville, Inc. opens the 1870s Beekman House for Victorian Christmas tours. Located at 470 E. California Street and once home to the town’s wealthiest and most prominent pioneer family, the house is decorated for a 19th Century holiday. Victorian costumed docents will be sharing stories of festivities in the late 1800s along with the origins of popular Christmas traditions that settlers brought with them from all over the world.
One-hour tours begin every 20 minutes from 12n through 3pm every Saturday and Sunday from November 28 through December 20. Tour admission is $10 for adults; $5 for children 12 and under. Mrs. Beekman’s Christmas Bazaar is FREE!
You’ll find information and a link to tickets at https://historicjacksonville.org/victorian-christmas/
Then join our
Walkabout Wednesday Club
when local dogs explore and share historic Jacksonville.
Here’s Mozzie, our favorite Yellow Labrador tour guide.
His favorite things are belly rubs and twice-daily excursions through the Jacksonville Cemetery. He also can be seen walking the streets of our historic residential neighborhoods. He’s a constant companion for his work-from-home human mom since he knows he gets hourly treats from the nearby good-dog cookie jar. 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.