May 31, 2016

The innocuous one-story home at 110 West C Street hides a wealth of history. The current house was built as a rental property in the 1930s. However, the site was originally part of the adjacent Combest property. In the 1870s, it became the location of the Democratic Times newspaper. When that paper merged with the Southern Oregonian in the early 1900s, the site became the meeting hall of the Native Sons of Oregon. The Native Sons of Oregon was founded in the late 1800s, the first “historical society” in the state. Each chapter was called a “cabin” and each “cabin” was named after a prominent local historical figure. The Jacksonville Cabin honored Paine Page Prim, an early Jacksonville lawyer who became Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court.