Josephine County, Oregon
The discovery of rich placers at Sailor Diggings (later known as Waldo) in 1852 and the resulting gold rush brought the first settlers to this region.Several U.S. Army forts were maintained in the county and many engagements during the Rogue River Indian War (1855–1858) took place within its boundaries.In 1851, a group of prospectors moved to the Illinois Valley and made the first discovery of gold in Southern Oregon.Events organized by the club ranged from simply blocking traffic, to bidding on the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (at a cost of 23,756,000 deer hides), to initiating politicians into their club including Mark Hatfield and Thomas E. Dewey during his 1948 presidential campaign.[13] Although several tribes of Native Americans lived in the area from which Josephine County was created, most of their members had been moved to the reservation at Grand Ronde by the end of the Rogue River Indian War.Most of the commercial activity during the territorial period centered on gold mining and the supply of provisions to miners.In 1859, gold was discovered along the Fraser River in British Columbia and numerous people left Josephine County to search for valuable claims there.Grants Pass is now the departure point for most Rogue River scenic waterway guided fishing and boat trips, one of the destinations being Hellgate canyon.Due to delays in completing a railroad through the Siskiyou Mountains, the first train from California didn't arrive until 1887.[30] As of 2024, Josephine County lies within Oregon's 2nd congressional district, which is represented by the Republican Congressman Cliff Bentz.A portion in the northeast is in the 4th District (extending into Douglas and Jackson counties), represented by Republican Christine Goodwin.The majority of Josephine County, including the core of Grants Pass, lies within the 3rd District represented by Republican Dwayne Yunker.In 2004 Democrat Dennis Kucinich spoke publicly while campaigning in Josephine County, making appearances in both Grants Pass and Cave Junction.Kennedy spoke to a crowd of several hundred in a supermarket parking lot on the site of the former Southern Pacific passenger station which had been demolished some years previously just a week before his assassination in California on June 5, 1968.[31] Despite its conservative reputation, Josephine County voters rejected a secessionist proposal to join the Greater Idaho coalition in May of 2022, defeating it on a vote of 51.3% in opposition to 48.7% in support.In May 2017, citizens placed a measure on the ballot to permanently fund the libraries, which passed by 53 percent of the vote.
CountyOregon Caves National MonumentRogue RiverIllinois River Forks State ParkOregonNamed forGrants PassTime zoneUTC−8PacificUTC−736 countiesU.S. state2020 censuscounty seatnamed afterMetropolitan Statistical AreaMedfordCombined Statistical AreaplacersRogue River Indian WarIllinois ValleySouthern OregonJackson CountyWildervilleSan Francisco–Oakland Bay BridgeMark HatfieldThomas E. DeweyIllinois Valley NewsNative AmericansGrand RondeSiletz ReservationUnited States Census BureauDouglas CountySiskiyou County, CaliforniaDel Norte County, CaliforniaCurry CountyRogue River-Siskiyou National Forest2000 censuspopulation densityAfrican AmericanNative AmericanPacific Islanderother racesHispanicLatinoGermanEnglishCensus 2000Spanishmarried couplesper capita incomepoverty line2010 censusItalianAmericanCave JunctionHarbeck-FruitdaleMerlinNew HopeO'BrienRedwoodTakilmaWilliamsDrydenGaliceHarbeckHollandLelandMurphyPlacerPleasant ValleySunny ValleyWolf CreekWonderGoldenGreenbackFraser RiverBritish ColumbiaApplegate ValleyBureau of Land ManagementOregon and California RailroadForest Servicepack trainCrescent CityPortland, OregonSiskiyou MountainsMalheur CountyBarry GoldwaterFranklin D. RooseveltCharles Evans HughesSan Joaquin ValleyOregon's 2nd congressional districtCliff BentzOregon House of RepresentativesDouglasJacksonChristine GoodwinDwayne YunkerArt RobinsonDennis Kucinichhis assassinationGreater IdahoRepublicanDemocraticThird party(ies)National Register of Historic Places listings in Josephine County, OregonDel Norte CountySiskiyou CountyCitiesFruitdaleOthercommunitiesGhost townsTopicsOutlineClimatebeachesriversGovernmentconstitutiondelegationsballot measureselectionsGovernorHistorybibliography