Search Search. Explore Entries A-Z Browse the complete list of entries. Entries by Themes Browse curated collections of entries. In the Classroom. Staff and Board. Donate Donors. Federal Tax ID Close modal View Source. Zoom image. Ashland Toll Road gate.
Photo Peter Britt, Oreg. Research Lib. Ashland Plaza, c. Southern Oreg. Camping at Lithia Park, Ashland, Ashland Mineral Springs Natatorium. View from the veranda of The Hotel Oregon, Ashland. Main St. Lithia Springs along Emigrant Creek on the outskirts of Ashland, c.
In the early s, water rich in lithium-now known as Lithia water-bubbled from the town's fountains. The park began with eight acres in by the Chautauqua Association to bring entertainment and culture to southern Oregon. They built a domed building for their shows, the walls of which now surround the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Elizabethan Theater.
Visitors came from miles around over the next thirty summers to participate in the various attractions offered and to camp in what was to become Lithia Park. After that work was completed, Lithia Park was formally dedicated over the Independence Day holiday, July , An estimated 50, people turned out for the 3-day celebration, during which the Butler-Perozzi fountain also was dedicated.
Take a Tour of historical Lithia Park. Online City Services. For more information, click here. It is clear that the land we call home has long, varied and fascinating roots. Much of what we know is not written — it is lore passed on by people who have passed on beliefs, traditions and a value system, through storytelling and legends.
Much of their message resonates today. Estimates based on carbon dating show that various tribes lived in our region as far back as 6, BC. The early Southwestern Oregon Native Americans were highly mobile hunters and traders. Many of their food resources, such as salmon, acorns, seeds, and berries were seasonal. Other species, such as shellfish, elk, deer and smaller ground animals, were available year-round.
The original Native American hunting and trading trails became the fur trading routes of early trappers and explorers, and later the wagon train routes that would lead eventually to our current system of roads, such as I-5 freeway.
In the pioneer settlement of the area, as in much of the nation, there were intense conflicts and battles with the Native Americans. Many members of the tribes that existed in the Rogue Valley were taken to reservations to live. Helman, having crossed the Siskiyou Mountains remembered a creek that ran strong, sheltered by the mountains, in what looked to be a fertile valley. Upon his recommendation the two men decided to stake claims in that place. They decided that supplying miners would be far more lucrative than actually mining itself.
They built a lumber mill first and did so well that they started a flour mill in Thus the town of Ashland Mills was born. The fledgling settlement gained some stability in when Helman donated twelve building sites around the mill to create a central business district.
Three early founders, Abel Helman , Eber Emery and Robert Hargadine , decided that providing supplies and services for the homesteaders and gold miners was an easier job than mining for gold.
After making the first land claims in the Ashland area, they established a timber mill, soon followed by flour and woolen mills. The area became known as Ashland Mills. Helman donated some of his building sites to create a central district where other businesses such as blacksmiths, livery hires, butchers and carpenters opened shops. Soon, a post office and schools were started. By , a college opened that would ultimately become Southern Oregon University.
Residents and shopkeepers began meeting in the current day Plaza vicinity and soon it became the social and business gathering place in town. Like the Native Americans before them, the infirm would partake of lithia mineral water while sitting in the sunshine in hopes of being cured. There was a plan hatched in the s to build a spa , similar to many in Europe, but the cost and onset of World War II interfered. The prosperous residents of Ashland naturally wanted good schools for their children and with the advent of the college and public schools, came a Carnegie library.
The traveling Chautauqua arrived next in rural Ashland in the late s and many people from the surrounding rural areas descended upon the town to participate.
0コメント