Jackson County, Oregon

Jackson County
County
Location within the U.S. state of Oregon
Oregon's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 42°25′N 122°44′W
Country	United States
State	Oregon
Founded	January 12, 1852
Seat	Medford
Population  (2000)
• Total	181,269
Website	www.co.jackson.or.us

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county was named for the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. As of 2000, the population is 181,269. The county seat is in Medford.

Economy

The county's principal industries are agriculture, lumber, manufacturing, and tourism.

Jackson County has over 10,000 acres (40 km²) of orchards and shares with Josephine County the Rogue Valley and Applegate wine appellations.

Soapstone, a substance used in art sculpture, is mined in Jackson county. [1]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 7,257 km² (2,802 mi²). 7,214 km² (2,785 mi²) of it is land and 43 km² (17 mi²) of it (0.59%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

• Josephine County, Oregon - (west)
• Klamath County, Oregon - (east)
• Douglas County, Oregon - (north)
• Siskiyou County, California - (south)

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 181,269 people, 71,532 households, and 48,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 25/km² (65/mi²). There were 75,737 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (27/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.65% White, 0.40% Black or African American, 1.09% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 2.88% from other races, and 2.91% from two or more races. 6.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 71,532 households out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,461, and the median income for a family was $43,675. Males had a median income of $32,720 versus $23,690 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,498. About 8.90% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 6.90% of those age 65 or over.

History

Modoc, Shasta, Takelma, Latgawas, and Umpqua Indian tribes lived within the present boundaries of Jackson County. Moreover, in the early 1850s, both the Klickitats from the north and the Deschutes from the south raided and settled the area. Gold discoveries in the Rogue and Illinois River valleys in the 1850s and completion of a wagon road connecting the county with California to the south and Douglas County to the north led to an influx of non-native settlers.

The Territorial Legislature created Jackson County on January 12, 1852, from the southwestern portion of Lane County and the unorganized area south of Douglas and Umpqua Counties. It included lands which now lie in Coos, Curry, Josephine, Klamath and Lake Counties. The discovery of gold near Jacksonville in 1852 and completion of a wagon road, which joined the county with California to the south and Douglas County to the north, brought many pioneers.

Conflict between the miners and Native Americans led to war in 1853, which continued intermittently until the final defeat of the last band under chiefs John and George by a combined force of regular army and civilians May 29, 1856 at Big Bend on the Illinois River. The Native Americans had received the worse of the fighting throughout this conflict, and as they began to surrender, they were herded to existing reservations, beginning in January, 1856 when one group was marched to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation west of Salem. Over the following months, other groups were forced to leave until by May, 1857 almost all of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawas tribes had been located on the Siletz Reservation, where they remained.

Jacksonville was designated as the first county seat in 1853. However, the city declined due to diminishing returns in the local goldfields and the construction in the 1880s of the Oregon and California Railroad, which bypassed the city. Medford, located five miles east of Jacksonville, benefited from the location of the railroad and the accompanying commerce and development. Jacksonville fended off suggestions to move the county seat until 1927 when Medford was finally selected as the county seat.

In March of 2004, Jackson County became the first of an eventual 35 counties to implement a voluntary plan of fireproofing homes situated on properties zoned as part of the forestland-urban interface. This requires homeowners to maintain a 30' or greater firebreak around their structures, and affects 12,000 homeowners. In 2007 this plan becomes mandatory for many landowners, under threat of liability if their property is involved in a fire.

Communities

Incorporated cities

Ashland Butte Falls Central Point Eagle Point

Gold Hill Jacksonville Medford Phoenix

Rogue River Shady Cove Talent

Unincorporated communities and CDPs

Applegate Lakecreek Prospect Rock Point

Ruch Trail White City Wimer

See also

• Beekman Native Plant Arboretum
• Bigfoot trap
• Britt Festival
• National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory
• Oregon Shakespeare Festival
• Southern Oregon University

External links

• Jackson County, Oregon
• List of Jackson County nonprofits
• Jackson County Records 1853–1920