Historic Jacksonville, Inc. brings the history of Jacksonville and Southern Oregon to life through tours, events, and activities that share the stories of the pioneers who settled the region following the discovery of gold in 1852.  

We’ll be offering our final two Jacksonville Haunted History walking tours this season on Friday and Saturday, October 7th and 8th.  These highly popular tours have been sell outs each month so make your reservations early!  October takes you on a tour that includes the historic Jackson County jail, a sanitarium, and a morgue along with some very active spirits!

We round out the season on Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16, with Victorian Mourning Customs, the last of our Victorian life tours at the Beekman House.  Learn how the Victorians honored their dearly departed.  One hour docent led tours describe proper Victorian mourning etiquette for home décor, clothing, funerals, and social behavior as well as superstitions, séances, mementos, and a few popular practices of the time that we would find bizarre today.  

Also be sure to “like” Historic Jacksonville, Inc. (historicjville) on Facebook for weekly snippets of local history each History Trivia Tuesday!  Our monthly History Mystery will resume later this year when we again tackle Great Grandma’s attic.  Look for more chances to enter drawings for gift certificates to local restaurants and merchants when you correctly identify unusual historical objects we’ve come across.

 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.