Historic Jacksonville shares tidbits from Jacksonville history every Tuesday on our Facebook page. Like us at Historic Jacksonville (historicjville) and enjoy our tales and stories of the people and places that made Jacksonville the major hub of southern Oregon in the late 1800s.  And visit the Southern Oregon Historical Society Library and Archives for access to the historical images included in our posts.

Jacksonville’s Warren Lodge No. 10 of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, founded in 1855, was the first Masonic order south of Salem to construct a meeting hall.  The original 1858 lodge building stood on the block now occupied by new City Hall (the historic County Courthouse).  The current Masonic temple at the corner of California and Oregon streets was constructed between 1874 and 1877 by brick mason George Holt.  Carpenter and builder David Linn added a “neat and substantial balcony.”  When it was completed in 1877, it was described as “one of the finest buildings in Southern Oregon.”  It remains the oldest temple structure in Oregon in continuous use as a Masonic meeting hall.

Following a visit to Jacksonville in 1877, J.W. Bird, editor of the “Yreka Union,” wrote, “There are several fine brick buildings, especially the one recently erected by the Masonic fraternity at a cost of $12,000. It is two-story, and besides a very fine lodge room has a large club room also in the second story. The first floor is readily rented for business purposes.”

At the time of construction, the Worshipful Master presiding over the Warren Lodge was Thomas Reames.  Reames is credited with the concept of including retail space on the first floor of the Lodge which enabled the Lodge to operate from income received from the rentals. In the 1880s, a “City Brewery,” “Saloon,” and “Bakery” occupied the ground floor.  In the early 1890s, the post office and a cigar store were located on the first floor and later a “furniture warehouse.” Today the ground level is home to La Boheme, the Jacksonville Barber Shop, and Jefferson Farm Kitchen.

November 7, 2017

One legend has it that the crossroads of California and Oregon streets were so named to avoid the tax collectors. Oregon tax collectors were supposedly told they were in California; California tax collectors were told they were in Oregon. True or not, many businesses have occupied the prime commercial location at the northeast corner of that Jacksonville intersection. One of the earliest was David Linn’s furniture factory, showroom, and planing mill. When it burned in an 1888 arson fire, J.C. Whipp’s marble works took its place. Around the turn of the century, millwright John Lyden expanded Whipp’s display room into the Lyden House which became a popular boarding house and restaurant. A 1962 Mail Tribune wrote the Lyden House obituary. Sometime after 1962 the Lyden House was torn down and replaced by the current telephone exchange building.

August 18, 2015

The B.F. Dowell house at 475 N. 5th Street is one of the earliest Italianate style homes built in Oregon. Constructed in 1861, it may also have been the first home in Jacksonville to be built of brick. Most homes of the period had wood burning stoves for heat, but this distinctive home has 4 fireplaces—one of black onyx and 3 of marble. The marble probably came from Dowell’s own marble quarry on Williams Creek. That same marble was also used for the porch steps and all the window sills.

May 19, 2015

The 2-story Italianate “villa” at the corner of Main and South 4th streets, was erected in 1880 during the final period of Jacksonville’s growth. It was built for German-born John Orth, a local butcher noted for “his remarkable business ability and intelligence.” Orth served as City Councilman for several years and also as County Treasurer. He and his wife, Irish-born Ellen Hill, raised a family of seven in this home.

January 27, 2015

The Applebaker Barn, located at the corner of North 3rd and D streets, is one of the few remaining structures directly linked to Jacksonville’s early agricultural economy. The building was originally a steam grist mill, located about 1 mile south on 3rd. Businessman Gustav Karewski purchased it in 1881, a year after it was constructed, and within three years it ranked third in the state in flour production. In 1915, Joseph Applebaker dismantled, moved, and reconstructed the building at its present location to serve as his blacksmith’s shop.