Jacksonville, Oregon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jacksonville, Oregon | |
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| Motto: Always a good time | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| County | Jackson County |
| Incorporated | 1860 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | James W. Lewis |
| Area | |
| - City | 4.7 km² (1.8 sq mi) |
| - Land | 4.7 km² (1.8 sq mi) |
| - Water | 0 km² (0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 478.23 m (1,569 ft) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 2,235 |
| - Density | 474.1/km² (1,230.7/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
| Website: www.jacksonvilleoregon.org | |
Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, a few miles west of Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which runs through the community and was one of the first placer gold claims. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,235.
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[edit] History
Jacksonville was founded following discovery of gold deposits in 1851-2. With the creation of Jackson County, it became the county seat, a role which was transferred to nearby Medford in 1927.
Jacksonville was home to the first Chinatown in Oregon, founded by immigrants from San Francisco, California. Evidence of this chapter of history was uncovered early in March 2004 when road work uncovered artifacts dating to the 1850s and 1860s. Construction was halted while archeologists performed four days of rescue excavations. Their findings included broken Chinese bowls and tea cups, handmade bottles, and fragments of opium paraphernalia and Chinese coins.
When the gold deposits were worked out, and the railway bypassed Jacksonville in 1884, the city's economy slowed. This had the unintended benefit of preserving a number of structures, which led to Jacksonville being designated a National Historic District in 1966, covering over 100 buildings. It was cited as a:
- mid-19th century inland commercial city significant for its magnificent group of surviving unaltered commercial and residential buildings. The city was the principal financial center of southern Oregon until it was bypassed by the railroad.
Jacksonville is noted locally for the visit of Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife "Lemonade" Lucy Hayes, who visited the area in 1880, staying the night in Jacksonville[1].
Jacksonville received publicity in October 2005 as the site of purchase of an Oregon State Lottery Powerball ticket with a $340 million payout. In September 2006, a Jacksonville couple claimed a $7.4 million Megabucks jackpot. It was the third time since 2001 that a multi-million dollar lottery jackpot was awarded to someone holding a ticket purchased in Jacksonville. [1]
[edit] Institutions and cultural events
Jacksonville is home to the Britt Festival, a seasonal music festival taking place at an open-air amphitheater. The site was selected in 1963 because of the acoustic qualities of the surrounding hills. The popular concert series draws national pop, country, alternative and contemporary music acts. It is named after Peter Britt, a pioneer and owner of the land now used for Britt Park.
Jacksonville also is the home of the Southern Oregon Historical Society, which was formed in 1946 to save the endangered original 1880s Jackson County Courthouse. The courthouse and the adjacent jail are now museums.
[edit] Geography
Jacksonville is located at (42.314456, -122.967157)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.7 km² (1.8 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 2,235 people, 1,034 households, and 661 families residing in the city. The population density was 474.1/km² (1,230.7/mi²). There were 1,102 housing units at an average density of 233.8/km² (606.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.11% White, 0.72% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.31% African American, 0.40% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.46% of the population.
There were 1,034 households out of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.68.
Jacksonville's population is spread out with 18.9% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 32.0% from 45 to 64, and 24.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $57,333. Males had a median income of $42,917 versus $28,661 for females. Jacksonville's per capita income is $28,152. About 5.3% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Points of interest
- Beekman Museum House
- Beekman Native Plant Arboretum
- Historic Jacksonville, Oregon Cemetery
[edit] Notable residents
- Bruce Campbell, actor
[edit] Sister City
Jacksonville has one sister city [2], as designated by Sister Cities International:
[edit] Mass media
[edit] References
- ^ Davidson, Janelle (1995). Ashland--An Oregon Oasis. Medford, Oregon: Webb Research Group Publishers. ISBN 0-936738-89-8.
[edit] External links
- City of Jacksonville
- Oregon Blue Book listing for Jacksonville
- Jacksonville photos and information at Western Mining History
- Historic photos of Jacksonville from Salem Public Library
- Southern Oregon Historical Society
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
