Home Events Relocating? Local Attractions Site Sponsor Photos
Logging and Lumber production:
With the almost overnight
influx of people seeking gold, the need for various buildings to
house and supply the
miners became necessary. With the abundant nearby forests, lumber
mills quickly became a
part of our valley's industry. During World War II, our valley was
home to over 24 lumber
mills producing wood products for the war effort.
Like other industries, the timber products industry in Southern Oregon has
undergone a
dramatic decline and
today the Rough & Ready Lumber Company, located a few miles
south of Cave Junction,
is the last remaining lumber mill in Josephine County.
Place Names and their History:
Selma
-- Named for Selma, Iowa by
Mrs. Churchill, wife of the owner of the Churchill Store
that was once located in
Selma. Selma, Iowa was near where Mrs. Churchill was raised.
Mr. Churchill became the
first Postmaster of Selma.
Kerby -- The second
county seat of Josephine County from the 1850s to the 1880s. It is named
for James Kerby who filed
the first Donation Land Claim there. It originally was called
Kerbyville but the name
was later shortened to Kerby. Today it is the location of several
specialty wood businesses
and also the Kerbyville Museum and History Center which is open
from March to December.
Cave Junction -- The land for the town was donated by Elwood Hussey. The town is
named
for the fact that Redwood
Highway (US 199) and Oregon Caves Highway (Oregon 46) meet
at this junction or
location. Cave Junction is the only incorporated area in the Illinois River
Valley.
Oregon Caves -- Discovered by Elijah Davidson while bear hunting in 1874.
Established as a
National Monument in 1909
by President William Taft. A road to the Oregon Caves was
completed in 1924 and in
1934 the historic lodge was completed to accommodate travelers.
In 1934 the National
Monument was transferred from the Forest Service to the National Park
Service.
O'Brien -- A small community located about seven miles south of Cave Junction.
It is named
for John O'Brien who once
live there.
Takilma -- A small community located about five miles east of O'Brien. It is the
English
spelling of the Dagelma
Native Americans that once lived in this region.
Waldo -- Originally called Sailor's Diggings for the sailors who abandoned their
ships in
harbor at Crescent City
when they heard of the gold discovery in Waldo. The town of Waldo
was named for William
Waldo who in the 1850s was running for governor of California
and convinced the
citizens of Sailor's Diggings that they lived in California and should vote
for him. When the ballots
arrived in Sacramento, the election officials looked at the state
map and tossed out the
ballots from Sailors' Diggings. The last remnants of Waldo were
washed away by hydraulic
mining in the 1920s.