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The
Rogue River Valley |
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The Rogue Valley is a valley region in southwestern
Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River
and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley
forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon near the
California border. The largest communities in the Rogue Valley are
Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass. In the early 19th century the first European Americans began to pass through the valley, inhabited by the Shasta, Takelma, and Rogue River Athabaskan tribes of Native Americans. The early fur traders named this river the "River of the Rogues". White settlers began to arrive in the valley after the Donation Land Act, which allocated 640 acres (2.6 kmē) of land to each married couple. Between 1836 and 1856, the valley was the scene of a series of bloody conflicts between European Americans and the Rogue River tribes. In 1850 gold was discovered on the Rogue River. Early mining activity was centered on the lower Rogue River, on Althouse Creek in Josephine County, and on the now-restored town of Jacksonville, west of Medford. [source: wikipedia.org]
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