I spent many weeks (and even months) in Klamath Falls, Oregon, during my early childhood, but I don’t know a lot about Southern Oregon in general. I’ve been to Crater Lake several times, and I remember that my grandfather’s machinery company did business with a sawmill in Medford. But otherwise, I just remember endless forests that we drove through on the way to Klamath Falls and from there on south to California.
My next novel will take place in part in the Rogue River Valley of Southern Oregon. And I’ve settled on the Owyhee Expedition as playing a part in that novel. So I’ve been reading about the region and trying to visualize locations that the Owyhee Expedition explored (from Jacksonville and Fort Klamath eastward to Fort Boise).
Before the Owyhee Expedition began, the teamsters hired to help transport the Army’s supplies hauled cargo between Fort Klamath and Jacksonville to cover their salaries until the expedition began. In 1864, when my novel will be set, Jacksonville was the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, and was the largest town in the area. Jacksonville was founded in the early 1850s after the discovery of gold in the area. Fort Klamath was established in 1863 to oversee the Native American populations and protect settlers.
This area was the site of many conflicts between miners and Native Americans throughout the 1850s, though most Indian tribes were relocated to reservations by 1857. Still, there were skirmishes in the region in 1864, and the Owyhee Expedition remained in Fort Klamath until its commander had some assurance that the area “would remain peaceable.”
Medford, the current seat of Jackson County is the home of Harry & David, a famed shipper of pears and other fruits and delicacies around the world. (I’m always happy to receive holiday packages from Harry & David.)
This year, Jackson County, Oregon, has been the site of huge forest fires, including the Alameda Fire, which swept between Ashland and Medford. Many homes and businesses in the area towns were destroyed, and several people were killed. The county authorities report that flames and smoke will remain visible until the fire season ends.
Lt. Col. Drew’s report on the Owyhee Expedition mentions smoky weather on September 26, 1864, near Steens Mountain. Steens Mountain is in Southeast Oregon, about 400 miles east from Jacksonville. Though travel from one point to the other requires passage of rugged mountain terrain. It can be driven in about seven hours today, but would have taken weeks with mule trains.
According to Drew, south winds for several days brought
“such a mass of smoke as almost to obscure the sun, hiding everything in the way of landmarks, rendering explorations in advance extremely difficult.”
Drew’s report does not state whether the fires in the area were natural or due to the Native Americans’ practice of controlled burns, which were common in the Rogue River Valley. These controlled burns were part of the tribes’ complex land management system designed to maximize their food resources. Historically, forests burned on average every eight years in the Ashland area.
From about the 1850s through much of the 20th century, controlled burns were disfavored. It is only recently that we are discovering that burning parts of forest can avoid the massive destructive fires like the Alameda Fire this year.
What other older agricultural practices have found new acceptance in modern times?
