History Right Here - Going for the Gold - Jacksonville, OR
N 42° 18.938 W 122° 58.183
10T E 502495 N 4684822
This historical marker resides within the Britt parking lot and next to Jackson Creek in Jacksonville, OR.
Waymark Code: WMGVA9
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 04/11/2013
Views: 6
Visitors to the historic community of Jacksonville might come across this placard placed by the Southern Oregon Historical Society and part of a series of historical markers placed all around town. This placard reads:
History Right Here - Going for the Gold
The first gold miners on this site in 1851 were in the right place at the right time. They found gold on Jackson Creek, possibly along the base of the hill across the parking lot. No one knows for certain; the route of the creek has changed countless times
Gold and Jacksonville's Start
For a few months the gold miners on Jackson Creek kept their discovery secret and the area remained little more than a campsite.
In 1851 word spread about the discovery of gold on nearby Rich Gulch. Miners, merchants, and farmers alike flocked to the area and Jacksonville got its start. A marker at Applegate and Oak streets commemorates the discovery on Rich Gulch.
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There is an ore cart near this marker that was used to mine for gold here in Jacksonville. The verbiage reads: Ore Carts... were used in underground mines. Carts carried ore above ground where it was processed to extract gold. Undeground mining bagan locally in the 1800s. I also took pictures of Jackson Creek, which from the marker verbiage, hasn't always flowed through this same location.
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