First Gold Found at Rich Gulch - Jacksonville, OR - Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

90% of visitors to historic Jacksonville won't even realize the existence or significance of this historical plaque and sign that is tucked away just off Applegate Street in one of Jacksonville's historic neighborhoods (I only discovered it after reading about it in one of Jacksonville's tourist placards in our hotel room).

There is an older, bronze plaque monumented in a concrete platform that reads:

RICH GULCH GOLD FOUND HERE DEC. 1851 BY JAMES GLUGGAGE JOHN R. POOLE

There is no date on when this plaque was placed and after doing some research online I discovered that this plaque misspelled James Cluggage' name with a 'G'! I also found a great online article regarding the discovery by these two men and reads:

In January of 1852, two mule packers, John R. Poole and James Cluggage, were hauling supplies from the Willamette Valley in the Oregon territory to Sacramento, California. They decided to set up camp for the night along a foothill. Needing water for their animals they found a promising spot and started digging a hole. While digging they noticed a gold color in the hole. Sorting out the debris they realized they had just struck gold. John R. Poole and James Cluggage had accidentally stumbled onto the largest gold strike in Oregon’s history.

They immediately filed claim on the land located on Daisy Creek and named it ‘Rich Gulch’. They also filed claims along Jackson Creek, where large amounts of course placer gold was found. Once the news got out,thousands of men from all over the country pulled up stakes, left loved ones behind and moved to Southern Oregon for a chance to strike it rich.

James Cluggage filed a donation land claim on 160 acres and John R. Poole filed claim on 306 acres. With a section of their land the partners then went about setting up a town site, naming it Table Rock City. Poole and Cluggage became wealthy leaders in their community. Table Rock City later changed its name to Jacksonville. Soon Jacksonville became the largest town north of San Francisco, California. During the late 1800s C.C. Beekman's Bank in Jacksonville was the only bank in America known to charge its clients for banking with them and not paying interest on accounts. The Beekman Bank scales weighed in over ten million dollars worth of gold.

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It's a poignant moment to stand in this area and realize the eventual explosion of growth would began from this point over 160 years ago and evolve into what Jacksonville has become today -- rich in history.

Historic Topic: Pioneer Group Responsible for placement: Other Marker Type: City Region: Southern Oregon County: Jackson State of Oregon Historical Marker "Beaver Board": Not listed Web link to additional information: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   12/29/2013 ddtfamily visited it