History of Ashland, Oregon
Prior to the arrival of settlers in mid-1800s, Shasta Indians lived in the valley along the creek approximately where Ashland is located. Early Hudson's Bay Company hunters and trappers, following the Siskiyou Trail, passed through the site in the 1820s. In the late 1840s, settlers (mostly American) following the Applegate Trail began passing through the area. By the early 1850s, the Donation Land Act brought many white settlers into the Rogue Valley and in conflict with its native people. These often violent clashes continued until 1856.
Gold was discovered near Jacksonville in 1851, contributing to the influx of settlers. Several men arrived to camp in what is now the Ashland area in January of 1852: Abel Helman, Eber Emery and his brother James, Robert Hargadine and others.
In order to capitalize on mining in nearby Jacksonville, Helman and the Emerys established a lumber mill on Ashland Creek (then called Mill Creek). During the 1860s and 1870s the community grew, establishing a school, churches and other businesses. In 1871 the Post Office dropped "Mills" from Ashland's name. The following year Reverend Skidmore founded the Ashland Academy--it eventually became Southern Oregon University.
In December of 1887, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California were joined by rail at Ashland. Until 1926, when most rail service began taking a different route (east through Klamath Falls to avoid the steep grade through the Siskiyou Mountains) Ashland thrived on rail trade. This was especially the case with orchard products, such as the famous Ashland peach, which won top honors at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.
In 1908, the Women's Civic Improvement Club petitioned for the creation of a park--Ashland Canyon Park--along Ashland Creek. The discovery of Lithia water around the same time led to a plan to establish a mineral spa at the park. Using the resulting funding, the town engaged John McLaren, landscape architect of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, to design the park. This also resulted in a name change, first to Lithia Springs Park and then to Lithia Park.
The oldest working telephone booth in Oregon, made of wood with a tin ceiling, is located in downtown Ashland in the Columbia Hotel. The Columbia Hotel, built in 1910 as part of the Ender's Building, is the oldest hotel in Ashland and continues to flourish today. The building was originally home of the largest mercantile establishment between Sacramento, CA and Portland, OR in the period 1910 to 1928.
During the Fourth of July celebration in 1935, Angus L. Bowmer arranged the first performances of what would become the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The festival grew during the 1900s, and has become an award-winning and nationally-known regional theater company.
Ashland is well-known for its annual Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), which brings thousands of visitors to the city every year. The festival has grown from a summer outdoor festival in the 1930s to a season which stretches from February to October, incorporating Shakespeare and non-Shakespearean plays in repertory at three theaters.
The Ashland City Band is the oldest continuous city band in the United States, having formed as the Ashland Brass Band in 1876. John McLaren (Park Designer), designer of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, designed Lithia Park and included an octagonal gazebo-style bandstand which was used by the ACB until the bandshell was built in 1949.