Rogue River Valley, Oregon - Southern Oregon is divided into three main river basins; the Umpqua River, the Rogue River, and the Klamath Basin. The Umpqua meets the Pacific at Reedsport, the Rogue mouth is near Gold Beach, and the Klamath empties at the Redwoods National Park in Northern California. All three rivers have their headwaters in the Cascade Mountains on the slopes of Crater Lake, Oregon's only national park. The Rogue River is a designated National Scenic River, and formed much of the backdrop for the Meryl Streep movie "The River Wild." Jet boat trips and white water rafting are very popular.

Rogue River Valley

Rogue River Valley, Oregon - A beautiful place to visit, a wonderful place to live. Come and find a place to call your own. Southern Oregon is a great place to own a home and grow your family.

Rogue River Valley

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Articles from the Historical Society in Josephine County Oregon


July Surprise II - The Great 4th of July Surprise of 1909

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constructed 16 miles of ditches. Water would be pumped to two highline ditches. The highline ditches still in use are the 200-foot north side ditch, and the 350-foot Fruitdale south side ditch. The R.R.Courier of July 9th 1909, reported that the president of the Josephine County Irrigation and Power Company, H.L. Gilkey, ordered that irrigation water be turned into the north side 200-foot ditch for the first time. The only ditch completed at this time was the 200-foot highline ditch through Tokay Heights, which terminated near Morgan Lane.

The water was permitted to flow down Sixth Street to the surprise of nearly everyone watching the 4th of July parade celebrating our first irrigation under construction. The procession started with the city band marching in front of a long geared heavy wagon bearing a billboard 24 feet long and 8 feet wide. The sign was painted in large letters, "Irrigation under construction, covering 18,000 acres of choice fruit and alfalfa lands". On the board was a picture of an Alfalfa field through which ran an irrigating ditch. Next to the alfalfa, was an orchard showing large trees. Still further to the left was a box from which red Spitzenberg apples were rolling. There were ... Continued - Page 3

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The procession started with the city band marching in front of a long geared heavy wagon bearing a billboard 24 feet long and 8 feet wide.

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Rogue River Valley, Oregon - The Siskiyou Mountains stretch between the Cascade Mountains and the Coast Range at the California border. The entire area is more vertical than most other parts of the state, which leads to numerous waterfalls, lots of whitewater rapids, and some spectacular scenery. Rogue River Valley is outside the main population centers of the state and the area has a very rural flavor. Major industries are tourism, wood products and agriculture. The climate is generally milder and more Mediterranean than North Western Oregon. Average rainfallis about 20 % lower and the temperatures are a bit higher.