Rogue River Valley

Articles from the Historical Society in Josephine County Oregon

Ox Team and Log Wagon

A Moment in Time

It was Monday the Sixth of April 1903, a beautiful spring day in Grants Pass. The hypnotic spell of the warm pine scented afternoon was interrupted by a man shouting about a six-ox team pulling an empty logging wagon across the Rogue River Bridge. A crowd of curious onlookers was soon falling in step behind the wagon.

Five mill men escorted the wagon as they proceeded to their destination. The Oxen and wagon were from the Nipper Johnston sawmill at Murphy and were going to the railroad depot to pick up a six ton boiler that had been unloaded several weeks ago from a railroad car to a special built cribbing of timbers beside the track.

The oxen plodded slowly down Sixth Street gaining an ever-increasing number of curious onlookers. There was even time to find a camera and record the historic event. Oxen had not been in use for hauling duty in town since the 1880's so when the mill hands arrived with the oxen and a logging cart, it raised quite a stir.

The prehistoric wagon had solid rear wheels made from the round block of a log banded with a steel rim. It took several hours to load the six-ton boiler on the wagon. When the oxen were hooked on, all the people in sight gathered open eyed to watch the start. Many of the old-timers were very familiar with oxen and just what they could or couldn't do, after all, many of them had crossed the plains with them.

There were a few that took bets that the cattle would not be able to budge the heavy six-ton load. The oxen walked off with their load calmly, deliberately without apparent effort and with an imperturbable and even contentious air. Bets were taken concerning the probable disastrous fate of the outfit before it reached its destination. Some argued the likely hood of it going through the Rogue River Bridge while others maintained that it would upset on the road to Murphy. One old gentleman in particular declared that it would tip over before it got to the first divide. He used to "pack" deer, he said, across this 1 divide, "Big fat Bucks" 30 years ago, 2 with his trousers pulled up, and he knew.

The boiler made it to its destination at the Nipper- Johnston mill site near the middle ford on the Applegate without any mishaps.

Its new 60 horsepower boiler would help boost production at the mill to 25, 000 feet per day. This sawmill was one of many satellite mills located in the sugar pine belts of Josephine county sawing lumber for the Sugar Pine Door and Lumber Company sash and door factory and mill in Grants Pass.