Affiliate Spotlight: Jacksonville Woodlands Association

Affiliate Spotlight Richard H. Engeman, editor with assistance from Larry Smith Jacksonville Woodlands Association Jacksonville Woodlands Association P.O. BOX 1210 Jacksonville, Oregon 97530 Phone 541-899-7402 (Larry Smith) E-mail: info@jvwoodlands.org Web site: http://www.jvwoodlands.org/ OHS Affiliate since 2003 N 1966, theNational Park Service designated much of the city of Jack sonville as a National Historic Landmark District, the first such dis trict inOregon. Jacksonville is a remarkably well-preserved example of a nineteenth-century western mining camp and agricultural center. Maintaining the integrity of the historic district has been no easy task. In recent years, population growth has threatened an important aspect of Jacksonville's historic fabric: the backdrop of hills and open spaces that contain the remnants of historic placer-mining sites and other aspects of itshistory as amining town. The distinctive forest and plant life surround ing Jacksonville are also at risk from increased development. The JacksonvilleWoodlands Association (JWA)was founded in 1989 by a group of Jacksonville citizens concerned about preserving and protect ing the landmark's surrounding natural habitat. According to Larry Smith, a retired teacher who is one of the association s founders, the catalyst for the formation of the organization was the proposed sale of the Beekman Woods, a twenty-one-acre wooded area around the historic home of pio neer banker C.C. Beekman. The association arranged for the City of Jack sonville to purchase the land from theUniversity of Oregon and raised the funds for the purchase. In an innovative string of negotiations, the association facilitated the purchase or donation of twenty properties and easements containing more 1 268 OHQ vol. 104, no. 2 ? 2003 Oregon Historical Society Howard Johnson, photographer,courtesyJWA The associationoffers guidedhikesofRichGulch and the Jacksonville Woodlands. In thisphotograph, taken inApril 2003, a group stands near theChinese Diggings Trail, part ofthe RichGulchHistoric Mining District. than three hundred acres. In 1997, to consoli date and solidify its ef forts, the JWA began working with the Na tional Park Service's Riv ers,Trails and Conserva tion Assistance Program to develop a manage ment plan. Other project partners have included Jacksonville Elementary School, the Oregon Na tive Plant Society, the Trust for Public Land, the U. S. Forest Service, and the Southern Or egon Land Conservancy. The management agreements among the City of Jacksonville, Jack son County, the Bureau of Land Management, and the JWA have re sulted in a chain of prop erties connected by woodland trails and city pathways and marked with interpretive signs that help protect a variety of natural and historic features. The Beekman Woods, for example, comprises a forest of madrone, Oregon white oak, and ponderosa pine and habitat for the endangered Gentner's fritillary,a native lily.Similar flora grows in the Jacksonville Cemetery, a serene hill side with gravestones dating from the 1850s. Historic sites owned by theCity of Jacksonville and the Bureau of Land Management and managed by the association include the place where gold was firstdiscovered on Jackson Creek in 1851and the ditches and cliffs that remain from hydraulic mining operations inRich Gulch, such as the Petard Ditch and theChinese Diggings. The grounds of the estate of Peter and Amelia Britt ? including the BrittWoods, Britt Ridge, and Britt Park, the site of a summer music festival ? are also included in theman aged lands. The JWAhelps preserve and interpret an important historical resource, one that is often overlooked in historic preservation efforts. The public trails and walkways provide new paths to understanding the past in Jack sonville. Affiliate Spotlight ...