The block on North Main Street between Laurel and Manzanita streets has been associated with education in Ashland for 150 years, since the Rev. Skidmore first started a college called “The Academy” in 1872. Briscoe Elementary was dedicated in 1949 and closed in 2004. The school is now owned by the city and leased to the Oregon Child Development Coalition.
At the end of May, faced with the challenges of the pandemic and staffing shortages, Standing Stone served its last Oak Street Amber and closed its doors for good. Floyd and Margaret Whittle would probably be surprised their little leased garage building became a beloved restaurant.
Originally called “Ashland Mills,” Ashland was founded around Abel Helman’s water-powered sawmill on Ashland Creek, later transformed into a flour mill. The Ashland Woolen Mill, on Helman Street, was one of the city’s major employers in the 19th century. As late as the 1950s, Ashland still boasted half a dozen lumber mills.
Ashland boosters in the early 1920s would have none of building a hotel the same size as those of rival towns; they would build the tallest building between San Francisco and Portland!
Lithia Park is often called Ashland’s “crown jewel.” Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, it was among the first public parks in southern Oregon — but, if not for a group of persistent women, things would be much different.
What’s now a treasured-yet-crumbling Ashland landmark started as an attraction at an international exposition in San Francisco more than a century ago.
Ashlanders and other Rogue Valley residents take part in a monthly video call with residents of Ukraine. Ivan Muts of Ukraine said during Friday’s call his country is grateful for all the support from the United States and other countries.
Obituary: Hermine “Helena” Louise Lentfer Sohl passed peacefully, surrounded by loving family on March 4, 2023 in Ashland. A celebration of her life will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 27, at Ashland Congregational United Church of Christ, 717 Siskiyou Blvd.
The federal government is sending nearly $50 million to Oregon nonprofits, counties and other entities to address homelessness, including $54,778 for Options for Helping Residents of Ashland (OHRA).
Semitrailers and other vehicles awaiting the reopening of Interstate 5 are lining the highway and some surface streets in Ashland on Tuesday. Southbound traffic on the road was diverted off the highway starting about 7 a.m. due to severe winter conditions in Northern California.
Training is available for those interested in helping others prepare tax returns, a free service offered by the AARP Foundation Tax Aide service currently offering help on Wednesdays and Fridays at The Grove in Ashland.
Pepper Trail: “This stretch of Interstate-5 in Southern Oregon is a known killing field for wildlife and dangerous for motorists. The highway cuts through a critical connection for wildlife moving between two mountain ranges and home to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, which is the only national monument specifically established for the protection of its rich biodiversity.”
(It’s free)
