Praying for Those in Authority: Jackson County

Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31: 8-9

Jackson County shares a lot of the history of Josephine County just to the west, having been settled due to the gold strikes of 1851-2. Medford is now the county seat of Jackson County, made so when the Oregon and California Railroad made the decision to go through Medford, about five miles to the east, rather than Jacksonville, in 1884.

Jacksonville, originally Table Rock City, was the site of the first gold strikes in the area and became the main financial center of southern Oregon until the railroad changed things. It is one of the oldest settlements in the state. The town, while not a ghost town (current population about 3,000), has been well preserved. In 1966 it was made a National Historic District with 100 buildings in the central part of town included.

Jacksonville saw a number of firsts, including first gold strikes, and the first Chinatown in Oregon in the early 1850’s. The Chinese miners came up from California where they had first come for the 1849 gold rush. While some came on their own, most were under labor bosses who found them jobs in the mines or the town. The Chinese were different in language, dress, food, and customs and not accepted by many whites in the area. This was later reinforced by laws that prevented and hindered the Chinese from owning property, running businesses, or becoming citizens.

Jackson County, Oregon

With the gold strikes of the early 1850’s bringing in a flood of miners and settlers, it also raised problems with the local tribes. General Joel Palmer was made Superintendent of the Indian Department in Oregon at that time, just before Oregon statehood, and he was tasked with finalizing treaties with the tribes. In 1853 the Council of Table Rock created an agreement with the tribes and set aside an area, Table Rock Reservation, for tribal use. However, the whites in the area seemed determined, according to reports by General Palmer, to break the terms of the treaty and, ultimately, to exterminate the natives. For their own safety, he closed the Table Rock Reservation, and removed the remaining Indians to reservations on the coast.

During the early 1850’s there was much agitation and fear among the white population concerning the natives, and a push for military preparation for war. General Palmer and General John E.Wool, commander of the U.S. Army’s Department of the Pacific from 1854-57, agreed that there was much to blame local white settlers and volunteer militia organizations for in atrocities against the natives. Both Generals worked to relocate the tribes of southern Oregon to the coast where they believed they could be better protected from genocide. The actions and claims of the two men brought media and political enmity and eventually resulted in Wool being reassigned back to the east coast, and Palmer being replaced.

While most settlers and miners seemed to share a fear and disrespect for the local natives, a Methodist settler born in England in 1803, had different views. John Beeson came with his wife Ann to the United States in 1828, eventually settling in Illinois as a farmer and becoming part of the Underground Railroad, helping escaped blacks from the south find refuge. In 1853 he took his family, which included his wife and one son, Welborn, to Oregon. They took up a homesite at what is now Tenant in Jackson County. He wrote about his impressions of the Native Americans on the trip to Oregon. Upon his arrival in Jackson County, he was incensed by the white treatment of the Indians and began insisting on the recognition of their humanity. As the settlers continued to trespass on the Table Rock Reservation and terrorize Indian families, Beeson became more outspoken. By 1856 he was speaking out publicly against Oregon’s Indian policy. Upon receiving death threats for his views, he fled his homestead, leaving his wife and son in charge, and went to New York. There he continued to lecture on the rights of the Indians and wrote a book, “A Plea for the Indians,” which has been called the most eloquent defense of Oregon Indians published in the 19^th century.

During those years in New York, he worked for the Indian Aid Association based in Philadelphia and attempted to start an Indian rights newspaper. He returned to his wife and son after the Civil War, in 1865. His wife died in 1866, and he spent the rest of his days with Welborn on the homestead in Jackson County, passing away in 1889.

Back to the present day…

There are three on the Board of Commissioners in Jackson County. Rick Dyer was first elected in 2014, and started his third term in 2023. He has lived in southern Oregon since junior high, has a law degree from Concord Law School and loves helping kids by coaching sports and volunteering in the classroom.

Dave Dotterrer was raised in Eugene. He was commissioned into the U. S. Marine Corps through ROTC and spent 28 years as an infantry officer, retiring as Colonel. He was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2020.

Colleen Roberts is the chair and was born and raised in southern Oregon. She and her sister ran a full-service custom bakery for 20 years in Eagle Point. She was first elected to the Board in 2014 and just started her third term.

In 2021 the Board of Commissioners declared a state of emergency in Jackson County due to the large number of illegal marijuana grows. It appears to be the largest cash crop in the county.

Beth Heckert is the District Attorney, elected in 2013.  She began her legal career in 1988 and has extensive experience in prosecution of criminal cases.

The Jackson County Sheriff is Nathan Sickler. His department still has a jail capacity crisis that began with the pandemic restrictions. However, even with restrictions lifting, they remain short of space. There has been a massive spike in overdoses in the county, mainly fentanyl. The county is in dire need of additional resources to address addictions, mental health issues and homelessness.  The county is recruiting staff for the Sheriff’s Office.