Standing in the Gap for Oregon

  Trees in Grants Pass, Oregon My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold. And my revenue than choice silver. Proverbs 8:19 Josephine seems like such a nice name for a county. Josephine County was named after Floyd Rollins’ daughter, Josephine Rollins Ort. Floyd and his daughter were among the first group of prospectors that discovered gold in the Illinois Valley in 1851. They were headed to California but stopped to investigate a rumor of gold they heard from the local tribes. The county was formed in 1856. Several forts were built in the county and much of the action of the Rogue River Indian Wars (1855-58) took place in Josephine County. Most of the local tribes, except for a few small bands, were relocated to the Grand Ronde reservation at the close of the war. Another large ethnic group in Josephine County was the Chinese, who came to mine after the gold strikes. They were required to keep to their own communities, and there were instances of injustice against them. ...