Everything about Jackson County Oregon totally explained
Jackson County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
Oregon. In 2006, its population was 197,071. The county
is named for
Andrew Jackson, the seventh
president of the United States.
Since 1927, the
seat of the county is
Medford.
Economy
The county's principal industries are
agriculture, lumber, manufacturing, and tourism.
Jackson County has over 10,000 acres (40 km²) of orchards and shares with
Josephine County the Rogue Valley and Applegate
wine appellations.
Soapstone, a substance used in art sculpture, is mined in Jackson County.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,802
square miles (7,257
km²), of which, 2,785 square miles (7,214 km²) of it's land and 17 square miles (43 km²) of it (0.59%) is water. A portion of the
Umpqua National Forest is in Jackson County.
Adjacent Counties
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 181,269 people, 71,532 households, and 48,427 families residing in the county. The
population density was 65 people per square mile (25/km²). There were 75,737 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.65%
White, 0.40%
Black or
African American, 1.09%
Native American, 0.90%
Asian, 0.18%
Pacific Islander, 2.88% from
other races, and 2.91% from two or more races. 6.69% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. 17.4% were of
German, 12.9%
English, 10.2%
Irish and 8.8%
United States or American ancestry according to
Census 2000. 92.7% spoke
English and 5.6%
Spanish as their first language.
Of the 71,532 households, 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were
married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 25.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,461, and the median income for a family was $43,675. Males had a median income of $32,720 versus $23,690 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $19,498. About 8.90% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 6.90% of those age 65 or over.
History
Modoc,
Shasta,
Takelma,
Latgawas, and
Umpqua Indian tribes are all native to the present boundaries of Jackson County. In the early 1850s, both the
Klickitats from the north and the Deschutes from the south raided and settled the area.
The Territorial Legislature created Jackson County on
January 12,
1852, from the southwestern portion of
Lane County and the unorganized area south of
Douglas and
Umpqua Counties. It included lands which now lie in
Coos,
Curry,
Josephine,
Klamath and
Lake Counties. Gold discoveries in the Rogue and Illinois River valleys near
Jacksonville in 1852 and the completion of a wagon road connecting the county with California to the south and Douglas County to the north led to an influx of non-native settlers.
Conflict between the miners and Native Americans led to war in 1853, which continued intermittently until the final defeat of the last band under chiefs John and George by a combined force of regular army and civilians
May 29,
1856 at Big Bend on the Illinois River. The Native Americans had received the worse of the fighting throughout this conflict, and as they began to surrender, they were herded to existing reservations, beginning in January, 1856 when one group was marched to the
Grand Ronde Indian Reservation west of
Salem. Over the following months, other groups were forced to leave until by May, 1857 almost all of the Shasta, Takelma, and Latgawas tribes had been relocated to the
Siletz Reservation, where they remained.
Jacksonville was designated as the first county seat in 1853. However, Jacksonville declined due to diminishing returns in the local goldfields and the construction in the 1880s of the
Oregon and California Railroad. This railroad bypassed Jacksonville and rather went near
Medford, located five miles east of Jacksonville. Medford's prospects increased precipitously because of the location of the railroad and the accompanying commerce and development as Jacksonville continued its steady decline. Jacksonville fended off suggestions to move the county seat until 1927 when Medford was finally selected as the county seat.
In March of 2004, Jackson County became the first of an eventual 35 counties to implement a voluntary plan of fireproofing homes situated on properties
zoned as part of the forestland-urban interface. This requires homeowners to maintain a 30' or greater firebreak around their structures, and affects 12,000 homeowners. In 2007 this plan becomes mandatory for many landowners, under threat of liability if their property is involved in a fire.
On May 15, 2007, residents voted not to reopen the county's 15
libraries, which have been closed since April 6 due to a shortage of funds. This was the second time that residents have voted not to fund the libraries. This was the largest library closure in the history of the
United States. The libraries were reopened, with reduced hours, on October 24, 2007.
Communities
Incorporated cities
Unincorporated communities and CDPs
Further Information
Get more info on 'Jackson County Oregon'.
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