The Big Road: Oregon's Stagecoach Route

I was inspired by a book by Gary and Gloria Meier, called "Knights of the Whip," to seek out the remaining stagecoach stations on the old stage road known as the "Big Road." The Big Road was a route between Oregon and California used by native Americans, fur trappers, gold prospectors, military, and pioneers. It started as a pack trail and was developed into a wagon road by Jesse Applegate and others. It received appropriations in 1857 for improvements, as it was essential for military operations. Once it was improved to a condition in which heavy wagons could pass with less difficulty, the earliest commercial stage lines were established. On September 15, 1860, the California Stage Company made its inaugural run between Sacramento, California and Portland, Oregon.

Stage stations provided services for the customers and held a reserve stock of stage horses. Most of the stations were privately owned and run by pioneer families, on their Donation Land Claim properties, who contracted with the stage company and got reimbursed for their services. Starting on the Oregon-California border, we tracked down the southern Oregon stations:

Route between Cole's and Barron's Stations in Southern Oregon

The last stage stop in California before going over the Siskiyou Mountains into Oregon (and the first we visited heading north) was Cole's Station. Cole's Station is still standing and can be seen by taking Exit 796 on Interstate 5. Travel west on Hilt Road and take a right in the town of Hilt to stay on Hilt Road. The road runs to the northwest parallel to the railroad tracks and turns into Colestine Road. Cole's Station is one mile up Hilt Road on the right. The stage barn is visible on the left across the road. Cole's was established by Rufus Cole who headed west from Putnam County, New York in 1851 with his brother Byron to search for gold. Both homesteaded ranches in the Colestin Valley under the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. Rufus built his home next to the Hudson's Bay Pack Trail which became a territorial road in 1855. He used his home at the first location as a stage station until he moved it south to the present location in 1859. The station served as a regular stagecoach stop for around 30 years.

Cole's Station in 1887

The above photo is from "Pioneers of the Colestin Valley"in Southern Oregon Heritage Today, November 1999, Vol. 1 No. 11. Today, the home is a private residence.

Cole's Station in 2019

Stage Barn at Cole's

The next stage stop in Oregon was Barron's Station, with nearby Casey's and Kingsbury's stations, both of which operated at times either when Barron did not contract for stage station services (Casey's) and for a short period after Barron closed his station in 1884 at the end of the stage days (Kingsbury's). Barron's was the first station on the Oregon side of the Siskiyou Mountains.

A biographical sketch of Major Hugh F. Barron was printed in The Oregon Sentinel on Wednesday, March 5, 1879. Major Barron lived with his wife, Martha, in a log cabin until he built a home on the same site in 1858. He acquired a second home, built by James Russell and James Gibbs, for his expanding cattle and sheep ranch. It was this home that became Barron's Station and was located about a quarter-mile north of his first farm house. The second house had already been used as a stage station, and Barron developed it into the "Mountain House" station where his wife was hostess.

The house, presently a private residence at 1148 Old Hwy 99 S, still stands today and can be seen by driving south on Highway 66 toward Emigrant Lake to the Old Siskiyou Highway. Turn right and the house is a quarter-mile on the right. The stage barn was formerly located across the road but no longer exists. In addition, Casey's and Kingsbury's stations no longer exist.

Barron's Station in 2019

The next few stations no longer exist, but we visited the old locations nonetheless:

Route between Barron's and Amerman's Station

Ashland Mills was not an official stage stop as it was only five miles from Amerman's. However, the stagecoach ran along what is now East Main Street, and many passengers stayed the night here. The earliest hotel was known as the "Ashland House," built in the year 1859 by Eber Emery at a cost of $3,000. Emery kept the hotel for 10 years and then sold to Abel Helman, and then to Jasper Houck. The hotel, located across from the I.O.O.F. Building, was demolished in the late 1910s. Images of the former hotel below are from the Southern Oregon Historical Society and from an Archaeological Survey of the Ashland Plaza conducted in 2013. The Ashland House was moved at least twice prior to its demolition. Once, a short distance at the Plaza, and a second time several blocks away to the Town’s Railroad District. Highway 99 and N Main Street now run through the former location.

Ashland House Hotel circa 1867 from "Ashland Plaza: Report on Findings of the 2012-2013 Sub-Surface Archaeological Survey of the Ashland Plaza Project Area Jackson County, Oregon" by Jeff LaLande

Ashland House Hotel in 1880s

Ashland Weekly Tidings - 28 Dec 1921

Amerman's Station was located the present location of 5595 Pacific Hwy, about one mile south of Phoenix, Oregon. Phoenix was known at that time as Gasburg. James Amerman was born around 1824 in Huron County, Ohio. It is believed that he may have come to Oregon in 1852 with his brother, Henry. Amerman purchased 320 acres of farm property from the original Donation Land Claim owner. He started offering stagecoach services in 1860 and passed away in 1871. His widow, Elizabeth, married William S. Stone, superintendent of the O & C Stage Company, on February 22, 1874 and the two kept the station operating. Oatman's Station was a mile north of Amerman's and also no longer exists.

Jacksonville was an important hub for the stagecoach in Southern Oregon. There were many structures dedicated to stagecoach operations, which were owned by the California Stage Company. Several hotels operated in Jacksonville, including the Union Hotel (later known as the United States Hotel) at California and 3rd Streets. The United States Hotel burned in 1873 and the Old Franco-American Hotel on Oregon and Main Streets, owned by Jeanne DeRoboam Holt became the official stop. Ms. Holt later purchased the burned United States Hotel and converted it into an elegant hotel which opened on November 19, 1880 and stands today. Unfortunately, the O&C Stage Company decided to make the official stop at the New State Hotel across the street from Ms. Holt's hotel. The Old Franco American Hotel burned in 1886.

From "Pictures in Time" by the Southern Oregon Historical Society

United States Hotel building in 2019

Route between Amerman's Station and Croxton's Station

The next stop north of Jacksonville was the community of Rock Point. The Rock Point community was founded by J.B. White in the early 1850s. J.B. fought in the Rogue Indian Wars, and in exchange for his service, he received land on which he developed a homestead on the south side of the Rogue River. A flood in 1861-1862 destroyed the bridge over the Rogue River and his home on the south side. He moved his home to the north side of the river and, in 1863, decided to open a store and sold the property to L.J. White (no relation). L.J. immediately began constructing a new bridge and stage station called the Rock Point Hotel in 1864.  On February 8, 1865, the hotel opened to the public with a grand ball. Lytte White died on October 28, 1878 and his sons and wife continued to run the stage stop at Rock Point. His son Henry bought out his mother and brothers and renovated the old hotel in 1887. But, by the turn of the century the hotel had closed and Henry had returned to farming. The building was purchased in 1907 by orchardist F. K. Deuel and others. It is the current site of Del Rio Vineyards and Winery.

Rock Point Hotel in 2019

Croxton's Station was 14 miles north of the Rock Point Station near 7th Street and Savage in current Grants Pass, Oregon. A newspaper article dated October 31, 1974 says the location was farther north, near Interstate 5 at about Vine and Highland Avenues. Thomas Frederick Croxton arrived in Illinois from Staffordshire, England in 1843 with his wife Hannah Box and seven children.  In 1849, he traveled to the west to try gold mining and was a traveling Methodist preacher before moving to Josephine County in 1857 to continue prospecting for gold. He acquired the property for the stage station in 1864 and began operating it with the help of his son-in-law, Ebenezer Dimmick. There was an earlier station just north of Grants Pass called Louse Creek Station, but the station was closed when the Big Road was re-routed to an easier grade over Merlin Hill (the present Interstate 5). After his wife died in 1866, Thomas Croxton became a pastor in Coos Bay, which was then known as Marshfield.  Ebenezer Dimmick continued operating the stage station until the end of the stage days. Nothing remains of the station, but Croxton's home is still standing (built 1866) at 1002 Northwest Washington Boulevard in Grants Pass. Croxton died in 1868.

Route from Grants Pass to Canyonville

The Grave Creek House was the next stop located 13 miles north of Croxton's. Formerly a region of conflict with the Native Cow Creek Umpqua tribe, James H. Twogood came to the site in 1851 to lay out his Donation Land Claim. He called the land “Grave Creek Ranch,” in memory of pioneers who perished there traveling north to Portland in 1846. Oregon Legislature passed an act renaming Grave Creek to Leland Creek in January 1854. By 1855, Twogood and McDonough Harkness acquired a former rest house (Grave Creek House #1 / 1854) for Applegate Trail travelers along Grave Creek, built a hotel, and contracted with the O&C Stage Company as a stage stop in 1860. A new hotel known as the Grave House #2 (1860) operated until it burned down in 1875. Then, a nearby farmhouse was enlarged enough to accommodate the stage company and was known as the Grave Creek House #3 (1876) or Harkness Inn. The Hugo Neighborhood Association provides a brochure with details on the station. The Grave Creek House stood just to the east of what is the old Pacific Highway (US-99) and north of today’s Grave Creek covered bridge. The Grave Creek covered bridge still stands and is off Interstate 5, Exit 71 with a marker providing history on the Grave Creek ranch.

Location of former Grave Creek House

Grave Creek House (later, Leland Creek House) from Josephine County Historical Society/Larry McLane

Wolf Creek Tavern was not an official stagecoach stop, but the roadside inn was used by other travelers en route to Southern Oregon and California.The hotel was the stopping place of President Hayes on his first trip to Oregon. According to a 1948 article in The News-Review and other sources, it is claimed that Ulysses Grant, Clark Gable, John Wayne, Jack London and author Sinclair Lewis stayed at the lodge, and one of the first three lodges of the I.O.O.F. was reportedly organized in its attic. The stage stop still operates as a restaurant and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wolf Creek Tavern in 2018

Dining Area at Wolf Creek Tavern

Established by pioneer Daniel Levens, the Levens Station was situated 13 miles north of Grave Creek and was a home station for drivers. Mr. Levens was active in other businesses including a store, hotel and grist mill in Canyonville. Levens re-built his original stage house in 1880 with a larger and more elaborate structure. Fred Tice drove the stage in 1878 and 1880 from Rock Point to Levens Station, a 45 mile drive on the old stage route. Tice lost a six-horse team by spring flood waters in Cow Creek on March 4, 1879 during the night (Medford Mail Tribune, 1 Sep 1931). There were few bridges at that time and fording was common. The Levens Station burned to the ground in 1931 according to The News-Review, 16 Mar 1932.

The Overland Hotel, formerly known as the Canyonville Hotel, was located on the corner of what was once Washington and 1st Streets (now 5th and Main) in Canyonville, Oregon. The hotel was built in the 1860s by John Arzner and George Wagner. It was originally constructed for a lodge room and store and was later used as a hotel because the emigrant stage travel became so heavy that another hotel was needed. It was run by David McCallen and his wife Electa between 1865 and 1867, and by William and Christina Spicer in the 1870s. William Spicer died in 1876 and his wife continued to run the stage stop until it was purchased by William Briggs in 1886. The Briggs family kept the property which was converted back into a grocery store until it was partially torn down in the 1950s.

The News-Review, Roseburg, Oregon, 25 Nov 1940

We traveled as far as Canyonville but will save the rest of the route north to Portland for another time!