Pioneer Story #14:
William Pernoll
(Improved Order of Red Men 8)
German immigrant William Pernoll came west in search of gold. He fought in the Rogue Indian War and, in the Applegate Valley, farmed, operated a grange, and devised a way to irrigate land with local river water. His Pernoll Store now houses the Applegate Valley Historical Society.
Learn more about William Pernoll here. (Story will be available here soon.)
Pioneer Story #15:
Henry Wendt
(Independent Order of Red Men 19)
Immigrant Henry Wendt sailed from Germany in 1863 on an old windjammer. He successfully filed a homestead claim in Nebraska where he met his new wife. Prompted by a grasshopper plague, the Wendts came west, opened a dairy, and became Jacksonville’s first milk merchants.
Learn more about Henry Wendt here. (Story will be available here soon.)
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Pioneer Story #13:
Boddy Family
(City 29)
Shortly after their 1872 arrival in the Klamath valley, the Australian immigrant Boddy family faced an Indian war. Louisa Boddy and daughter Katherine were the only survivors of the Modoc Uprising. Louisa was the only woman to receive damages from the US government.
Learn more about the Boddy Family here.
Pioneer Story #16:
Thomas Chavner
(Catholic C8)
After arriving in Philadelphia from Ireland at age six, the soon-orphaned Thomas worked at a series of jobs that eventually led him to Jacksonville around 1856. A gold strike on his claim near the Rogue River made him wealthy. Thomas donated land for the townsite of Gold Hill.
Learn more about Thomas Chavner here. (Story will be available here soon.)
Pioneer Story #17:
Gustav Karewski
(Jewish 12)
Born in Germany, Gustav came to America around 1850 and headed west for gold. By 1860, Gustav was a merchant in Jacksonville, specializing in large farm equipment. He soon married Johanna, a widow with four children. They were among the last of the area’s Jewish pioneers.
Learn more about Gustav Karewski here. (Story will be available here soon.)
PIONEER STORIES - Part II
(NOTE: This page is currently under construction using test data.)
Read about some of Jacksonville's pioneers and early settlers whose stories can also be found on elevated reader boards at their gravesites in the cemetery.
Pioneer Story #12:
Legrand Duncan
(City 218)
While the lure of gold brought Legrand Duncan to California in 1849, he soon found himself mining along Rich Gulch near Jacksonville. After serving as Sheriff of Jackson County and as a County Judge, he became a member of the 1867 convention that wrote the constitution for the State of Oregon.
Learn more about Legrand Duncan here.
Pioneer Story #11:
Hoffman Family
(City 220)
William and Caroline Hoffman and their six daughters came across the Oregon Trail in 1853 from Indiana. Their wagon train rarely traveled on Sundays to “keep the sabbath.” William helped create a Presbyterian community in Jacksonville, establishing the first congregation in the Hoffman home.
Learn more about the Hoffman Family here.
Friends of Jacksonville's Historic Cemetery
Pioneer Story #10:
Plymale Family
(City 295)
Gabriel and Mary Plymale arrived in Table Rock City, later known as Jacksonville, in 1852. Their daughter-in-law, Josephine Martin, campaigned extensively for the women’s suffrage and Christian Temperance movements. Ten years after her 1899 death Oregon granted women the right to vote.
Learn more about the Plymale Family here.