Kerby is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Josephine County Josephine County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 88,090. The county seat is Grants Pass. The county is named after Virginia Josephine Rollins (1834–1912), a settler who was t ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States, north of Cave Junction on

U.S. Route 199 U.S. Route 199 (US 199) is a U.S. Highway in the states of California and Oregon. The highway was established in 1926 as a spur of US 99, which has since been replaced by Interstate 5 (I-5). US 199 stretches from US 101 near ...

. As of the 2010 census the population was 595. Despite its population and numerous businesses, it is often listed in tourist guides as a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

, because of the number of historic buildings left from its days as a gold-mining town. Kerby came into existence between 1854 and 1857.

History

Kerby was named for James Kerby (or Kerbey, as he sometimes spelled his name). The community was founded during the heyday of Josephine County

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

and went through numerous name changes (and various spellings) in its early years. When Josephine County was established on January 22, 1856, a new

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

was to be chosen in the next county election. The original county seat was a place called "Sailor Diggings" (which was eventually renamed

Waldo Waldo may refer to: People and fictional characters * Waldo (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Waldo (surname), a list of people * Waldo (footballer), Brazilian footballer Waldo Machado da Silva (1934–20 ...

). One of the polling places listed was called "Kirbey's Ranch". James Kerby and Samuel Hicks, partners in a general mercantile and supply business, probably founded the town of "Kerbeyville" for the county seat race, and the town was selected in the election of June 1857. An act of the territorial legislature of December 18, 1856, changed the name from "Kirbeyville" to "Napoleon", possibly because of the association of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

with the name Josephine. The new name was not popular, and a bill was introduced in the next legislature that would change it back. The bill passed the House but was then held up in the Senate judiciary committee. Though the county commissioners used the name "Napoleon" for a short time, they reverted to calling the place "Kerbyville" in about April 1860. The name "Kerbyville" was used officially for many years despite the failure of the legislature to restore it. The name was finally changed to "Kerby" for the sake of simplicity.

Grants Pass Grants Pass is a city in and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, Oregon, Medford, along the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River. The populatio ...

became the county seat in 1886. The history of the name of the post office in this locale is simpler: Kerby post office was established in September 1856; it was later made a rural station of Cave Junction. The post office was proposed to be closed in 2009.

Geography

Kerby is in southwestern Josephine County, along

on the east side of the valley of the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

, a north-flowing tributary of the Rogue River. Kerby is bordered to the south by the city of Cave Junction. US 199 leads northeast to

and south through Cave Junction to

Crescent City, California Crescent City ( Tolowa: ''Taa-’at-dvn''; Yurok: ''Kohpey''; Wiyot: ''Daluwagh'') is the only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California, of which it is also the county seat. The city is on the North Coast of California and had a tota ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Kerby CDP has an area of , all of it recorded as land.

Demographics

Points of interest

*Kerbyville Museum, established in 1959

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Kerby has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Kerby, Oregon
/ref>

References

External links

Josephine County Historical Society: Kerby history
page at webtrail.com {{Authority control Ghost towns in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Josephine County, Oregon Census-designated places in Oregon Census-designated places in Josephine County, Oregon 1850s establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon 1856 establishments in Oregon Territory Former county seats in Oregon