Ruch 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 Jackson County,

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. It is located on

Oregon Route 238 Oregon Route 238 is an Oregon state highway which runs between the cities of Grants Pass, Oregon and Medford, Oregon, and through the historic town of Jacksonville, Oregon, Jacksonville. It is known as the Jacksonville Highway No. 272 (see Or ...

, southeast of

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 ...

. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 840. Ruch was named after Casper M. Ruch, who bought a tract of land where the community now stands in 1896. He built a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop, a store and a house. When he was appointed as a postmaster of the new post office in 1897 and allowed to name it. He named the post office after himself. The post office closed in 1939. There are two structures listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in Ruch— McKee Bridge and Star Ranger Station. The Ruch area is home to several Oregon wineries and in the Applegate Valley AVA, a sub-

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...

of the Rogue Valley AVA (

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

). A small elementary school, Ruch Elementary, is located near the center of the community. The school serves Kindergarten to 8th grade with the Cougars as their mascot. The Applegate River runs through the southwest edge of the valley.

Climate

Ruch 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 ...

(Csb) 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.

Demographics

References

External links

Historic photo of Ruch from Salem Public Library
Unincorporated communities in Jackson County, Oregon Populated places established in 1896 Census-designated places in Oregon Census-designated places in Jackson County, Oregon 1896 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{JacksonCountyOR-geo-stub