Ruch is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in Jackson County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, 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. It is known as the Jacksonville Highway No. 272 (see Oregon highways and rout ...

, southeast of

Grants Pass Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. The population was 39,189 at the 2020 census. History Early Hudson's Bay Company hunt ...

. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 840. Ruch was named for 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 postmaster of the new post office in 1897 and allowed to name it, he named it 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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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

appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...

of the

Rogue Valley AVA The Rogue Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in southern Oregon. The federal government approved this appellation in 1991. It is entirely contained within the larger Southern Oregon AVA and includes the drainage basin of the Rog ...

(

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 - 8th grade with the Cougars as their mascot. The Applegate River runs through the southwest edge of the valley.

Demographics

Climate

Ruch has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Csb) according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system.

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