Gold Hill is a city 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 ...

, in the United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 1,335. It is along a bend of the Rogue River.

History

The city's name comes from a nearby hill that was the location of a 19th-century

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

discovery, on "Big Bar” on the Rogue River in the early 1850s. In 1852, Colonel William T'Vault and family made a claim, naming it Dardanelles, on the south side of the Rogue. Gold Hill became a

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although t ...

overnight after time it became well known as pocket gold county. Seasoned prospectors specialized in

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...

from rivers, creeks, and streams. Gold Hill became world famous for its production of

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

from area limestone deposit's.

Geography

According to the

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

, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Gold Hill lies east of the city of Rogue River and northwest of Central Point and Medford along

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

and

Oregon Route 99 Oregon Route 99 is a state highway that runs between the southern border of Oregon, and the city of Junction City. Oregon Route 99 was formed from parts of the former U.S. Route 99; it shares much of its route with I-5, but much of it is al ...

in the Rogue River Valley. Gold Hill is connected to Shady Cove to the northeast by Oregon Route 234.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,220 people, 509 households, and 336 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 552 housing units, at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population. There were 509 households, of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband, 7.3% had a male householder with no wife, and 34.0% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the city was 43.9 years. 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 34.2% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.1% male and 49.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,073 people, 419 households, and 294 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 446 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.09% White, 0.09% African American, 1.96% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.28% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.36% of the population. There were 419 households, out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband, and 29.8% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.95. In the city, the population had 28.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $35,438. Males had a median income of $33,625 versus $23,036 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,856. About 10.3% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Museums and other points of interest

Gold Hill is home to the Oregon Vortex, a

roadside attraction A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboard (advertis ...

. North of Gold Hill is Nugget Falls, a popular destination for

whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an outdoor adventure sport where paddlers navigate a river in a specially designed kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles: river running, creeking, slalom, playboating, and squirt boating. Each style offers ...

. The Gold Hill Historical Society maintains a free museum in the 1901 Beeman–Martin House that is open Thursday through Saturday. The museum collection includes mining equipment, a

stamp mill A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of Mill (grinding), mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than Mill (grinding), grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking materia ...

known as the Lucky Bart Stamp Mill (Owner, President - Bartholomew Signorritti - hence the name) Lucky Bart. He was also owner of the Lucky Bart Mining Company in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. The stamp mill was built by

Union Iron Works Union Iron Works, located in San Francisco, California, on the southeast waterfront, was a central business within the large industrial zone of Potrero Point, for four decades at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. ...

of San Francisco, California (1892) The stamp mill was purchased then shipped to for the Lucky Bart Mining Company of Sacramento to Gold Hill in the spring of 1893. Morton Lindley became president for the company Scientific press

References

External links

City of Gold Hill official websiteEntry for Gold Hill
in the ''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...

'' * {{Authority control Populated places established in 1895 Cities in Oregon Cities in Jackson County, Oregon 1895 establishments in Oregon