Grants Pass to Crescent City Highway 199 Road Guide - Oregon & California Redwood Highway

Hay's Hill, Oregon

After crossing the Applegate River Bridge, ZERO YOUR ODOMETER AT River Bank Road, located immediately after the bridge on the right.

0.0 River Bank Road:

0.2 Marble Mountain Quarry:
About half way up the mountain on the left you may be able to see the sheer rock face of the Marble Mountain Quarry. Marble was hauled by the C&OC Railroad to a cement manufacturing plant near Medford until 1955.

At one time, there was a cave in this marble outcrop that was being considered for designation as the Oregon Caves. However, the easy access to this cave led to significant damage to cave formations. For this reason, a more remote cave system with less damage was designated as Oregon Caves and became Oregon Caves National Monument.

This marble outcrop is about the same age as those at Oregon Caves National Monument, and that brings up an interesting point about the geology seen on both sides of the road. From here to the California border Highway 199 is mostly constructed on the ocean sediments of an ancient ocean basin. These sediments are associated with the rocks that make up the mountains on the right side of the road, most of which are about 150 million years in age. The rocks that make up the mountains on the left side of the road are part of an older geology, about 220 million years old, known as the Rattlesnake and Hayfork Terrain.

0.5 The road on the left is a short segment of the old 1922 Redwood Highway that goes through the small town of Wilderville and returns back to Highway 199 about a mile ahead. The present store at Wilderville is a remnant of the historic Camp O’ the Woods auto camp.

Camp O’ The Woods was developed as a tourist accommodation during a period of active tourist travel between Grants Pass and the coast in 1930, perhaps the result of tourism promotion efforts by the Oregon Cavemen. The first cottages were built in 1930 with additional log houses constructed across Slate Creek in 1931. The lodge was completed in 1933. Several prominent Californians made Camp O’ The Woods a regular vacation spot. These included Dr. and Mrs Coolidge of Palm Springs, cousins of Calvin Coolidge, Dynamite is used to clear debris that piled up against the C&OC Railroad Applegate River Bridge near Wilderville, Oregon. and T.V. Hamlin, cartoonist of the Alley OOP comic series. Hamlin would always include places and people from Wilderville when working on comics while visiting this area. In the comic strip, Wilderville was Tamerville and New Hope was No Hope. Camp O’ The Woods operated successfully until 1944 and the end of World War II.

A familiar sound around Wilderville during high water used to be the constant dynamiting of the log jams that built up against the C&OC railroad bridge over the Applegate River. The Applegate Bridge was washed out for the last time in 1950. It was not rebuilt.

Both chrome ore and marble rock from the Marble Mountain quarry, located about two miles to the right, were among the things shipped out of Wilderville. The picture to the left shows a loading ramp at Wilderville for trucks to dump chrome ore directly into railroad cars.

1.6 Wilderville Road returns to Highway 199 (left).

2.7 The cement foundation on left across from Round Prairie Road marks the location of one of several lumber mills established by the Spalding Brothers. The first of these mills was established in 1907 at Swede Basin, now a campground known as Spalding Pond. The road that went to this mill will be pointed out later in the tour. The mill at this location was established in the 1920s and flourished until the mid-Depression years when it closed. The structure burned a short time later but this site still represents evidence of the many small rural mills which flourished throughout this region before World War II.

Steam tractor, Grants Pass, Oregon Prior to the construction of the railroad, lumber was often hauled into Grants Pass on "tractor trains". These could haul tons of material and the combination of the tractor and wagons began to cause problems in the region because of the deep ruts they pounded into the ground. The ruts would become deep enough that wagons could not use the roads because the bottom of the wagons would get caught up on the high spot in the middle of the road. There was an effort in Grants Pass to ban steam tractors from roads but the effort didn't get much traction.

3.0 The elevated grade of the C&OC Railroad can be seen in several places on the left paralleling Highway 199 about 100-200 feet from the road.

4.8 Wonder General Store: At the time this store was established, there wasn’t much traffic or commerce in this area so most people wondered why the owner set up a store at this location. As local lore goes, the word “wonder” stuck and it has been known by that name ever since.

Waters Creek Accessible Interpretive Trail, Highway 199, Oregon 5.5 Waters Creek Road (right):
Waters Creek Wheelchair Accessible Trail is about two miles from Highway 199 on Waters Creek Road. The lower loop is wheelchair accessible and the upper loop is suitable for foot traffic.

5.6 The site of the C&OC Railroad marshalling yard, located to the left, marked the end of the track for this railroad. The main freight hauled from this location in the early 1900s was lumber from the Spalding Mill in Swede Basin, located in the mountains about 10 miles to the right and copper ore from mines near Takilma, Oregon, about 25 miles ahead. You are traveling on same side of the railroad yard as the old wagon road seen on the right in the picture above. The picture to the right shows wagons bringing copper ore from Takilma to the Waters Creek railroad yard. This is what the road looked like before construction of Highway 199 in 1922.

6.8 Slate Creek Bridge

7.0 Butcher Knife Creek Bridge

7.4 Site of Loves Station (right):
The open area on the right just before the road starts climbing the hill was the site of Loves Station, a stagecoach stop. Love’s Station was established when the 1857 Turnpike and Puncheon Road between Crescent City, California and Jacksonville, Oregon was still being used. After the Oregon and California Railroad was constructed in 1884, traffic on this road dropped in other parts of the region but remained fairly active along this part of the road as freight wagons hauled supplies from the railroad in Grants Pass to the Illinois Valley. In the early 1900s, the station got an additional boost in business when a logging road was constructed to Swede Basin by the Spalding family and lumber began to be hauled out of the mountains to the C&OC Railroad yard near Waters Creek. The road that goes to the right follows this old logging road, now called the Old Onion Mountain Road. The Old Onion Mountain Road is closed about a mile from Highway 199, however it is possible to see section this old road if you drive about six miles up the present Onion Mountain Road, which begins at mile 9.1 ahead.

A team of mules and driver are ready to haul coke to the smelter at the copper mines at Takilma, Oregon. Traffic such as this would have passed frequently by Loves Station.

8.8 Top of Hays Hill.

9.0 The Macfarlane Brick Plant was established in 1940 and was located about 200 feet up the two track road on the right. It had a capacity of making 15,000 bricks per day and in the first week of operation, bricks were made and used for the construction of a drying kiln at the brick plant with the rest of the structures at the site made of wood. Many of the bricks from this plant were used in the construction of buildings in Grants Pass. The Macfarlane plant burned down a couple of years after going into operation and was not reconstructed.

9.1 Onion Mountain Road (right)
This road is a back country route that takes you to the Rogue River near Galice, a total distance of about 32 miles. Several hiking opportunities and campgrounds are found in the Briggs Valley about 20 miles from here. Spalding Pond Campground and the Onion Mountain Fire Lookout are other features accessed by this road.

9.6 End divided Road

10.6 Draper Valley Road (left)
Anderson Station, a stage stop on the 1857 road between southern Oregon and Crescent City, California. Fort Hay and Anderson Station (right):
The Hay family came to this area in 1854 and built a log house in this vicinity. The home became a refuge for other settlers during the Rogue Indian War of 1855-1857 and for that reason was regarded as a “fort”.

After the first road was constructed from Crescent City to southwest Oregon, the 1857 Turnpike and Puncheon Road, a stage stop was established here by the Hay family. After the land was purchased by the Anderson family in 1885 a new building was constructed around this time and a post office was established and became known as Anderson Station rather than Fort Hay. The historic Anderson Station burned down in 1951 and was located on the right approximately across the road from the Historic Sign. Fort Hay is significant as one of the oldest and most important Josephine County historic locations, figuring prominently in the period of settlement, military efforts, and transportation through a long period of time.

It is dangerous to try to cross traffic to see the interpretive sign about Fort Hay so a copy is included here for you to read.

12.4 Draper Valley Road returns to Highway 199 on the left

12.8 Farmers Market on the left has many locally produced products available during the summer season.

Wild and Scenic Illinois River, Selma, Oregon 13.0 ZERO YOUR ODOMETER at Selma (first flashing yellow light) and continue straight ahead
Post Office, gas station, and store.

The Wild and Scenic Illinois River Road Guide follows the paved road to the right into the scenic Illinois River Canyon. This is one of the portals to the Kalmiopsis Wilderness as well as the Southern Oregon University Siskiyou Field Institute.

About 500 feet down Illinois River Road on the right is the site of Camp Kerby, one of five Civilian Conservation Corp camps established in Josephine County during the Depression. This camp was established in 1933 with tents set up as the first residences. The crew constructed several buildings for the camp including a central hall for the camp. All the buildings are gone but the chimney of the central hall is still standing. The rocks used in the chimney are marble, probably from the Oregon Caves area where the crews did a great deal of their work. This camp was eventually moved to a location closer to Oregon Caves and became known by the name of Camp Oregon Caves.

Kerby Peak Trail overlooking Deer Creek Valley, Selma, Oregon The Kerby Peak Trail and Deer Creek Winery are accessed by Deer Creek Road on the other side of Highway 199 (left).

Selma became established in 1897 when the Anderson Post Office, located at the site commonly known as Fort Hay, changed its name and was moved to this location. The reason for the move was probably due to the larger number of farms and residents in this area, known as Deer Creek Valley. The wife of the postmaster came up with the name of Selma for the new post office, in honor of the little town of Selma in Van Buren County, Iowa, near where she was raised.

SET YOUR ODOMETER TO ZERO

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Disclaimer: All information in Highway199.org is accurate to the best knowledge of the author. However, conditions in outdoor settings can change dramatically after storms or fires. For this reason, travelers are advised to check current road conditions before traveling through the area, drive responsibly and take measures to understand safety issues in the region. When participating in outdoor activities, always plan and prepare for safe hiking, swimming or any other activities mentioned in the Highway 199 website. More on disclaimer and copyright...