RURAL AND SUBURBAN LANDS - Jackson County Oregon

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Rural and Suburban Lands Element 21-18Based on the input from residents in the Foots Creek area, the parcel which is currently zonedRural Service and which has become known as the community core area, will be recognized asthe Rural Service Center. At this time, residents choose not to propose any changes in uses orintensity of uses. There are no changes proposed which would provide for increased residentialdensity or industrial uses.SAMS VALLEY RURAL SERVICE CENTER[Adopted by Ordinance #99-34 on 9-14-99, Acknowledged by DLCD Order #001102 on 10-14-99,Effective 10-24-99. File #97-10-OA(PR)]The rural service center of Sams Valley is located in Jackson County, approximately 11 milesnorth of Medford, at the junction of State Highway 234 and Antioch Road. The earliest settlersin the Valley were Enoch Pelton and Jose Sisemore who arrived in the early 1850s. They ownedvery large ranches in the area. The James Pankey family, arriving from Tennessee in the1950s, was another early settler family. The Pankey clan, bolstered by the arrival of John’s threebrothers and their families in the 1870s, had many children. Many of their progeny are buriedin the Pankey or Sams Valley cemetery.Andrew Moon settled in Sams Valley in the late 1850s. He was the “Founder of Moonville,” thefirst name of the Sams Valley community. Moon started a general store that also housed thedrug store of Arad Stanley, the famous local doctor. Apart from the general store and drugstore, there was a tinshop, as well as a blacksmith shop.The original plat for Sams Valley was along what is now called Old Sams Valley highway. Astore, school and post office formed the nucleus of the original hamlet. Old-timers indicate thatthe boundaries to Sams Valley are Ramsey Road to the west and Table Rock Road or MeadowsRoad to the east. The town was in its heyday in the 1880s. The rich farmland in the areaproduced food for the many miners who came to the Rogue River area. While some settlersfarmed in the summer and mined in the winter, there were many other miners who came withouttheir families to live in camps. These were dependent upon the produce, grains, livestock anddairy products produced nearby.The first school was Sams Creek School, established in 1861 in a log structure on Sams ValleyRoad. The next one was the Pankey school, begun in 1877. These schools were consolidatedto form one school district which, in 1951, consolidated with the Central Point School District.A newer school that forms part of that district, the Sams Valley Elementary School, is locatednear the intersection of Table Rock and Highway 234 and serves as a hub for the Sams Valleycommunity.Bypassed by the railroad in 1883, Sams Valley was eclipsed by the growth seven miles west inGold Hill which had a railroad depot. Gold Hill became the trading center for the area. Notablefamilies from the Sams Valley area were attracted by the business and banking activities in GoldHill. The merchant/druggist Stanley moved to Gold Hill and was, for many years, the Presidentof the City Council. The construction of the Gold Ray hydroelectric dam in the early 1900s onlyincreased the influence of Gold Hill in the region.Jackson County Comprehensive Plan
Rural and Suburban Lands Element 21-19To the northeast, the historic community of Beagle was Sam Valley’s closest neighbor. Thecommunity started near Meadows Road and continued eastward to the Dodge Bridge area; itsnorth/south boundaries ranged from Highway 234 up to Evans Creek Road. Little is left of thecommunity, for during World War II, Beagle and other lands to the east were purchased by thefederal government for purposes of constructing Camp White, a training camp for militarypersonnel. Vestiges from that era can still be seen near the intersection of Antioch and Highway234, where cattle graze among bunkers once used for artillery training.While Sams Valley is still dotted with large ranches, farms, and orchards, the number of workingfarms has decreased dramatically since those early days. Meanwhile, the number of residenceshas increased significantly and commuting to neighboring urban centers for work is common.The only commercial center in the Sams Valley area is now Rainey’s Corner. Located some 5miles to the east of the historic center of Sams Valley, Rainey’s Corner is much appreciated byconvenience shoppers. According to old-time residents, the commercial area at the intersectionof Antioch and Highway 234 was first established in the 1960s, when it was called Pruitt Junctionafter the owner. When it changed hands, it took the name of a new owner. More recently, it hasbecome known as Rainey’s Corner since current owner Michael Rainey bought the property.While the Sams Valley Rural Service Commercial District represents an area where businessopportunities can continue and grow in order to provide services to the surrounding residents,the heart of the community is represented by area residents.The community is a much larger area than what the Unincorporated Communities Rule identifies.The actual community area encompasses the whole of Sams Valley.The community recognizes that the Sams Valley Rural Service Commercial District is locatedat the corner of Highway 234 and Antioch Road, it would like to state that the historical SamsValley is located on Meadows Road.POLICIES AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES:SV1FINDING: Sams Valley residents have expressed a need to create a Citizens AdvisoryCommittee which will be notified of all major land use actions and a need for greatercommunitcation between the county and residents on a variety of issues. Notice of land usedecisions are made to property owners within state mandated areas. Residents expressed theneed for more comprehensive noticing, including non-traditional notice recipients, and publichearings on land use decisions held in the Sams Valley area.POLICY : Increase citizen participation in land use planning.IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY: Create a Sams Valley Citizen’s Advisory Committee whichwill represent the Sams Valley region in land use decisions.IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY: Jackson County Planning and Development Services shallsend notifications of major land use actions within the Sams Valley area to the newly createdJackson County Comprehensive Plan
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RURAL AND SUBURBAN LANDS - Jackson County Oregon

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