Ashland, OR 1 of 18 Active Retirement Communities Location


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Ashland, OR 1 of 18 Active Retirement Communities Location

Ivan Gillis

Active Retirement Communities

State: Oregon

City: Ashland

Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other founders had family connections. It officially became a town with the name Ashland Mills in 1855. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 19,522. The 2007 estimate is 21,630 residents. It is the home of Southern Oregon University and the internationally renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

In December 1887, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California were joined by rail at Ashland. Until 1926, when most rail service began taking a different route (east through Klamath Falls to avoid the steep grade through the Siskiyou Mountains) Ashland thrived on rail trade. This was especially the case with orchard products, such as the famous Ashland peach, which won top honors at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

The oldest working telephone booth in Oregon, made of wood with a tin ceiling, is located in downtown Ashland in the Columbia Hotel. The Columbia Hotel, built in 1910 as part of the Enders Building, is the oldest hotel in Ashland and continues to flourish today. The building was originally home of the largest mercantile establishment between Sacramento, CA and Portland, OR in the period 1910 to 1928.

During the Fourth of July celebration in 1935, Angus L. Bowmer arranged the first performances of what would become the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The festival grew during the 1900s, and has become an award-winning and internationally-known regional theater company.

The city is 350 miles (560 km) north of San Francisco, California and 285 miles (459 km) south of Portland, Oregon, in an area once proposed to become the State of Jefferson. It is 90 miles (145 km) from Crater Lake National Park and Oregon Caves National Monument.

Ashland is well-known for its annual Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), which brings thousands of visitors to the city every year. The festival has grown from a summer outdoor festival in the 1930s to a season which stretches from February to October, incorporating Shakespeare and non-Shakespearean plays in repertory at three theaters. OSF sells more tickets to more performances of more plays than any other theater in the country. In a typical year, OSF sells more than 350,000 tickets and attracts about 100,000 tourists.

The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, located in Ashland, is the world's only crime lab dedicated to wildlife, and serves law enforcement both within and outside the United States.

Lithia Park is a 100 acre (0.4 km²) park extending from the center of town ("The Plaza") up Ashland Creek to the foothills of Mount Ashland. It includes two ponds, a Japanese garden, tennis courts, two public greens, a bandshell (outdoor stage) and miles of hiking trails. The name Lithia comes from the natural mineral water in Ashland, Lithia water. Lithia water is famous for its strong mineral taste and slight effervescence, and the Lithia water fountains found on the town plaza are frequently tasted by unsuspecting tourists (often at the behest of residents or frequent visitors who use the fountains as a cheap, humorous Ashland initiation rite). Lithia water can be sampled from a fountain near the bandshell in Lithia Park as well.

Income & Housing Costs Numbers:

Estimated median household income in 2008: $36,381 (it was $32,670 in 2000)

Ashland:	$36,381
Oregon:	$50,169

Estimated per capita income in 2008: $26,209

Ashland city income, earnings, and wages data

Estimated median house or condo value in 2008: $399,129 (it was $185,000 in 2000)

Ashland:	$399,129
Oregon:	$273,300

Mean prices in 2008: All housing units: $471,543; Detached houses: $495,378; Townhouses or other attached units: $229,103; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $212,432; Mobile homes: $37,908; Occupied boats, RVs, vans, etc.: $5,000

Dec. 2009 cost of living index in Ashland: 114.4 (more than average, U.S. average is 100)

In-Depth Facts and Figures as listed below, plus other information:

· Climate Charts

1. Average Temperature

2. Precipitation (Rain)

3. Humidity

4. Wind Speed (MPH)

5. Snowfall

6. Sunshine

7. Cloudy Days

· Tornado Activity History

· Hospitals & Medical

· Airports

· Colleges/Universities