When Oregon became a state in 1859, Ashland Mills — today’s Ashland, Ore. — had a lumber mill and a flour mill and only a scattering of homes on donated land claims.There was no church, but the town was a settled place, and people felt Christmas should reflect it by avoiding the kind of drunken fights anticipated in the mining town of Jacksonville.Christmas morning saw devotional services in several homes. In the afternoon, the whole town turned out for a [...]
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