Applegate Trail Interpretive Center

Applegate Trail Interpretive Center - Sunny Valley, OR

This surprising museum of Southern Oregon history houses an interesting and informative collection of artifacts.
Enjoy the three screen movie depicting the settlers traveling the Applegate Trail.  The movie stars local Sunny Valley residents.

The movie and displays show the horrendous struggles faced by the pioneers seeking a better life in "God's Country."

The smaller size of these wagons surprised us, as we had always seen the huge Conestogas that are always shown in the movies.

The larger wagons were used across the Southern Plains, but the rough terrain across our Northern Territory required "easier to maneuver" transportation.
The Applegate brothers; Jesse, Charles and

Lindsay (pictured), searched out a way to enter the Oregon Territory to avoid braving the deadly Columbia River route.
Word has it that the U.S. Government commissioned the Applegates to select a route central to our already held lands, fearing a possible war with Britain on the northern part, and Russia further south.

This new road would be more protected for moving men and supplies to reinforce our westernmost holdings.

When you realize how hard a life faced these stalwart Pioneers, it leaves you with a profound respect and admiration for those who "risked all" for a new change in a strange and hostile land.

A visit to the Applegate Trail Interpretive Center is well worth the visit, but no "inside" photos please.

Grave Creek Covered Bridge - Sunny Valley, Oregon

Grave Creek Covered Bridge, Sunny Valley, OR

Grave Creek Covered Bridge is one of the few covered bridges in this part of Oregon.

So why a roof on a bridge?  The historians say it had two purposes; To protect the bridge planks from the ravages of weather.  There were no sealers and stains in the early days, and weather acted cruelly to flat laying wood surfaces.

And, because horses are terribly frightened of crossing strange surfaces and especially bridges over spaces and water; the roof seemed to have a calming effect.  The horses felt  like they were entering a barn, which meant security to them.

Why Grave Creek?  The saddest part of the bridge is its' namesake creek.
In 1846, Martha Leland Crowley died of typhoid fever while en-route to Oregon's Willamette Valley with her family and her fiance.  Her husband to be was a carpenter, and he built her coffin from boards borrowed from the sides of a friends' wagon.

She was buried that evening, and as was the custom, when the party pulled out the next day, they rode the wagons and animals over Martha's grave to obscure it, and thus protect it from being vandalized.

James Twogood filed his land claim in the area in 1851, and in memory of Martha Leland Crowley, he named it the Grave Creek Ranch.

The second Indian War of Southern Oregon started here in 1855, and a stockade named Fort Leland was built.

Vain attempts at changing the name of the creek over the years all failed, and Grave Creek still rushes to join the wild Rogue River, and thus carries Martha Leland Crowley's spirit to the beautiful Pacific Ocean.