Traveling through Medford on the Road to Crater Lake

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Medford is the western terminus of State Highway 62 - the Crater Lake Highway - and the western anchor for my research. The road has been straightened, widened, and realigned over its nearly 100 year existence but for the most part, modern travelers to Crater Lake follow the same route that the early stagecoaches and auto tourists used in the beginning of the 20th Century. The road passes through a handful of small communities, most of which have faded into the side of the road as time and tourists have rolled on - though a few have improved their standing with natural amenity related developments.

The area had been based in timber during past decades but with the decline of the large scale timber economies in the west (due mostly to regulations) many towns and counties are seriously hurting financially. This revealed itself in the lack of services - county records are now privatized and local libraries are only open a few days a week - as well as the feel of the local towns. If a town along the Crater Lake road had successfully captured some of the tourist traffic or populations looking for natural amenities, they were doing well. If they were are stuck in the timber era, they’re on a sharp decline with very few services and likely on the way to a permanent fade to black.

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