Document text
http://www.omniture.com --> Email Story to a Friend June 14, 2006 Skip Geear, chairman of the Wood House project for the Eagle Point Historical Society, is afraid the familiar landmark off Highway 62 will be lost to budget cuts. (Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli) The erosion of Jackson County funding for Rogue Valley historical societies means ... Uncertainty for Wood House By JENNIFER STRANGE for the Mail Tribune With county support for local historical societies uncertain after 2007, historians are worried about the fate of the Wood House, one of the oldest and most photographed structures in Southern Oregon. "Currently it's in limbo, living there day by day," says Skip Geear, Wood House chairman for the Eagle Point Historical Society, which owns the house but not the property it sits on. Geear is quick to dispel rumors of the 136-year-old house being auctioned off, however. "We're trying to come up with different ways to buy the property so the house and property can be kept together," he says. The house, on Highway 62 just north of Eagle Point, could then be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, ensuring its preservation, he says. EPHS currently gets $29,123 of its $77,179 total revenue from Jackson County, which may not renew funding for historical societies after 2007, when federal timber subsidies are expected to run out. Operating the Wood House costs about $280 a month, including lease, electric, phone and security costs. The society also operates a museum in Eagle Point. "We're trying to cut as much as we can and save as much as we can so we can lock away some operating funds for when we have to run on our own," says Desraye Assali, EPHS treasurer. "Right now, we don't have enough in our contingency fund to run for even a year" after 2007. EPHS has shifted from a paid employee structure to an all-volunteer staff to shore up as many savings as possible, says Assali. The house was built in 1870 by Civil War veteran Marvin Sylvester Wood. It was donated in 2000 to EPHS by Californian James Folan, who purchased the 38 acres of property in 1983, Geear says. EPHS negotiated a seven-year lease with Folan for the acre of land the house sits on for $200 a month. The lease is up in 2008, just a year after the society loses its funding. Geear's hope is that someone will purchase the entire parcel from Folan and donate it to the historical society for listing on the National Register. But so far, no one has stepped forward to buy the property, despite the Wood House's popularity among locals and tourists alike. "It's one of the most famous historic houses in the Pacific Northwest," Geear says, adding EPHS holds several events there each year. Geear suggests another possible solution is an affordable lifetime lease on a few acres around the building. But whether the owner is amenable to the idea is unknown; attempts to reach Folan for this story were unsuccessful. Geear also suggests subdividing the land so the historical society could purchase the acre the house sits on. But subdividing the property, which has been zoned as exclusive farm use by the Department of State Lands, isn't likely to happen, says County Planning Manager Thomas Bizeau. "It would be difficult to get a land division here," Bizeau says. "Different landowners all the way around makes it difficult to do anything with it. And it's an undersized parcel for an EFU zone, which has a minimum-acre size these days of 80 acres." While the EFU zoning protects the Wood House property from most residential and commercial development, the land is further protected by its ecological makeup. A "mosaic of vernal pools with streams running through it" covers most of the 38 acres, Bizeau says. "They seem to be prime, highest quality vernal pools all the way to the north and to the east, with maybe some viable farmland to the south." Inside these vernal pools live fairy shrimp, a species of crustacean listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. "These are pools of standing water that fill up in the winter and are used by a number of different organisms, with fairy shrimp being the most noteworthy," says Jay Doino, fish biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Several other species rely on the property's seasonal wetlands and prairie, which make up part of the larger Agate Desert around the White City area,Doino says. "The Wood House property would make a great location to do a prairie restoration that a lot of people would be able to see," says Darren Borgias, program manager for the Nature Conservancy in Medford. "People would be able to experience the abundant perennial wildflowers and bunch grasses that are common to these prairies around here." Learning of the Eagle Point Historical Society's desire to preserve the Wood House and surrounding land, Borgias proposed a wide-reaching effort. "Maybe there's a way we could work together, as communities and historical societies, to protect the historical nature of the house and the historic prairie," he says. If some effort to preserve the house isn't made soon, Geear fears the Wood House will suffer the same fate as two of the area's other historic structures. The Stimson House, which was built in 1869 and privately owned, was bulldozed in 2005. The privately-owned Lyman House on Highway 234, built in 1870, is rapidly deteriorating. Geear agrees with Borgias that public involvement is the key to preserving what he calls a "piece of history that can never be replaced" if it is lost. "The only way we'll save this structure is to make the county aware that we need them to work with us," he says. "Although the society owns the house, it really belongs to the community." Jennifer Strange is a freelance writer in Central Point. Reach her at [email protected]. Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Casino Reviews