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We have the Applegate Valley, Applegate River and the community of Applegate. But I thought the Applegates lived in what is now Douglas County. So why so many places named after them here? — Joshua, Medford It’s true the Applegate pioneering family largely settled in the Umpqua Valley area, Joshua, but they left their mark here as well. Chief among their contributions to the Rogue Valley was the development of the Applegate Trail, which passed through here. The Applegate brothers, Jesse and Lindsay, helped blaze the trail after each of them lost a son to drowning in the Columbia River as they made their way toward the Willamette Valley on the final leg of the Oregon Trail. They helped develop the Applegate Trail in 1846, when they joined a road-building party that sought to open a southern route. Jesse Applegate was elected captain of the party. The route that his party explored branched off from the California Trail and headed north from the Humboldt River. Lindsay and Jesse Applegate also explored much of Southern Oregon. Lindsay was part of a California-bound party that prospected for gold in 1848 in what is now the Applegate River. The river was named in his honor, and the valley and community names followed. Thanks to Oregon Geographic Names and The Oregon Encyclopedia for the details of this answer. Send questions to “Since You Asked,” Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; by fax to 541-776-4376; or by email to [email protected]. We’re sorry, but the volume of questions received prevents us from answering all of them.