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MEDFORD HISTORY Medford's 100-year-old federal courthouse used to house mail, coal and chickens Federal courthouse used to house mail, coal and chickens Comment By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News For just one dollar, the federal government purchased the site for what would become the James A. Redden U.S. Courthouse over a century ago as competing interests battled to secure the prized new federal building for their neighborhoods. Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the opening of the three-story brick building at 310 W. Sixth St., which now houses the U.S. District Court for Oregon that covers Jackson, Josephine, Curry, Klamath and Lake counties. In 1916, the new federal building was also the town’s post office and housed U.S. Forest Service and Crater Lake National Park offices. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The lot was originally offered for $8,000. In all, 28 sites were offered to the government, said Medford historian Ben Truwe, who gave the keynote speech in a commemoration Thursday at the courthouse. “Other westside property owners put a pool together to reimburse the owners,” said Truwe. “No one knows if they got the $8,000 or something less.” Medford was in a building boom when the new federal building was proposed in 1910. Despite introduction of home mail delivery in 1909, there were always lines at the small post office on North Central Avenue, Truwe said. In 1910, President Taft signed a bill that included $110,000 to purchase a site and build the building. Construction didn’t start until 1915. Clippings from the Mail Tribune of that era chronicle delays over the years. Oscar Wenderoth was the architect. Entry into World Wat I brought recruiting and Red Cross offices to the building. The basement, built to house 100 tons of coal for winter heat, also had an incubator for 5,000 chicken eggs, the patriotic idea of Assistant Postmaster William J. Warner. “There were requests for 6,000 chicks,” said Truwe. “The basement was full of peepers, but it only lasted one year.” Prohibition during the 1920s increased court activity, Truwe said. By 1928, the building was getting crowded as postal staff had doubled. A 1940 extension was put on the back of the building under the supervision of architect Louis A. Simon. During World War II, blackout shades were ordered for the windows, and canvas covered the skylight. No one was allowed upstairs without showing identification to the elevator operator. Postal and other federal functions moved to a new building at West Eighth and Holly streets in 1966. That was torn down in 2013 to make way for the Jackson County Health and Human Services building. “You might notice that the old building has outlasted the replacement by 50 years,” said Truwe. Expansion of federal court operations in Southern Oregon led to a three-year, $1.6 million restoration that ended in 1996. The work restored some of the original internal grandeur, lost to generations of remodeling, said Truwe. The building at one time featured a high-ceilinged lobby and courtroom, arched windows and broad expanses of marble and terrazzo. In 1996, it was dedicated in honor of Oregon District Senior Judge James A. Redden, who spent part of his early law years in Medford and served six years in the Oregon House. He was also state treasurer and attorney general. Redden, now retired, gave remarks at the ceremony Thursday. A public open house followed in the afternoon. The Southern Oregon Historical Society has a window display on the courthouse at 106 N. Central Ave. Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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