 I'm Amy Blossom from Jackson County Library Services, and I welcome you to Windows in Time. Windows in Time is a series of local history talks, a program that's been developed by the Jackson County Library Services and Southern Oregon Historical Society. It is also part of the Southern Oregon History Show, which airs on Thursday nights at 6 p.m. You can also see us live, though, at the Medford and Ashland Libraries, the first and second Wednesday of each month at noon. So are you ready for some history? Let's go! Since I was five and my parents gave me a bicycling for my birthday present, since then, since I was five, when I was in grad school, I wrote my master's thesis on the history of women and bicycling in the 1890s, focused on the 1890s. Blossoming from that, when I came to Southern Oregon, I decided to do one of the history made by you exhibits, which is a small community-based traveling exhibit program, and I decided to do one of those exhibits about the history of bicycling in Jackson County. I partnered with the SOU bicycling program to produce the exhibit, and it opened in May 2012 at the Stevenson Union and was open for about six months in various locations in Jackson County. I believe it was also at the airport and at the county fair. And it was really that exhibit focusing on local bicycling history that inspired the research for this talk. So we'll focus on particularly the 1890s bicycling scene in Jackson County. That's when bicycling was at its height of popularity. Let's see. And I wanted to start off the talk by sharing a quote from one of the local newspapers, The Medford Mail. Bicycling is the nearest to flying that human ingenuity has yet approached. I just I love the positive perception, positive reinforcement on bicycling that the local newspaper is promoting. So in order to understand what happens in the 1890s with bicycles, first we have to talk about the development of the safety bicycle. The first form of a bicycle or what we sort of recognize as a bicycle was developed in 1817 and is called a Velocipede, a man, a French man named, sorry, a German man named Carl von Dres, introduced the draw zine or a Velocipede in Germany. And this form quickly swept throughout Europe. As you can see from the image, it's essentially a carriage, fashion for human power. You can see that there are no pedals. His feet are touching the ground to propel the machine. And it consists of two iron tires that are in a line connected by just a single wooden beam and well, with a cushion seat, which you can kind of see better on this image. So the rider just sits on the beam and runs or walks to propel the machine. Considering the iron tires, this was later nicknamed a bone shaker for how exactly for how the rigid frame and again, the iron tires jolted the rider. It seems like it was a very, very uncomfortable contraption. The boat is 1817, so it was popular for a couple of years and then died out again and then it experienced another surge of popularity around the 1860s and the 1870s. And it's then in the 1860s that pedals are developed in 1867 and the official term bicycle is designated where at this time it references just a two wheel contraption. Next in development is a probably slightly more comfortable ride. The high wheel ordinary, this is a photo of one from the Smithsonian's collection. Unfortunately, SOHS doesn't have any historic high wheel ordinaries in our collection. And this form of the bicycle is introduced by an English man named James Moore in the early 1870s. And as you can see from the photo, it features a very, very enlarged front wheel, sometimes up to five feet in diameter, which obviously offers increased speed over the Velocipede. The tire here, which you can see it slightly, but it's padded with rubber. It's just padded with rubber at this time, by the way. It's not a hollow tube to give it a slightly more comfortable ride. The small rear wheel was usually no larger than 16 inches in diameter. And the frame, which is now transitioning, sometimes still made of wood, is transitioning to being made of various kinds of metal is much lighter. Despite the difficulties getting on and off a high wheel ordinary bicycle, it's a significant improvement on the Velocipede. But not everyone can ride them, obviously. So the tricycle and the less common quadricycle, so four wheels, is the development of those quickly follows. And here, you still have legs, I mean, pedals, but you still have legs. But you're still directly powering the wheels. There's no chain developed at this point. And these tricycles and the quadricycles are geared towards women and the elderly. As you can see, there's kind of a drop here. So this individual can still wear her long Victorian modest skirt while riding, and elderly people who can't. I mean, even anyone who has trouble balancing on a high wheel ordinary can ride a tricycle or quadricycle with much more comfort and ease. It's much more accessible. Men, like healthy men in the prime of their life, generally did not ride tricycles, but they were available to them. And there's a story, it's more of a legend of how tricycles became as popular as they did. Apparently, Queen Victoria of England was out and about in the park, and she saw a girl, it's debatable what age this girl was, but the stories in general just say girl, but she saw this girl riding a tricycle, and she was so interested in it that she ordered one of her own. And this royal endorsement by Queen Victoria sort of guaranteed the growing social acceptance of bicycling and helped increase the popularity of the sport. And this is, bicycling is happening in America as well at this time. The bicycles are being crafted and manufactured in America as well, but so far the main developments are just happening in Europe. And so the high wheel ordinary is followed by what we know is the bicycle today, or the form that we know today, which at the time is called the safety bicycle. And this safety bicycle is first developed in the 1880s. As you can see, it is so much more accessible to ride. The wheels are now an even size, which is possible because of the development of the chain. I don't quite know the physics on it, but having the pedals linked to the chain changes how the power is distributed and makes it so the wheels can be an even size. What else? It also has a different, a very different frame because it has a different shape than the high wheel ordinary. So this is called the diamond frame, which you can see by the shape where the name came from. And let's see, in 1892, hollow rubber tires are developed, which are called Pumatic tires at the time. And this bike is earlier, so it doesn't have them. But the hollow rubber tires make bicycling so much more comfortable, just so much more enjoyable to ride a bike. It's a very, very important development for the bicycle. At the same time that the safety bicycle and these improvements are being developed, the bicycling industry develops as well. So earlier bicycle manufacturing is a poor term for it because earlier bicycle construction was more of a craft trade. And as bicycles become more and more popular, it shifts to being more of an industry. For example, by the mid 1890s, there are at least 300 bicycle firms established throughout America alone, which is, again, not even mentioning what's happening in Europe. And all of these companies are competing for the same customer base. And the definition of the modern bicycle, so the even-ish size two wheels with the chain and the pedals and the hollow rubber tire, the definition solidifies, according to scholars, specifically in 1897. And our idea of the bicycle is forever influenced by this particular form. What's interesting to note is that a separate version of a bicycle develops for women. This is called a drop frame bicycle, and you can see where, whereas in the safety bicycle, you have this sort of crossbar in the drop frame that's not, it's eliminated. And this is designed solely to facilitate women wearing long skirts while bicycling. We've probably all heard of women wearing bloomers while bicycling, but this wasn't, it wasn't a socially acceptable form of dress. This is the height of the Victorian period. Women are supposed to be modest, calm. What else? What other words? Modest, calm, dressed in various particular styles. Yes. And so this style bicycle develops for those long skirts. So women can continue wearing them, can maintain their decorum and modesty. Society did view these bicycles as lesser than the diamond frame. Various scholars suggest that this frame is less stable. That's pretty much the only other different stuff, just that this bar is eliminated and the shape is, you can see that the female rider on this bike would be sitting slightly more upright than on the diamond frame. But otherwise they are identical. The colors are the same. Most bikes at this time have a black finish. The gears and components as they are are basically the same. It's just developed for wearing skirts. So that's a quick, very quick overview of the development of the bicycle. And now, a little later, that was sort of a miss. Yeah, sorry. And that last one had fenders on it before as the others didn't. This one? Yes, and there's a front one too. When I gave the talk in Medford, someone asked me if the long skirts would get caught in the chain. And it looks like on this photo, there's some sort of chain guard in place. That's why we're going to have to ride naked. Protect your skirts. So bicycling is very, very popular throughout America, throughout Europe. And it's popular in Jackson County as well. There are some really, really great quotes from the local newspapers about bicycling in the area. And this one from the Democratic Times, which is a Jacksonville newspaper states, the bicycle has arrived in Jacksonville, and several parties are wasting their energies upon it. I chose this photo to go with this quote because if you see the year is 1887, so they would have been riding the high-wheel style at that time. We don't know the actual provenance of this photo, but this is the style bike they would have had in Jacksonville at the time. So then, shortly after that 1887 quote, the railroad line through Jackson County is completed in 1887. And so with the completion of the railroad line through the county came increased access to transportation. Obviously, this is a photo of the first passenger train. Increased access to communication, news, and information can travel a lot faster. But importantly for bicycles, increased access to consumer goods. Excited about this new opportunity, Southern Oregon. Southern Oregonians eagerly participated in new cultural trends, including bicycling. Here's some other local newspaper quotes to illustrate that. This one is from Ashlyn, and from the Ashlyn tidings. So there are several other young men in town who contemplate getting machines before the summer roads come. And several young married ladies too, it is understood. And with the cyclers in town already having wheels, their promise is to be an enthusiastic club in Ashlyn before the summer is over. And in Medford again, the bicycle craze is becoming epidemic in Medford. So throughout the valley and also, although I don't have quotes, but also in Grant's Pass and so on. And this illustrates everyone is riding bicycles. This is a photograph of a child named Arthur Geldness. And you can see that this bike is just, it's not his bike. He's borrowing it from someone. Exactly, it's huge. It's way too tall for him. But he's so excited about bicycling that whatever is happening, he's choosing to be photographed with this bicycle. And again, just everyone is riding bicycles, people are posing with them. It looks like they're holding like lamps or chandeliers of some kind, or like their bicycles are in the forefront of this picture of this photo. They're very important to them. So this bicycle, this is a Columbia Model 45 bicycle. You can see the even size wheels, the chain, the pedals. This bicycle is in SOHS's collection. And we actually used it in the history made by you exhibit that toward Jackson County. It belonged to a local photographer named Bell. And what else? It's actually in really great condition, considering that it's a bicycle that was used. He rode this bike around Central Point, which is where he lived, around Central Point and Medford and it's in great condition. What is there to say? There aren't that many bicycles that really survived. Generally, museums will have like one ish from this time period, but we know that there are so many more out and about in the public. And I don't have exact numbers right now, but we know they were out. And so the number that were saved is a very small percentage. But again, not too many survived. They're all worn to the ground. They were often sold secondhand and then continued to be used. And they were rarely maintained well unless they were someone's prize possession. How many of you have bicycles that have sat outside in the rain? I know some of you don't, but many of us do. I know some of us would never do that to our bicycles. But anyway, the one in SOHS's collection is really well intact. This is a sort of a close photo of the tire. And most of the rubber, I mean, you couldn't inflate it. It's been over 100 years. But most of the rubber is actually still intact. The leather seat is in fair condition. The chain is attached and is only partially rusted. It's a museum artifact, so you don't want to. But if you were desperate, you could still ride this bike. It's in really great condition. This is sort of the brand name of the bicycle. And it states that it's the Model 45. It's a Columbia. The Columbia company was based out of Hartford, Connecticut, which we'll talk. And it was owned by a man named Albert A. Pope, who we'll talk a little bit more about later. He was very influential for bicycling. Here's just another example of a bicycle as a prize possession. This is George Dodson, who is the manager of the Ashton Iron Works. And again, he's posing for a professional photo with his prized bicycle. Like the 1890s version. Yes. He's the ultimate early hipster. So there were people at this time, people were riding their bicycles primarily for leisure. They're not riding so much for transportation. I mean, obviously they've moved from place to place while riding their bicycles, but that wasn't the primary aim of the activity. So in this, in the early heyday popularity time for bicycling, owning a bicycle symbolize wealth and luxury. I don't remember the exact numbers right now, but they're expensive items to own, especially new. And if you're riding a bike, it means that you have the time to learn how. It means that you have the time to devote to a physical activity, and that it also means that this is how you're choosing to spend your time. And you're choosing to, like for a hobby, this is what you're choosing to do. So this is a luxury activity at the time. These people in particular are not riding bikes for transportation. They are dressed for some kind of social outing. Her dress is white. It's long. It's ruffly. They're all wearing hats. Like this is an example of people out for social outing, low-key, slow bicycle riding. And here's another example of sort of decorum while riding your bikes. Again, these women are wearing long dresses, long skirts, which is typical for the time, but that means they can't ride very fast. What else about them? Women did gain a new freedom and independence through riding bicycles. If a woman owned a bicycle, she was able to travel faster, further from home, and more independently than she'd ever been able to before. Because again, this is 1890 or so. There aren't cars yet. There are horses and carriages, but a bicycle gives you an independence that she wouldn't have had otherwise. However, while they were riding their bikes, again, this is the Victorian time period. It is Jackson County, and it's a rural, I mean Jackson County is fairly rural, but it's still the Victorian age. So women are expected to retain feminine ideals of decorum, grace, and frailty. Again, the skirts, they're expected to sit upright. They're expected to ride very, very slowly. And to sort of impose that social standard, female racers, or just any woman who ride fast, who rode fast, but especially the few women who raced were nicknamed scorchers. And this label really implied immorality and masculinity. It was not a positive nickname. And so these women, again, are very far from that idea. There was also trick and just like fun bicycle riding. This is another quote from the Medford Mail. So Babe and Frank Shields, two very clever trick bicycle riders and balancers, gave a pleasing display of their abilities Tuesday in two performances before Hotel Nash, showing to large audiences and receiving in turn liberal compensation in the way of contributions. So people are watching, people are interested in bicycle riding, people want to see what can happen and what people can do on their bikes. Bikes are also used in ceremonies or just general parades and festivities. While this is a photo of bicycles pulling a buggy, this is again, pre-cars. But it's not, there is a horse, but it's not free horses. I mean, they're choosing to have this carriage pulled by bicycles. You can see that the material that's connecting the bicycles to the carriages is decorated. Maybe you can't see it from further away, but it's sort of, there's some sort of ribbon and striping on it. And they're all dressed up with another just tangent. But interesting thing about this photo is up here, yeah, there's an advertisement for Crescent Bicycles. That's, yeah, Sudabaker wagons. Florida. But this, the Crescent Bicycles advertisement is so interesting here. And of course, in order to have bicycles, you need bicycle shops. We don't know very much about this one. All the information on the SOHS Research Library is simply bicycle shop with men in front. But you can see that there's a bike hanging in the window. There's this high-wheel ordinary that they've repurposed as the shop sign. People aren't going to ride high-wheel ordinaries once you don't have to anymore. Except maybe as a trick or display. And we do have some records of advertisements for bicycle mechanics. So this is the Jacksonville newspaper. Again, the Democratic Times, although it is referencing Medford. But M.M. Galt, the well-known machinist, has added another line to his business, that of bicycle repairing. He keeps on hand fixtures and extras of all kinds and guarantees satisfaction. So through this advertisement, we also know that there are, it's another way to know that there are enough bicycles in the valley that it's financially advantageous for him to advertise his machinist skills towards bicycles. And what else? Touring. Touring was also popular in Jackson County. This is a photo of two individuals, Julia Scranton and Charles Skeeters, who bicycled from Kirby to Medford in 1898. And I chose this photo. It's interesting. It's interesting for a number of reasons. Their last names are different. So they're probably, so they're not married at this, but it's unclear what their actual relationship is to each other if they're married. They're going to be married if they're siblings. But at this time, a woman generally wouldn't ride alone with a man unless they were in some kind of socially acceptable relationship. So that's one question about the photo. That's the biggest question about the photo. But touring was popular in the area. There is a, or there was a cyclist named Frank Lenz, and you may have read a book called The Lost Cyclists, which details his attempted journey to cycle around the world. He started in Pittsburgh, and he traveled west through America, took a boat across the ocean to Asia, traveled through our bicycles, throughout Asia, and the last that was ever heard of him was somewhere in Turkey. And the library does have a copy of this book if you're interested in borrowing it. But he came through the Rogue Valley on his journey as well. And this is a quote about his experience. So Frank Lenz, the legendary lost cyclist, rode through the Rogue Valley during the American segment of his attempted world tour. And he described Ashland as boasting about a dozen wheelmen who ride cushion-tired wheels. It's interesting that he references specifically the cushion-tired wheels, so the hollow, air-filled tubes. As Lenz took a southern route over the Siskiyous, he encountered a farmer with his wagon and family who asked if Lenz was really going away up to the top of the mountain. And Lenz, out of breath from the climb, only gruffly answered in the affirmative and rode on. So in order to tour through the Rogue Valley and in order to have comfortable bicycling through the Jackson County in general, you need roads. Again, this is 1890s, it's prior to cars, so there are roads, but they're mainly for pedestrians and horse and carriage. A group developed in the 1880s called the League of American Wheelmen. And they were a men's-only cycling club, mostly white, elite, wealthy men. I believe there were one or two blacks in the East Coast who were admitted to the club, but they were generally kept out of it. And this group led a movement called the Good Roads Movement, which basically advocated for paved, government-funded road building. The Good Roads Movement is the basis for our road and highway system today. And they're led by Alexander Pope, who was the manufacturer out of Hartford that I mentioned earlier. And this map, it's a reproduction, but it advertises League of American Wheelmen approved bicycling routes throughout the state. And it's a little hard to see, but the red, the red lines are the approved routes. And there's one, it's again a little hard to see, but there's a couple that go through Jackson County, through Southern Oregon. It's hard to read. I think it says Sterling. Yeah, it's Sterling Bicycle. They're countless. I mean, I mentioned 300 manufacturing companies before. Yeah, they are front and center. So the League of American Wheelmen were very active, very noticeable. Unfortunately, this is just a photo from SOHS's collection. We don't actually have this bicycle stand, but it's a wooden bicycle stand that promotes the activities of the League of American Wheelmen. It says right in the middle, there's the LAW. And it says, we want Good Roads, do you? Yes. Yes. It is. People also advocated for local bicycling paths. We, Jackson County, actually had a bicycling path between Medford and Jacksonville as early as about 1900. And people started advocating for that in about 1897. This quote from the Medford Mail shows that the county imposed a tax to fund the bicycle path. And the tax was a dollar and then increased to about a dollar 25 a little bit later. And they recorded this tax by, they had a ledger, and they recorded each individual bicyclist, their make of bike, the amount they paid in the ledger, and then they assigned registration numbers to say or to show who had paid this tax. It's unclear how much this was actually enforced. People went out onto the bike path and checked for the registration numbers. But there are about three to 400 entries in the county ledger. SOHS has in our collection. Unfortunately, the bicycle path from Medford to Jacksonville floundered quickly with the popularity of cars and was eventually abandoned. And it's also, it's a little unclear where the bicycle path actually was besides between Medford and Jacksonville. There was no one source that said it was along the county road. But that, it's the best that I have found so far. And the bicycle path was needed because everyone's out and about on the road. This is some kind of celebration or festival day, which you can tell by the way people are dressed up, but everyone's out and about sharing the space. There's very little regulation for how the roads are used, who can use it, how to use it. And so unfortunately, there was trouble. Pedestrians, farmers, the Good Roads movement really battled. Well, at first they battled against farmers and then realized they should work with farmers to improve the roads. But there was a general, then as now, lack of respect for bicyclists right to use the roads. And obviously also weather was a huge impediment to bicycle riding. The roads weren't really plowed at the time, so when it snowed, the snow stuck around and impeded bicycles on the road. And then the mail, the local newspapers start picking up on the trouble. The Medford Mail stated that there comes to the mail considerable complaint as regards the fast riding of bicyclists on our streets. Those scorchers. People at the time are very, very concerned about bicyclists and how fast they go. And what is a healthy speed? Is it healthy to ride fast? How fast can you go and remain healthy? And so this fast riding isn't just about road safety, it's also about individual safety. And it's about keeping women in check and in line. But there is this idea, so trains have developed, but bicycles are really the only way at this time to individually go fast. They're faster, they can't, sorry, they can be faster than a horse and carriage. But there's this idea that develops. If you go, I'm not going to explain it well, but there's this idea that if you go too fast, especially like into the wind, then your face will smush back from the movement and it will stay that way. And it was called bicycle face. There's a number. I need to find the illustration, but there's an illustration of someone who has a permanent case of bicycle face and all of their skin is just pulled back. But of course, there are also safety concerns. And this is from the Jacksonville paper. So while riding up, although it's reporting on Medford, while riding up 7th Street in Medford last Saturday evening on a bicycle, Irwin Eccleston ran into a wheel ridden by Miss Letha Harden and was thrown violently to the ground. His left leg was so seriously injured in two places that he's likely to be confined to his bed for some time. So then as now, there are safety concerns. That takes us up to about 1900. Jackson County in general is still really jazz and bicycling. It's still very popular here. It's a long quote, but I'm going to read the whole thing from the Medford Mail. So a noted mechanical inventor says there will never be a successor to the bicycle because there can never be a less amount of material put together with greater skill that will answer the purpose of human locomotion with greater pleasure and ease or at less original cost and current expense to the rider. To consider its lightness, its delicate beauty of appearance, a strength and endurance, the price at which it is sold, the uses it serves, and the pleasure and health it gives the rider, it must unhesitatingly be pronounced the consummate achievement of our mechanical development and the most beneficent contribution that invention has made to civilization. It is so unique and superlatively perfect that it has no rival and can have no successor. This is a great, lovely quote. No, we don't. But unfortunately, we know what comes next. This is a photo of the first car in Medford. And we have a direct newspaper quote about the first car in Ashland. It was driven into the plaza in September 1902, so right at the end of the bicycling heyday. Let's see. They dubbed it CarMax Gasoline Machine and they stopped at the plaza to fill up to obtain fuel. And I think it's really interesting here that the Ashland Hightings has to remind their readers, like they use the occasion to explain to readers how popular cars are and reporting that there are some 10,000 of them in the country. And they do guess that cars will soon be more accessible and more available to everyone. But of course, with the advancement of cars and with cars becoming more accessible and more affordable, bicycles lose their popularity. They'd already begun to lose popularity. Sort of the craze, the fadness of riding bicycles had died out. And when a secondhand market developed for bicycles, people of the lower classes were able to afford them, were able to buy them and started using them for transportation. And so you had these elites were using bicycles for luxury and fun. And then once everyone all starts doing it, they're not as interested in bicycling anymore. And then cars come along and just really wipe out whatever fad had remained for bicycle riding. People still continue. There are still races. There's still trick riding, but it's not nearly as popular as it was in the 1890s. So in the 1900s, of course, people continue riding bicycles. But again, the bicycling craze is over. Bicycle riding is mainly regulated to those using bikes for transportation. People, generally people who can't afford cars. And they are too poor to own a car. And bicycles are also regulated to kids for recreation. This is a photo of a woman named Carol DeCourt. And she remembers that her parents ordered. She's very proud of it. The most expensive bike from this year's robot catalog. So it could go faster than the other kids' bikes. And this is a photo of her receiving the bike. And this bike lasted her all through high school. And she rode it to the stores, the local stores, and lots of other fun places in the neighborhood. And then she pretty much stopped riding bikes at that point, unfortunately. So some other highlights of Jackson County's bicycling history. Just to quickly run through them. Jackson County is basically the originator of the Oregon Bicycle Bill. In 1970, the Republican state representative from Jacksonville, Don Stathos, he was an avid bicyclist. And he was almost sideswiped by a car as he was bicycling between Medford and Jacksonville along what is now West Main Street. He was very, after this experience, and who wouldn't be, but he was very worried for his and his family's safety while bicycling. So he introduced House Bill 1700, which essentially called for the state to set aside at least one percent of transportation funding to be put towards bicycling and pedestrian facilities. There is a very lengthy and contentious battle in the Oregon. Yeah, there was a very lengthy and contentious battle involving the governor, the state representatives, the state senators, and unfortunately, none of the minutes from those meetings are currently transcribed. But eventually, after this lengthy battle, Governor Tom McCall signed this bill into law as the groundbreaking Oregon Bicycle Bill. It was the first of its kind in the nation. It was the first bill to provide guaranteed bicycling and pedestrian funds. And it's one of Governor Tom, I think, it's one of Governor Tom McCall's greatest accomplishments. Of course he has others, but... Anyway, and so this is the photo of Governor Tom McCall signing the Oregon Bicycle Bill into law on the seat of Don Stathos Bicycle. And I believe it's the bike he was riding the day he was side-swiped, so the bike that started it all. Jackson County is also home to the Bear Creek Greenway, which I'm sure most of you are familiar with. By the 1970s, Southern Oregonian Bicycles wanted a safe and secure place to ride. And the Greenway began with a 3.4-mile-long segment in 1973. The Greenway now connects Ashland to Central Point and will eventually expand on to Grant's Pass. And it provides a safe and sustainable transportation alternative. Mountain biking was very popular and is still very popular in Jackson County. This Law Well Procruiser was developed in the late 70s and mountain biking really exploded in the Rogue Valley in the 1980s. Of course Jackson County is home to a series of road races. This is a photo from the male tribune of a race that no longer exists called the Triple Challenge Bike Race. And they are riding on what is now a Dead Indian Memorial. Let's see. Oh, and one of the newest and currently most exciting things about bike riding in Jackson County is we recently had a scenic bikeway approved. And this is a Cascade Siskiou scenic bikeway. It starts right here in Ashland. And it goes up the Greensprings, past what's at Howard Prairie in Hyatt Lake and down Dead Indian Memorial back to Ashland. So we're still making bicycling history here today. So thank you for coming and joining us this evening. And open your eyes. Remember, history is everywhere.