Williams, OR

Josephine County Historical Society's "Passport To History" - Provolt Store - Provolt, Oregon

The next stop in the Applegate Valley for the Josephine County Historical Society's "Passport To History" program was the Provolt Store.

The Provolt Store was started about 1875 by Samuel Provolt. Mr. Provolt was born in 1832 in Indiana, and was one of 12 children. The current owner indicated that he had heard from old timers in the area that the store may have been moved from across the street to its' present location.

Leaving Indiana in 1864 in an oxen drawn 68 wagon train, Samuel Provolt made it to Montana, where he stayed for a year before making the move to Oregon.

Everything Sam Provolt did, he seemed to prosper at. Aquiring 380 acres in his new home, he was extraordinarily successful in gold mining and his agricultural ventures.

In 1859, while still in Indiana, he married Harriet Newell, and their children all had names that began with ETH: EthUlysses, EthElbert, EthElzia, EthelEffie, EthOrlia, EthAgness and EthAngia.

Later in years Sam had massive property holdings in Grants Pass.

According to the current owner, the Provolt Store had been a stage stop, and housed a U.S. Post Office from 1895 to 1955.

Randy allowed us to look at one of the postal records from 1905. Every transaction was recorded in a ledger. Some of the books were on loan to locals researching their "family trees."

A lot of history hangs on the walls in the Provolt Store, and they

have an enormous variety of goods, right down to

a supply of nuts, bolts and screws to rival the big city stores.

Stop in and have a soda and one of "Randy's Specialty Dogs," a popular lunch treat for the valley.

Please visit the Josephine County Historical Society's website for more information on the Passport To History program.

Below are the links to my earlier Josephine County Historical Society's Passport To History blogs.

Introduction Caveman Schmidt House

Blind George's Newsstand Grants Pass Historic Homes Tour

Historic District Tour Grants Pass Pharmacy Rogue Theatre

Hugo Community Church Haines Apple Tree Ament Dam

Grants Pass Cemeteries Pottsville Sportsman Park

Griffin Park Lake Selmac Granite Hill Cemetery

Pleasant Valley Cemetery Josephine County Bridges

Grants Pass Fire Department Reinhart Volunteer Park Wolf Creek Inn

Applegate Trail Interpretive Center Golden Townsite

Grave Creek Covered Bridge Robertson Bridge

Wilderville Store and Post Office Wilderville Cemetery

Granite Tombstone Quarry Merlin Park - Veterans Walk of Honor

Gotcher Cemetery

The Josephine County Historical Society's "Passport To History"program took us to Williams, Oregon today. Williams is a small, quiet community of rural homes, ranches and several businesses located in the beautiful Applegate Valley.

While there, we visited Gotcher Cemetery. This quiet resting places was established in 1891 on a small knoll.

We found some of the Gotcher family here, and typical of many early cemeteries, it is named after a prominent family of the time.

This is the first round headstone we have so far found in our many cemetery searches.

This beautifully etched granite tombstone marks the resting place of a gentleman with the nickname "The Mule Man." It's too bad that we couldn't find out more information about how this gentleman got his nickname, but how interesting it would be if it were possible for it to have the persons' history engraved on their stones.

Looking at this monument, isn't it strange that this husband and wife were born only a month apart and died little more than a month apart. It's almost like they were meant to be together forever.

"Hoot" Gibson and his wife are resting here.

I would guess "Hoot" was named after Edmund "Hoot Gibson, an early cowboy film actor, who appeared on screen with the likes of Harry Carey, under the direction of John Ford. The original "Hoot" served in World War I as our "Hoot" served in World War II. The original "Hoot" won the all-around championship atthe Pendleton round-up in Pendleton, Oregon.

In Gotcher Cemetery we found Veterans who had served in wars from the Vietnam War all the way back to the Civil War.

We found a couple of markers made from wood,

and a marker made from a pretty, natural stone.

All in all, this seems to be a well-maintained cemetery, with signs throughout of many visitations.

Please visit the Josephine County Historical Society's website for more information on the Passport To History program.

Below are the links to my earlier Josephine County Historical Society's Passport To History blogs.

Introduction Caveman Schmidt House

Blind George's Newsstand Grants Pass Historic Homes Tour

Historic District Tour Grants Pass Pharmacy Rogue Theatre

Hugo Community Church Haines Apple Tree Ament Dam

Grants Pass Cemeteries Pottsville Sportsman Park

Griffin Park Lake Selmac Granite Hill Cemetery

Pleasant Valley Cemetery Josephine County Bridges

Grants Pass Fire Department Reinhart Volunteer Park Wolf Creek Inn

Applegate Trail Interpretive Center Golden Townsite

Grave Creek Covered Bridge Robertson Bridge

Wilderville Store and Post Office Wilderville Cemetery

Granite Tombstone Quarry Merlin Park - Veterans Walk of Honor