Community Gems: White City

Imagine that it’s year 1942, and you can hear the footsteps of hundreds of soldiers hiking up and down the hills and valleys of the rural Rogue Valley land. Camp White, which has concrete bunkers still standing today, is one of the historic parts of Jackson County belonging to a non-incorporated town—White City. Home to the VA hospital, as well as many thriving technological industries, White City holds plenty of gems, including close proximity to the Denman Wildlife Area and protected wetlands. Even though White City isn’t its own jurisdiction, this area of Jackson County contains more surprises than what first meets the eye.

When the United States joined World War II, Camp White had concrete bunkers built so that training exercises could simulate capturing German strongholds in European territory. Led by Major General Charles H. Gerhardt, Camp White was dubbed the “Alcatraz of Army training camps.” Soldiers were marched all around the Rogue and Applegate Valleys, often camping in the rain and swimming in the icy Oregon rivers. In September of 1942, they completed a ninety-one mile march that concluded in a parade down Medford’s Main Street, where residents cheered them on. Later in the war, German prisoners were even shipped to Camp White, where they were put to work in Jackson County’s orchards! Today, the rows of huge brick buildings once belonging to Camp White’s Station Hospital are now the VA hospital in White City (more officially known as the Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinic: SORCC). This full-functioning clinic offers care to thousands of veterans living not just in Jackson County, but across all of Southern Oregon.

White City is also full-functioning when it comes to cutting-edge technology and thriving manufacturers. Companies like Carestream send high quality medical imaging films to a customer base that includes more than 170 countries. And Linde Electronics and Specialty Gases, also found in White City, operates on multiple continents. “The more Southern Oregon grows in the high-tech industry, the better it is,” says Brain Pahl, the Business Development Manager at Carestream.

With Mt. Mcloughlin on the skyline, and wetlands protected by the Nature Conservancy on the outskirts of the town, White City even offers great scenery. The Kenneth Denman Wildlife Area, which borders the south side of town, received official status in 1954, after Camp White had ceased training exercises on the grounds. Named after Kenneth Denman, a lifelong Oregon resident and attorney who rallied for the area’s creation and preservation, the Denman Wildlife area is home to numerous species of birds and plants living between the Rogue River and Little Butte Creek. The Wildlife Area is open all year, offering an interpretive trail, and education on the ecosystems of Southern Oregon.

So whether you decide to pay a visit to the Camp White Military Museum, the Denman Wildlife Area, or you end up driving by one of the many industrial companies in White City, it’s the hope that all Southern Oregonians come to appreciate the lesser-traversed parts of Jackson County and their rich contributions to the region.

Additional Sources:

Fattig, Paul (2013). Inside the walls at Camp White. The Mail Tribune. Website: https://mailtribune.com/archive/inside-the-walls-at-camp-white

Kramer, George (2012). Camp White Revisited, Again. PreserveOregon Blog. Website: http://thepreserveoregonblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/camp-white-revisited-again.html

Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (2019). Kenneth Denman Wildlife Area Visitor’s Guide. Website: https://myodfw.com/kenneth-denman-wildlife-area-visitors-guide

SOREDI Edge (2015). Carestream. Website: https://soredi.org/carestream/

U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (2019). SORCC. Website: https://www.southernoregon.va.gov/about/history.asp