Editing Jordan Valley, Oregon (section)

== History ==
===Indigenous peoples===
[[Northern Paiute]] people were the first in the area, frequenting nearby mountains and streambeds to find or follow food sources. When early settlers arrived, conflict developed over local resources, eventually escalating to the [[Snake War]].<ref name="OEJV">{{cite web |title=Jordan Valley |url=https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/jordan_valley/ |website=The Oregon Encyclopedia |publisher=Oregon Historical Society |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> The conflict lasted from 1864 to 1868 and left two thirds of the Paiutes dead.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Michno |first1=Gregory |title=Everything You Know About the Indian Wars is Wrong |url=https://www.historynet.com/everything-know-indian-wars-wrong.htm |website=HistoryNet |date=15 June 2017 |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> The surviving Paiutes were sent to a reservation.

===Early settlement===
Non-native settlement in the area was largely driven by the 1863 discovery of gold along [[Jordan Creek (Owyhee River tributary)|Jordan Creek]] by a group of prospectors camping in the area. Soon after, the area was named Jordan Valley after Michael M. Jordan, one of the men in the group.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Jordan Valley & Home of the Basques |url=http://cityofjordanvalley.com/id19.html |website=City of Jordan Valley |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref>[[File:Jordan Valley Building (Malheur County, Oregon scenic images) (malDA0103).jpg|thumb|left|Jordan Valley Building]] [[Jean Baptiste Charbonneau]], the son of [[Sacagawea]], was among the early miners who came to the area.<ref name="OEJV" />

Another miner named Silas Skinner organized a small team and built a road to more easily access Jordan Creek. The road passed through the current-day location of Jordan Valley, which soon became a [[pack station]] where miners would wait for snow to melt enough to access the mining area. The town also served as a rest stop for those travelling between larger mining towns such as [[Silver City, Idaho|Silver City]], [[Ruby City, Idaho|Ruby City]], and [[De Lamar, Idaho|De Lamar]]. A post office opened in 1867 in the cabin of John Baxter, one of the first permanent residents of Jordan Valley.<ref name="OEJV" /> Skinner operated his toll road until 1878, when the [[Owyhee County, Idaho|Owyhee County]] Commissioners took over responsibility for all roads in the area. He then settled in Jordan Valley and opened the Skinner Ranch.<ref name="skinner">{{cite news |last1=Skinner |first1=John |title=Skinner family history |url=https://www.idahopress.com/skinner-family-history/article_8a83f11e-3c6a-11df-87c7-001cc4c03286.html |access-date=19 October 2019 |work=Idaho Press |date=30 May 2010}}</ref>

===Economic transition===
When mining declined in the area and populations of [[boomtown]]s like [[Silver City, Idaho|Silver City]] dwindled around 1875, residents of Jordan Valley survived by transitioning to ranching. By 1867, 11 ranches were operating locally.<ref name="OEJV" /> In 1888, there were an estimated 100,000 head of cattle in the area.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swackhamer |first1=Barry |title=Making Jordan Valley Home Historical Marker |url=https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=106875 |website=The Historical Marker Database |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> Ranching supported continuing growth of the community until the [[Great Depression]] struck in 1929.<ref name="skinner" /> This financial hardship, coupled with the remoteness of the town (and subsequent lack of law enforcement) made [[Moonshine|bootlegging]] grow in popularity during the last few years of [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]].<ref name="skinner" />

===Basque immigration===
[[File:Pelota Fronton exterior 2 - Jordan Valley Oregon.jpg|thumb|Pelota Fronton exterior]][[File:St Bernard Catholic Church - Jordan Valley Oregon.jpg|thumb|St. Bernard Church]]Many [[Basques|Basque]] immigrants came to Jordan Valley, starting around 1889 with the arrival of José Navarro and Antone Azcuenaga. Local [[oral tradition|oral history]] claims that before long, the Basques comprised around two thirds of the population of the town.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Cain |title=Basque Pelota Court, Jordan Valley |url=https://oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/basque-pelota-court-jordan-valley/ |access-date=19 October 2019 |work=Oregon History Project |publisher=Oregon Historical Society |date=2005}}</ref> A [[Basque pelota|pelota]] court, known as the [[Pelota Fronton]], was built in 1915, and still stands as a historic landmark.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jordan Valley Oregon |url=http://www.southernoregon.com/profiles/jordanvalley/index.html |website=SouthernOregon.com |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> The Basques also constructed several sandstone buildings, including three boarding houses,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Etulain |first1=Richard |title=Basques |url=https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/basques/ |website=Oregon Encyclopedia |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> and (with the help of local Irish immigrants) the St. Bernard's Catholic Church, which can still be seen today.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://stbernardsjordanvalley.com/history/ |website=St Bernard's Catholic Church |date=27 November 2016 |access-date=19 October 2019}}</ref> Basque immigration to the area slowed with the passing of the [[Taylor Grazing Act of 1934]], which favored cattle ranching over sheep, the Basques' preferred livestock.<ref name="OEJV" /> To this day, a majority of the town's population identify as being of Basque Heritage.

===Declining population===
Jordan Valley's population steadily dwindled after the 1920s, with the only notable growth being correlated with the 1977 opening of the [[DeLamar Mine]], and its reopening by the [[Kinross Gold Corporation]] in 1993, when the population grew from 376 to 446. The mine closed in 1999, and by 2016, the population of Jordan Valley had dwindled to around 175.<ref name="OEJV" /> In 2017, Integra Resources Corporation purchased the mine,<ref>{{cite press release |title=Integra Resources to Acquire DeLamar Project From Kinross Gold |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/09/19/1124500/0/en/Integra-Resources-to-Acquire-DeLamar-Project-From-Kinross-Gold.html |website=GlobeNewsWire.com |date=19 September 2017 |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> but as of 2019, is still in the process of researching and planning future silver mining operations for the site.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Arendas |first1=Peter |title=Integra Resources: PEA Confirms Potential Of The DeLamar Project, But Patience Is Needed |url=https://seekingalpha.com/article/4293979-integra-resources-pea-confirms-potential-delamar-project-patience-needed |website=SeekingAlpha |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref>

Residents travel to a grocery store facility in [[Homedale, Idaho]] because the last grocery store in Jordan Valley stopped operations in 2001.<ref name=Lalande>{{cite book|last=Lalande|first=Jeff|chapter-url=https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/narratives/high-desert-history-southeastern-oregon/part-of-the-wider-world/challenges-ahead/|chapter=Challenges Ahead|title=High Desert History: Southeastern Oregon|publisher=Oregon History Project|access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref>