Ashland, city in southwestern Oregon, located on Bear Creek at the south end of the Rogue River valley. Ashland lies 370 km (230 mi) south of Portland and about 22 km (about 14 mi) southeast of Medford. The city is a cultural and recreational center for the region. Lithia Park, located just off Ashland's downtown plaza, features a fountain fed by mineral springs. Ashland is home to Southern Oregon University (founded in 1926) and since 1935 has hosted the nationally known Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which runs from mid-February through October. Nearby are the Mount Ashland ski area, which is owned by the city, and Rogue River National Forest. Ashland's first settlers arrived in 1852 during a gold rush in nearby Jacksonville and built lumber and flour mills. The town was incorporated in 1874 and grew rapidly as a railroad center from the 1880s. The name comes either from Ashland, Ohio, home of one of the city's early settlers, or from the name of the Kentucky estate of 19th-century statesman Henry Clay. Population 14,943 (1980); 16,234 (1990); 19,522 (2000).
