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

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