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Historic Jacksonville Inc Presents Season Three of

Pioneer History in Story and Song - with David Gordon

Naversen Room, Jacksonville Library (free parking)
340 West "C" Street, Jacksonville, Oregon 97530 MAPLink

After 20 sold-out performances in 2016 and 2017, troubadour David Gordon returns by popular demand in 2018 with three of his most-requested programs of songs and tales: The Oregon Trail, The Gold Rush, and The Life of Stephen Foster.

Each 1-hour show includes 8 or 9 songs originally popular in the middle of the 19th century. The narration interweaves the songs, gives them historical context, and helps us to connect with them and our 19th century heritage.

These events are intimate, casual, fun, and filled with memorable music and fascinating historical background. David's combination of colorful music and true stories ignites the imagination, and brings life to history.


(Each program is performed at 1:30pm and again at 3:00pm)


Sunday, February 4  -  Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts

Stephen Foster was the first American freelance composer, and the most famous American songwriter of the 19th Century, but he died alone and penniless at the age of 37. David tells the story of Foster's brief life, and how he sought to escape the world of the blackface minstrels and create a new kind of American song.

During the narration, David will sing a dozen Foster songs, including Open Thy Lattice, Love; Oh, Susanna; Camptown Races; Swanee River (Old Folks at Home); My Old Kentucky Home; Hard Times Come Again No More; Some Folks; Beautiful Dreamer; If You Only Have a Moustache; and excerpts from several others.


Sunday, March 4  -  The Days of '49

Gold was discovered in California in 1848, and in Jacksonville, Oregon, in 1852. For half a decade, all the world rushed to the west coast to get rich quick, and a few immediately began writing songs about it all. David shares iconic ballads and tales from the days of the California and Oregon Gold Rush.

Songs may include: In the Days of '49; What Was Your Name in the States; Listen to the Mockingbird; O California,; Seeing the Elephant; The Returned Californian (origin of Jingle Bells); I Am a Roving Gambler, more.


Sunday, April 1  -  One More River to Cross

On the Oregon Trail, you couldn't bring much with you, but you could bring songs. During the six-month trek, music was a source of strength, hope, entertainment, and consolation. For this program, stories and excerpts from emigrant diaries are interwoven with music specifically mentioned in emigrant journals.

These are songs the pioneers sang as they made their way west in the 1840s and '50s, including: Wait for the Wagon; Home, Sweet Home; The Girl I left Behind Me; What was Your Name in the States; Begone, Dull Care; My Old Kentucky Home; and more.


(The songlists for this series are always subject to changes here and there, right up to the last minute, but only to make things better.)


Show Times and Tickets:

Shows are at 1:30pm and 3:00pm.    Tickets are still only $5

100% of the ticket revenue goes directly to Historic Jacksonville Inc, the non-profit organization that produces this concert series and many other living history events in Jacksonville throughout the year.

Our intimate venue at the Jacksonville Library seats no more than 70, and although a few tickets are sometimes available at the door, advance reservations are very strongly recommended. It's easy. Please click here to reserve your tickets by email, or phone 541-245-3650. You may reserve seats in advance for multiple concerts.


David in Concert
Wallace Stegner Quote