Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 nearly 16 miles (26 km) north of the California be bordering to and close the south stop of the Rogue Valley. The city’s population was 21,360 at the 2020 census.

The city is the home of Southern Oregon University (SOU) and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). These are important to Ashland’s economy, which in addition to depends upon restaurants, galleries, and retail stores that cater to tourists. Lithia Park along Ashland Creek, historic buildings, and a paved intercity bike trail provide additional visitor attractions.

Ashland, originally called “Ashland Mills”, was named after Ashland County, Ohio, the original home of founder Abel Helman, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where additional founders had family connections. Ashland has a council-manager dealing out assisted by citizen committees. Historically, its ahead of its time politics have differed, often sharply, with much of the rest of southwest Oregon.

Prior to the initiation of white settlers in mid-19th century, the Shasta people lived in the valley along Ashland Creek nearly where today’s city is located. Early Hudson’s Bay Company hunters and trappers subsequently the Siskiyou Trail passed through the site in the 1820s. In the late 1840s, mainly American settlers when the Applegate Trail began passing through the area. By the ahead of time 1850s, the Donation Land Claim Act brought many to the Rogue Valley and into skirmish with its original people. These often violent clashes, known ultimately as the Rogue River Wars, continued until 1856.