In Memoriam – Mark West Burkhalter (1946-2021)
Back in the mid 1990s, while out hiking the Jacksonville Woodlands with my wife, Linda, we noticed an old mining road branching off of the main Rich Trail and winding up to the top of what was to become dubbed “The Knoll” or “Panorama Point.” At an elevation of 1960 feet, the upper reaches of Jacksonville, snow-capped Mt. McLoughlin (9495 ft.), and even the rim of Crater Lake (8,156 ft.) could be viewed from the summit. But climbing to the top of the point required the nimble hiker to climb over a broken-down barbed wire fence separating the BLM’s 20 acres from the private ownership of “Panorama Point” and to dodge several deep “glory holes.”
Checking Jacksonville’s land records, I learned that the city had zoned the steep hillside for around 15 houses. The land was owned by Medford attorney Mark Burkhalter, former Jacksonville Mayor Tom Parks, and Dr. Michael and Victoria Korpa. Since Mark Burkhalter owned the controlling interest, I needed to speak with him first. After introducing myself and giving him the reason for my call, I asked Mark, “Would you be interested in selling your land to the Woodlands Association?” He said, “Yes, I would be.” He told me that there were land developers after his property. In fact, an offer had been made and Mark had counter-offered. As we talked, Mark told me that he realized the historical significance of his property and he certainly would be interested in preserving at least the lower 3 or 4 acres that contained French Gulch. In fact, he might even donate that lower section of the property to our Woodlands project.
Mark and his partners had bought the 15 hillside acres from developer Neil Moore a year earlier. Getting ready to develop the land after his purchase several years earlier, Moore had bulldozed the hillside of all trees, brush, and historic grape vines. He then burned the giant piles of slash. Not all of the property was within Jacksonville’s Urban Growth Boundary, so that delayed any development and lowered the value of the land a bit. And then there was that pesky portion of an 1880 gold mine to contend with (French Gulch).
I sent a Mark a follow-up letter on September 15, 1997, thanking him for speaking with me. I included a short history I had written about his property and some details about the Petard family who owned the hillside for 50 years. I also stuck in a Gin Lin Trail interpretive brochure from out on the Applegate to let him know the type of trail system we were planning for Rich Gulch. And I shared with him my desire to have Rich Gulch placed on the National Register of Historic Places. We just needed $3,000 to make it happen and we wanted to include his lower 3-5 acres. Hint! Hint!
I met with Mark Burkhalter in September 1997 to see if he and his partners could come to an agreement to sell all or part of their property to the Woodlands Association. It had taken several phone calls, letters and visits with his real estate agent to set up the meeting. I was told that a family and a developer were both looking at the property and that the owners were close to a deal, but since Mr. Burkhalter was a lawyer with a degree in history, he was interested in preserving the property as a whole or at least 4.5 acres of the historic French Gulch section of the property that contained the historic Petard Goldmine.
On December 7, 1997, Mark let me know that he was still waiting for Jackson County’s approval to include his land into Jacksonville’s Urban Growth Boundary. He was still willing to donate a portion of the Gulch so that it would be preserved. He really did not know what he had bought at the time he and his partners purchased the land. Now that he had walked the property several times, he definitely wanted to develop it “right.” He did not want it jammed with houses. Maybe 12 to 15 would fit. Perhaps less. He wanted people to use the gravel road forking off of South Third Street for hiking. Mark then sent me a copy of the original housing plat, a fly-over photo and the key to his gate. He would also welcome some directional signs placed at the gate.
We continued talking over the next year. Mark told me that he and his partners would be willing to sell for $350,000, which was a bargain price. “I would like to get involved in the project,” he told me. And did he ever get involved! Several years later, following the sale of his property, Mark was elected president of the Woodlands Association.
On June 1, 1998 I sent a letter to the partners to see if they would be interested in at least selling the southern 7.5 acres, but got a lukewarm response. In August 1998, I sent Mark a letter asking for permission to include his 4.5 acres of Rich Gulch (Now zoned Special Protection) into our application for the Rich Gulch listing on the National Register of Historic Places, for a total of 24.5 acres. He responded saying that he was more than happy to give permission for his property to be included in the nomination.
The next three years became a delicate dance with the involvement of the City of Jacksonville, the Bureau of Land Management, the Jacksonville Woodlands Association, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Oregon’s Congressional delegation, the National Park Service, the Oregon State Lottery, several lawyers, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund as we all pulled together to raise $500,000—the assessed value of the land.
Mark was cordial, accommodating, flexible, and cooperative to the extreme as we worked through this most complicated acquisition.
By February 2002, all three sets of owners had been paid and the Jacksonville Woodlands had completed another scenic addition.
Mark was an attorney for forty years and served as the municipal judge for Jacksonville for eight years. He served on the Jacksonville Woodlands Board of Directors for 20 years, serving one term as president. Mark passed away July 19, 2021 at his home in Medford after a lengthy illness at the age of 75.
Tony Hess, said it the best when remembering Mark’s contribution. “I was saddened by the passing of Mark Burkhalter. Mark was on the Woodlands Association board when I joined 19 years ago. Mark had a large influence on all the board’s decisions, contributing his calm demeanor and legal knowledge for many years. I learned a lot about the Woodlands history from him.”
Mark has left a permanent legacy in Jacksonville with the sale of his scenic 15-acre hillside now known as Panorama Point. Thanks, Mark, for working with us. It was a complicated sale with many moving parts, but you allowed the process to play out.
Larry Smith is Executive Director, Jacksonville Woodlands Association.
Featured Image: Mark Burkhalter (far left in hat) at Panorama Point dedication. Photo: Larry Smith