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<p align="left"><font color="#000080" face="Arial"><strong>Merlin,
Oregon <a id="KonaLink0" target="undefined" class="kLink"
style="text-decoration: underline ! important; position: static;"
href="http://www.webtrail.com/history/merlin.shtml#"><font
style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; position: static;"
color="blue"><span class="kLink"
style="border-bottom: 1px solid blue; color: blue ! important; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; position: static; padding-bottom: 1px; background-color: transparent;">History</span></font></a>,
by Dennis Hotchkiss -- <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.webtrail.com/history/merlin.shtml">http://www.webtrail.com/history/merlin.shtml</a><br>
</strong></font></p>
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<p align="left"><strong><small><font face="Comic Sans MS">The Southern
Pacific Railroad
established the Jump-Off Joe Station in the early 1880's. The name
Merlin came from a
railroad <a id="KonaLink3" target="undefined" class="kLink"
style="text-decoration: underline ! important; position: static;"
href="http://www.webtrail.com/history/merlin.shtml#"><font
style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 13px; position: static;"
color="blue"><span class="kLink"
style="color: blue ! important; font-family: Comic Sans MS; font-size: 13px; position: static;">employee</span></font></a>
named David Loring after seeing the area inhabited by pigeon hawks also
known as merlins. Mr. Loring's imagination is also responsible for
naming several other
towns as well, including the city of Medford. Postmaster Lanterman
changed the name of the
post office to Merlin on March 21, 1891. Following Lanterman as
postmaster were George A.
Guild, followed by his daughter, Mattie. Ruth Lendberg was postmaster
from 1930 to 1967,
serving seven presidents. Mrs. Lendberg's little green house served as
the post office and
it still stands with flagpole on Pleasant Valley Road, just down the
street from the
present day post office.</font></small></strong></p>
<p align="left"><strong><small><font face="Comic Sans MS">Merlin had
two school districts
in 1886: the Jump Off Joe School District had 54 children educated at a
cost of $77.00;
the Louse Creek School District had 26 pupils with a cost of $63.00.
These two districts
combined to form Merlin School District #24 in May of 1894. There was a
brick school house
built in 1912 on the spot where the present day elementary school sits.
A bell from an
older school was placed in the brick building and when it was
demolished in 1963, it was
given to the Merlin Community Baptist Church where it hangs today.</font></small></strong></p>
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