Sometimes why a place is given its name is obvious, like Wolf Creek, named for the large number of wolves that once populated the area.

But what about Merlin and Savage Creek?

Was Merlin named for the legendary wizard of King Arthur's Court?

Was Savage Creek given a derogatory name for Native Americans?

No.

Merlin is named for the area's many small pigeon hawk falcons called Merlins.

And Savage Creek owes its name to an Illinoisan pioneer, James Lee Savage, who with his wife Margaret Ann McKenzie homesteaded along the creek in 1853.

Lincoln Savage Middle School is named after one of the couple's 13 children, Abraham Lincoln Savage, an educator, an early government official in Josephine County, The only county in Oregon named after a woman, Josephine Rollins Ort, whose father Lloyd Rollins in 1851 named the creek in his daughter's honor where gold was first discovered in Southern Oregon.

Later, the surrounding country took on her name as well.

Southern Oregon Experience, stories from our region's history.