Eight Dollar Mountain has towered over humans for as long as they have lived in Southern Oregon. Only recently known by its name, the Eight Dollar Mountain is an important landmark for the residents of the Josephine County town of Kerby.
The mountain appeared in an illustration of 1904’s popular novel titled Suzanne of Kerbyville by Dennis H. Stovall, and it was the location of a skirmish during the Rogue River Indian War of 1855-1856.
The origin of the name is unknown, but some speculate it refers to a gold nugget found during the gold rush.
The mountain is part of the rich biodiversity of the region, its slopes yielding many discoveries, including eight new species of flora. The Oregon Park Service protects the mountain and has placed it on the Natural Heritage Resources list.
The Forest Service has designated the west half of the mountain as a protected botanical “hotspot,” and the private Nature Conservancy maintains a 45-acre preserve on the east side of the mountain.
The mountain rises to more than 4,000 feet on the eastern border of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
