Talent is in Oregon's beautiful Rogue River Valley, just off Interstate 5, seven miles south of Medford and four miles north of Ashland, in Jackson County. The current population is 4,205. Elevation is 1,635'. Temperatures range from 20 to 65 degrees in the winter, with occasional fog and snow. Summer temperatures are warm, running from 65 to 100+ degrees, with cool nights. Unlike much of Oregon, the area receives very little rainfall in the summer months.
Talent has a Wal-Mart store, grocery stores, pharmacy, bank, public library, post office, laundromat, hardware store, several restaurants, veterinarian, gas stations, truck stop, medical/dental offices, and a variety of other business.
The city has a Mayor/City Council form of government, with a City Administrator conducting day-to-day activities. There is a Planning Commission, Parks Commission, City Planner, and Building Official. The city is served by its own police, fire, building, water, street, and park maintenance departments.
Talent is served by 3 newspapers - the weekly Phoenix-Talent Record, the Ashland Daily Tidings and the daily Medford Mail Tribune.
Rogue Valley Rapid Transit serves the Talent area with bus service Monday through Saturday.
Talent is part of the combined Phoenix-Talent School District which serves nearly the entire central Rogue Valley between the cities of Medford and Ashland. The district has three elementary schools, one of which is in Talent, a middle school, also in Talent, and a high school located in Phoenix.
Talent: A Brief History
The story of Talent begins in 1852 with the arrival of the first recorded settler, Jacob Wagner. Jacob completed his homestead in 1853 and named his settlement "Wagner". In 1854, the military came from Yreka and set up a fort on Jacob's property. This fort was named "Fort Wagner", and was intended to protect the travelers and early settlers from the Indians who had lived in the Bear Creek Valley for many years. There was never any trouble from the Indians, so Fort Wagner became a center for social activities and religious services.
There is controversy as to the first name of our town. Some say it was "Wagner Creek Fort"; others say "Wagner Creek". Regardless, in 1889, A.P. Talent platted a townsite and named it aTalent, and on November 11, 1911, Talent became an incorporated town.
Community
Talent is a small, but growing comunity of 4,000, attractive to people in search of "small town America". Our city has a sense of community, pride and purpose.
There are many things in the works to preserve our pleasant way of life. There's a growing interest in the preservation our many historic homes and buildings. Several urban renewal projects are in grogress, adding trees and streetlights and beauty to our downtown core. A Greenway Park Trail through the center of town brings a pastoral quality to the bustle of our emerging community.
Talent offers a growing business park area, quick and easy access to major interstate shipping routes, good schools, affordable housing and close proximity to larger commercial and cultural centers in the Rogue Valley.
Located in the Heart of Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley
