Hersey Street in Ashland, Ore., is named for a Michigan family that liked Ashland so much they never left. They even convinced their grandparents to move across the country to live there too.
James Hersey was born in Michigan in 1876. At 21, he married Carrie and they had a daughter, Violet. The young farm family stayed in Michigan for another 10 years before moving West.
Out West, teen-aged Violet met a long-time Ashland resident, Thomas Hadfield. When Thomas and Violet got married in May 1916, her parents, the Herseys, decided to settle permanently in Ashland. They purchased a house on North Main Street that became known as the Hersey House. Soon, Violet’s grandfather, George Hersey, left Michigan and moved into the Hersey house with them. Meanwhile, Thomas Hadfield’s grandfather, Frank, left his New England home to live on Coolidge Street with Thomas’s parents just north of the plaza in what is known today as the Skidmore Academy Historic District.
By the 1970s when the Hersey family sold their house on North Main, five generations of the family had lived there. Today, the house is a bed and breakfast that retains its original 1906 design.
Sources: "More About the Inn." Abigail's Bed and Breakfast. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. http://www.abigailsbandb.com/more-about.htm; United States Federal Census. 1890,1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940.
