About Talent

Discover Talent

There are some beautifully-restored small towns in Oregon, that capture the imagination of yesteryear, with small streets, lamp lighting, boutiques, antiques, vintage shops and boutique-style restaurants within walking distance of many homes and businesses. Where people really do say hi to one another and gather in the summer for a glass of wine or to stroll through the neighborhood. With architecturally sound, recently built craftsman style homes and townhomes that are affordable and faithful in design, to the area in which they were built. Located in the beautiful Rogue Valley just off Interstate 5, this modest, period village in Jackson County, has been reborn and is appropriately-named – Talent. It has become a haven for artists, musicians and young professionals alike offering a simple but modern lifestyle.

In the afternoon the train runs through town, and as it moans and whistles down the tracks, it passes the old train station building which has become the Sweet Beet Station, a great place for locals to enjoy lively conversations and a light lunch across from the City Hall and main square. And like many small cities and incorporated towns in southern Oregon, Talent offers all the amenities people come to southern Oregon for: Beautiful mountain views and vistas, wineries, pear orchards, jogging trails, outdoor cafes with healthy menus and locally-sourced fare – with music, great theatre and more. There are several parks along with the Wagner Creek walking trail for the more adventuresome and rafting on the Rogue River only 25 miles away. The Rogue Valley Transit District buses run right through downtown.

With a climate conducive to being outdoors and temperatures that range in the 30’s to 40’s in winter and in the 80’s to 90’s in the spring and summer, Talent is just a few miles south of a major city-center, Medford, and just a short drive to Ashland. The City of Talent is over a hundred and fifty years old. Originally called Fort Wagner, then Wagner Creek, it was one of several areas in Oregon that offered land, open spaces and a chance to thrive for ambitious, fortune-seeking settlers after the Civil War. Today families, entrepreneurs, new business owners and retired professionals come for similar reasons. There still are open spaces, affordable subdivisions, opportunities to start over and a healthy lifestyle to be embraced. And Mt. Ashland is just a stone’s throw away. There’s a middle school in Talent and a high school in the neighboring town of Phoenix with less than 700 students, so they are given individual attention.

The Camelot Theatre in downtown Talent may seem small, but it showcases some of the finest talent in Oregon. Subscriptions are reasonable and good seating is guaranteed. Every year visitors and locals alike come for the Harvest Festival in October, located in the newly refurbished downtown park area, with quaint walkways, lighting, benches and expanses of lawn.

There are several music and food festivals throughout the year. There are fine dining restaurants like the “Arbor House” and casual cafes like “Gather.” As southern Oregon is quickly becoming one of the top wine-growing regions in the country, there are two right in Talent: Paschal Winery on Suncrest Road, which has been around since the 1980’s and Trium Wines, a small, family-owned winery and one of the newer vineyards with a tasting room in downtown Talent. For more information, please click on the link: CityofTalent.org to read more how this charming old west village has reinvented itself for the new millennium.