Town file
Kerby, Oregon
Kerby, Oregon (Josephine County, Oregon) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 552, "Too Many Dead Neighbors" (7 December 2024). Kerby is a tiny census-designated place in Josephine County, in the extreme south-west corner of Oregon, close to the California border and a few miles from Cave Junction.
- Town
- Kerby
- County
- Josephine County
- State
- Oregon
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 552
- Approximate location
- 42.200, -123.646
Episode 552 / 7 December 2024 / 72 min / express
Too Many Dead Neighbors
"We're going to Kirby Oregon... Kirby not with an E, E R, like Derby with a K... extreme southwestern Oregon near the California border, coastal, not quite to the coast, it's inland." about 0:03:09
The case: Killing of Kenneth Vaughn (November 2009); Murder of Laron Estes (September 7th, 2013). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 201 to 628
- Median household income
- $37,219
- Median home value
- $330,900
History, in brief
- Often listed in tourist guides as a ghost town because of the number of historic buildings left from the 1800s. about 0:05:16
- Kerby came into existence in the 1850s as a gold-mining settlement. about 0:05:27
- It was named for James Kerby, an early settler who had a business there and was important to the area. about 0:05:30
- The original county seat was Sailor Diggings, which was later renamed Waldo. about 0:06:05
- One of the polling places for the county seat vote was listed as Kerby's Ranch. about 0:06:15
- James Kerby and Samuel Hicks were partners in a general mercantile, supply and hardware business. about 0:06:22
- The town was called Kerbyville for the county seat race and was selected as the county seat in 1857. about 0:06:36
- It was renamed Napoleon because the county was Josephine and they wanted Josephine and Napoleon, then changed back to Kerbyville at the next legislative session. about 0:06:47
- The name was eventually shortened to Kerby. about 0:07:12
- It lost the county seat to Grants Pass. about 0:07:17
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Lived here my whole life; it is sketchy during the day and creptastic at night; there are many lovely bridges under which to pump drugs; the friendly convenience store owners price accordingly because most of Kerby cannot drive to Cave Junction for cheap groceries; there is a bus stop in the middle of town where you might meet a homeless person or a tweaker; pretty river view."about 0:07:33
"Basically a house with some old shit in it; it costs six dollars per adult and is really not worth it, though the people there were very friendly and it looked pretty neat."about 0:11:29
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Cave Junction, Oregon2.3 miles
- Grants Pass, Oregon23 miles
- Wimer, Oregon35 miles
- Wolf Creek, Oregon37 miles
- Springfield, Oregon132 miles
- Alsea, Oregon151 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.