Southern Oregon Medical Society records

The Southern Oregon Medical Society was organized on May 16, 1892, at a meeting in Medford, Oregon with Dr. F. W. Van Dyke as the chair. The Society members, all doctors of medicine residing in Southern Oregon communities, represented nearly every well-known school of medicine in North America. The organization, formerly named the Southern Oregon Medical Association, was later renamed the Southern Oregon Medical Society (SOMS). The first president of SOMS was Dr. E. P. Greary, with Dr. E. B. Pickle as secretary and treasurer. The membership consisted of fifteen doctors from Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, and Lake Counties.

SOMS was the first district society in the state. The average attendance at meetings for the first ten years was from five to nine members, with two or four visiting doctors. In 1900, the society took an active part in urging the organization of a State Board of Health, preparing resolutions according to the sentiments of physicians in southern Oregon. From time to time, evening public meetings were also held. By 1910, its members numbered fifty-five, and by 1940, eighty-six. Presently, county medical societies are affiliates of the Oregon Medical Association.