The Lion’s Club held the first Mint Festival in 1957. The Lions Club, which was chartered in 1951, wanted to create a festival to celebrate the abundance of mint being farmed in this area. This idea gave the City of Jefferson the distinction of being named the “Mint Capital of the World".

In 1958, as “gimmick” to draw a crowd, Lions Club member Monte Weddle came up with the idea to have a frog jump. The frog jump was modeled after the famous frog jump in Angels Camp, of Calavaras County California. Rules were obtained and revised to fit Jefferson’s needs and Mr. Weddle served as the announcer for the frog jump for the next 25 years.

The Lions Club sponsored the Mint Festival from 1954 to 1987. The Jefferson Community Service organization chaired the festival from 1988-1991 with the Lions Club taking over again from 1992-1995. Since 2002, the Greater Jefferson Improvement Association (renamed Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce in 2005) has sponsored the event. Numerous volunteers, who care for our community and continuing tradition, have generously stepped forward to give festival goers an event they can be proud of and look forward to year after year!

Jefferson, Oregon