Crime Scene & Biohazard Cleanup Near West Ruch Ruch, OR

Ruch is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County, Oregon, located on Oregon Route 238 southeast of Grants Pass, and the 2020 census recorded its population as 819.

Ruch was named after Casper M. Ruch, who bought the tract of land where the community now stands in 1896, built a blacksmith shop, a store, and a house, and named the new post office after himself when he was appointed postmaster in 1897; the post office closed in 1939.

The Ruch CDP covers 6.73 square miles, all of it land, sits at an elevation of 1,527 feet, and uses ZIP code 97530.

Two structures in Ruch are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: McKee Bridge and Star Ranger Station.

The Ruch area is home to several Oregon wineries in the Applegate Valley AVA, a sub-appellation of the Rogue Valley AVA.

Ruch Elementary, a small school serving kindergarten through 8th grade with the Cougars as its mascot, is located near the center of the community.

The Applegate River runs through the southwest edge of the valley where Ruch sits.

Ruch has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, classified as Csb in the Koppen climate classification system.

Ruch remains unincorporated and is counted only as a census-designated place, never as an incorporated city or town.