Located in Hill-Dunn Cemetery is the grave of John Gibbs, killed by Indians on August 22, 1853 during a battle as part of the Rogue River Indian War. There are a number of websites that highlight the history of the Rogue River Indian War, Hill-Dunn Cemetery and many of its internments, including John Gibbs. A very good blog site (weblink below) highlights this cemetery and the circumstances involving John Gibbs' death and reads:
The land was donated by Isaac Hill for a free community burying ground, August, 1853, during the Indian war of that year. After his nephew Isham P. Keith, had been killed in a battle on Evans Creek, (a tributary of the Rogue River) Mr. Hill's sister, Mrs. Keith (mother of Isham) lived in Yreka, requested her brother to bury her son on his farm near his house so that the son's grave would not be molested by Indians. He was first buried on the battlefield while the company was surrounded by Indians. Some men dug a grave with the knives carried in their scabbards while others fought the Indians back. The shallow grave was covered with rocks and brush. The other men escaped only by reinforcements coming to their rescue, which frightened the Indians away. After three days a company went to the battlefield and brought Keith's remains to Fort Wagner (now Talent). The next morning a company of armed men buried him here in the virgin Cemetery, of this part of the valley, while all the families were collected in crude forts for protection throughout the valley.
Isham P. Keith was nineteen years old and the only child of his heartbroken mother who erected a tomb over his grave soon after his death. This was the first grave with cut stone in the three counties of Southern Oregon. The work was done by Mr. Goff of Yreka, California.
The next grave was for John Gibbs of the "Mountain House", who was a partner of James H. Russell and Hugh F. Barron. A very warm friend of Isham P. Keith, Gibbs was killed in battle at Dunn and Alberdine "Fort" house just below the railroad tracks which were later constructed on the F.C. Homes' farm. Gibbs was killed by an Indian (a young chief "Sambo") whom Gibbs had said he would trust his life in his hands, but Indians have no white friends in time of war. Sambo jerked Gibbs' gun from him and shot him twice. He lived three days after being shot and died at Fort Wagner in his partner Russell's arms. Mrs. Hill prepared him for burial with the same tender care as she had given her nephew Keith. Another armed company left Fort Wagner to bury this noble, gifted young friend beside Keith.
Keen, Cunningham and seventeen others, who were killed by the savage Indians, were buried here. Mrs. Hill prepared each of them for a Christian burial as if they were relatives and kept their names in her diary. The diary has been lost and many names have been forgotten by the writer.
Mr. Hill would make a crude casket and neighbors would dig the graves with solemn, brotherly love and care for a Christian burial. All brothers in the free, sympathizing service, attending to their heroes.
If you care to read about Hill-Cemetery or the Rogue River Indian War in more detail, a few websites highlighting them can be located here, here and here.
It should be noted that many of the graves in Hill-Dunn Cemetery were relocated to higher ground because of Emigrant Lake's expansion in 1962. There was once a town named Junction that was buried underwater when Emigrant Lake, a man-made reservoir lake, was created in the 1940s. The original Pacific Highway which later became Highway 99 passed directly through where Emigrant Lake is and near this cemetery. Emigrant Lake is named after the settlers who followed the historic Applegate Trail which passed directly through this lake in the mid 1800s and settled in the Rogue Valley and northward into the Willamette Valley. Some of the graves in this cemetery were the first pioneers to settle this area.
Unfortunately, the other 17 men buried here from the Rogue River Indian War have had their headstones lost over time (most likely wooden ones) and cannot be located in the cemetery.
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