Marker Name: Conflict at Pistol River
Marker Text: During the early 1850s hundreds of miners and settlers poured into southwest Oregon and onto Indian lands staking claims and establishing farms. The clash of cultural attitudes toward the ownership and use of natural resources led to the Rogue River Indian Wars of 1853-56. War came to the coast in March of 1856, when the “Tu-tu-tuni” attacked Ellensburg, a settlement at the mouth of the Rogue River (present-day Gold Beach). A party of 34 armed civilians, led by vigilante George H. Abbott, raced northward along the coast from Crescent City, California in advance of regular army troops dispatched to assist survivors who had assembled just north of Ellensburg at Fort Miner. Local “Chet-less-chun-dunn” villagers responded with armed resistance near this site holding the party at bay behind driftwood for several days until army troops arrived. This conflict led to the tracking and killing of those Indians who participated in the battle. A few “Chet-less-chun-dunne” still reside in communities along the Oregon and northern California coast.
Visit Instructions:
Include your thoughts and observations pertaining to this location and your visit. Provide any additional history that you are aware of that pertains to this location. If the marker commemorates a historic building tell us what it is used for now or share with us the circumstances of an earlier visit to bring this locations history to life.
Please upload a favorite photograph you took of the waymark. Although visiting this waymark in person is the only thing required of you to receive credit for your visit, taking the time to add this information is greatly appreciated.
Be creative.