Chinese Massacres


Battle Creek Chinese Massacre. Baker County. According to a lone Chinese survivor, Piute Indians killed approximately 40 Chinese miners near Battle Creek in 1866. The name Battle Creek is attributed to a fight between two Native American groups in 1870. Reference: Edson, 1974: 13; McArthur, 1982: 44.

Chinese Massacre Cove. Wallowa County. Located near the confluence of Deep Creek and the Snake River in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Chinese Massacre Cove is the five acre site where 10 to 34 Chinese gold miners were robbed and murdered in 1887. The site was officially recognized and named by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names in 2005. Six Euro Americans were indicted with three escaping while in jail and the others being found not guilty. Reference: Nokes, 2009: 179-181.

Clearwater River Chinese Massacre. Douglas County. The Clearwater River, a 15 mile-long tributary of the North Umpqua River approximately 50 miles east of Roseburg, was the site of the massacre. Approximately 30 Chinese were killed in 1877 by a band of Native Americans. Reference: Penner, 1990: 27.

Jordan Creek Chinese Massacre. Malheur County. Jordan Creek in Jordan Valley was the location of the murder of approximately 50 Chinese who were travelling to the Owyhee mines in 1864. Paiute Indians were thought to have been the culprits. Reference: Hanley, 1980: 15, 53, 212; “History of Avalanche.”

References
Edson, Christopher H. 1974. The Chinese in Eastern Oregon. San Francisco: R&E Research Association.

Hanley, Mike and Ellis Lucia.1980. Owyhee Trails. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton printers, Ltd.

“History of the Avalanche.” n.d. http://www.owyheepublishing.com/history.php/ Accessed 1/23/11.

McArthur, Lewis. 1982. 5th ed. Oregon Geographic Names. Oregon: The Press of the Oregon Historical Society.

Nokes, R. Gregory. 2009. Massacred for Gold. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press.

Penner, Liisa. 1990. The Chinese in Astoria, Oregon, 1870-1880. Astoria, Oregon.

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