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About Brookings-Harbor pilot. (Brookings, Curry County, Oregon) 1946-1978 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1954)
8 Brookings-Harbor Pilot T hursday , J anuary 21, 1954 Historical Notes By MAX BRA INARD H E R E S E E M S to be a te n dency, in th ese days, to ch a n g e o r do aw ay w ith the old p io n eer n am es and adopt new ones. T his tendency is due to o u r ig n o ran ce o r lack of in tere st in th e h isto ry th a t led up to those nam es. An in stan ce of this kind is well illu stra te d by the te n dency to ren am e th e fam ous rock w hich stan d s facing th e Rogue riv er n e a r 1he town of W edder- burn. T h is rock has been talk d about a g re at deal, of late, on ac co u n t of its having been selected as th e ab u tm en t for the n orth end of the proposed Roosevelt h ighw ay bridge across the Rogue. O f late, m any re fe r to it as “H um e R ock,’’ but it has alw ays been known as “Jim H unt Rock.“ o r " H u n t R ock" for short. This nam e d a te s back to th e very first se ttle m e n t of this section. D uring th e gold rush of 1853, a m an by T th e nam e of Jam es M. H unt cam ? w ith th e o th e r m iners to th e Rogu? m ining d istrict. He w as m ore a g ric u ltu ra lly inclined th a n th e o th e rs so he located a land claim w here the tow n of W cdder- burn now stands. His w as th e very first laivl claim ta k e n in this section of the country. “Jim H unt,” as he w as fam iliarly known, fenced in a portion of the flat and raised a large garden, furnishing v egetables to the m i-j ners who w ere too busily engaged in prospecting and m ining for gold to do any farm ing. Jim H u n t’s im provem ents, th a t is, his buildings, and the principal of his im prove m ents, w ere located n e a r w here the W ed d erb u rn H otel now stan d s (below the bridge, MSB», W hen th e Indian w a r broke out on the night of F e b ru a ry 22, 1856, a dance w as in progress in a lit tle old building w here th e Gold C H O IC E P R O P E R T IE S Highway Frontage (H ighway 101, O regon’s Main S treet) CHETCO RIVER FRONTAGE - R E SID EN TIA L LOTS NEW HOMES - RANCHES - FARM LANDS ACREAGE - IN DU STRIAL SIT E S INCOME PRO PERTIES Beautiful Scenic, Parklike Ocean Frontage ' G ard n er Bldg. Phone 2801 |a> |j D D A IW I f , II» Bit AU I Brookings, Oregon REAL ESTATE BROKER “ Who fries fo do the com m on things of life uncom m only w e ll.” L ■ ------ _ , ....... — > SHANGHAI CAFE A M ERICA N FOOD SPECIAL LUNCH 75c Soup Entree F ren ch F ried o r M ashed P o ta to e s Coffee o r T ea Ice C ream o r S h erb et Chinese Combination Lunches 80c and 90c C hinese S pecials Any S ty le N ew H ours O pen 11 a m. to 1 a m. 1 days a w eek W e C a te r to P a rtie s P hone 3161 TOMMY MOE WHEN YOU SHOP IN COOS BAY Have your car Serviced A t Lou Blanc, Inc. le a v e your packages in your c a r th ro u g h o u t the day Complete Service la ir Prices Cadillac and Oldsmobile Safety-Tested Used Cars Visit Our Wholesale Row LOU B L A N C , Inc. Across the s tr e e t from th e Post Office in Coos Bay r ach P acking C om pany’s c a n nery now stan d s (to w a rd the riv e r about halfw ay betw een th e S u n set inn and th e h r dge, M SB). J u s t before daylight, the news cam e th at th irty or fo rty people had been killed around th e T o -to -tu -n a village, and th a t the Geisel fam ily had been m urdered. Everyone im- m d iately fled to th e fort, about a m ile up th e coast from th e m outh of th e riv e r and w ith th e o th ers w ent Jim H unt. H ere they w ere beseiged by th e Indians, who, in g re at num bers, occupied th e bald hills back of the fort. Then, suddenly, th e Indians disap p eared and w ere not seen again for tw o or th re e days. S couts w ere sent out hut w ere unable to find any tra c e of them , so fifteen m en vol u n teered to go to Jim H u n t’s place for potatoes, as th e food w as g ettin g low. T he people fo rti fied th e re had kept a few c a ttle and horses n ea r th e fort and am ong them w ere a yoke of oxen. They hitched th e yoke of oxen to a sled, and those fifteen m en (hove down the coast to a noir»t w here th e Doyle (B e rn a rd M ath er, MSB) place now stan d s. You who a re fam iliar w ith the place will rem em ber a high, roim d m ound. One m an w as left on th is m ound as a sentinel. T he o th e r men w ent fu rth e r down and left five m en w ith th e team , the o th e r n :ne going up th e riv er after food. H alfw ay to th e ir d estin atio n , th e Indians flocked down from ’he hills in g re a t • num b ers, from w here they had been concealed, and im m ediately killed th e m an 1 ft on th e m ound as sentinel. T he o th e r five m en saw th a t they w ere g re a tly ou tn u m b ered but hoping they w ould be able to fight th e ir w ay back to th e fo r1, fled to th e beach! H re th ey m a d ’ a stan d but they could not hold off th e horde of enem ies who sw arm ed down on them and killed every m an. T h e nine w ho s ta rte d up th e riv e r decided to fight th e ir w ay on over the open prairie, in th e direction of th e fort. T here w ere several good m ark sm en am ong * b em so they w ere able to pick off th e Indian leaders, at som e distance, and kept them from crow ding in. As soon as th e shots w ere h ’a id . »einforcem ents arriv ed from the fort. T hus, they fought th e ir wav- hack to th e fort, carry in g tw o w ounded m en. one of whom w as Jim H unt. T he o th e r was M. B G regory (M averick B. G regory, M SB), w ho a fte rw a rd becam e county ju d g e of C u rry county. Joseph McVay w as also am ong them . H e a fte rw a rd becam e a prom inent business m an in this and Del N o rte county. (N o te : M averick B. G regory, sh eriff of this county from 1860- 1S66, is sail! to have had, at one tim e, a cabin in th e .field n e a r the m outh of th e next creek south of E uchre creek, said creek la te r becom ing know n as “G reg g ’s ('re e k ,” w hich it is today. In la te r vears, he m oved to th e C hetco, w here he h o m esteaded th e p re s ent C arl W hite place, w here th e n o rth bank C hetco road forks. He la te r sold th is place to J o h n son G ardner. It is said the old m an died on th e C hetco tra il and his bodv buried n e a r th e m outh of W ilson creek, th e grave m ark ed by a stone cairn which ex ists to this date. He w as born in 1823 and died Ju n e 3. 1880. M SBi. ed by a stone ca irn w hich ex isted tie r th e first w hite s e ttle r any place in this p art of th e county, and this rock being on his claim , it w as n a tu ra l for th e m iners to call it ’’H unt R ock,” and so it has been know n for m any, m any v ta rs , un til recently, when som e have spoken of it as “ H um e Rock .” We. the pioneers of th is county, look upon th at rock as a sort of m onum ent to those men w ho fought th e re and to th e m an who m ade th e very first location of I. n J here We reg ard it as an in dex of o u r ea rly h isto ry and we •rotest th a t th e n am e should be d iscarded and nam ed for one who cam e h ere m any y ea rs later, who pro sp ered and becam e w ealth y be cau se th e w ay w as m ade safe for Ids e n te rp ris s by th e sacrifices and bloodshed of th e pioneers. (As recounted by Ered S. Moore, C u rry C ounty Pioneer, M arch 28, 1927.) (N o te : T his ten d en cy of r e placing original n am es has, am ong o th e r locations been inflict u h . in th e su b stitu tio n of “Daw son 1 a e i.” for “H a rris E la t.” Even th ough th e n am e of th e creek survives and “H a rris P a r k ” been ah d , “H a rris E la t" has been know n as such ev er since George S cott H a rris se ttle d at the m outh of th e creek in 1897. He w as a m uch respected, in flu en tial n ativ e of P e rth , S cotland, who cam e to C u rry co u n ty a f te r m any y e a rs as a tra d e r in C en tral A frica. H e built su b sta n tia l ran ch buildings a t th e m outh of th e creek, ac q u ired several hundsed acres, and had a larg e band of sheep. Access to m uch of the co astal se ttle rs to th e n o rth w as across th e F la t, th e co u n ty road being fa r to th? n o rth ea st and a tra il connected th e tw o roads. Bob S w an ’s p lan er m ill now s tra d d le s th is old tra il w hich hit th e county road (tra il) at w hat is now known as the “Old T hom as P la ce.” th en ow ned by Asa Grey, MSB.) BAYVIEW GARAGE A t State Line • Specializing in Radiator Repair C all S m ith R iver 337 or Box 151 B rookings tor delivery service • Open Evenings 7 to 9 p.m. GEO. SHH’LEY, OWNER Cur-Del Cleaners Fast, Efficient Cleaning & Pressing! PICK-UP AND DELIVERY SERVICE! IN BROOKINGS PHONE 2863 Agents for Del Norte Laundry READY MIX CONCRETE g (O u r sand and gravel is w ashed, screened and w eighed to give full m easu re and p ro p e r pro p o rtio n s A of ag g reg ate, to insure q u ality ) J 5 S Crushed Gravel jj! a River Run Sand and Gravel Rock Fill Material Clay Fill Black Top Toil River Silt Clam Shell Soil Concrete Pipe & Ditching NO JOB TOO SMALL j Brookings RED-E-MIX C e n tra l Bldg. Concrete Co. Phone 2442 I
