History
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Battle Rock City Park was dedicated in memory of the ancient people, the Dene Tsut Dah, and the pioneer founders of the townsite. In 1850, the U.S. Congress passed the Oregon Donation Land Act, allowing white settlers to file claims on Indian land in western Oregon although no Indian nation had signed a single treaty. Capt. William Tichenor of the steamship Sea Gull landed nine men on June 9, 1851, to establish a white settlement, and this led to deadly conflict between the two cultures. For two weeks, the nine were besieged on the island now called Battle Rock, then escaped north to Umpqua City under cover of darkness. In July, Capt. Tichenor returned with a well-armed party of seventy men and established the settlement now called Port Orford. He later became a permanent resident after retiring from the sea.
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Port Orford, Oregon · United States
