Randolph, Oregon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Randolph, Oregon
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 Randolph, Oregon
Location in Oregon
Randolph, Oregon
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Coos |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1158438 |
| Coordinates and elevation from Geographic Names Information System | |
Randolph is a small, unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the north side of the Coquille River. The community is about 7 miles (11 km) north of Bandon and 3 miles (5 km) east of the Pacific Ocean. Randolph was first a "black sand" gold mining boomtown in the 1850s. This original town was located about three miles northwest, near what is now Whiskey Run Beach. Today, that first boomtown is a ghost town because no major buildings are left. However, the community on the Coquille River still has several homes and a historic cemetery.
Contents
A Glimpse into Randolph's Past
How Randolph Got Its Name
The community of Randolph was started during a short gold rush in Coos County. It was founded by a Doctor Foster and a Captain Harris. According to a book from 1884 called History of Southern Oregon, they named the place after John Randolph of Roanoke. He was a famous politician from Virginia.
However, an article from the Oregon Historical Society in 1957 suggested other ideas. It said the town might have been named after Randolph, Massachusetts. Another possibility is that it was named for Randolph Tichenor, who helped found Port Orford, Oregon.
The Original Gold Rush Town
The first site of Randolph was a few miles northwest of where it is today. It was near where a small stream called Whisky Run meets the ocean. Miners dug for gold in the sands at this spot between 1853 and 1855. There's a story that two miners buried a five-gallon can of gold dust there. When they came back, a forest fire had burned the area, and they could not find the gold. It has never been found.
This first location was originally called Whisky Run. At one point, it had more people than any other gold camp on the coast. It was even almost as big as Jacksonville.
Early Interactions with Native Americans
The Whisky Run gold camp was built very close to a village of the Coquille people. This village was home to the Nasomah tribe. As more miners arrived, relations between them and the Nasomah tribe became difficult.
In 1854, about 40 miners formed a group called the Coos County Volunteers. They attacked the Nasomah people while they slept. Many Nasomah people were killed or captured, and their village was burned. After this, Joel Palmer, who was the Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs, convinced the remaining Coquille people to sign a treaty. In 1855, they gave up their homeland of about 7 million acres (2.8 million hectares). They agreed to be moved to the Coast Indian Reservation further north.
Randolph's Later Locations
After the gold rush slowed down, Whisky Run was moved to the mouth of the Coquille River. Later, it was moved inland to its current spot. A path, first made by the Coquille people, connected the original Randolph site to Empire. The Randolph post office opened in 1859 and stayed open until 1893.
