Dead Indian Memorial Road - Ashland, OR
Posted by: 
DougK
N 42° 10.969 W 122° 39.332
10T E 528446 N 4670131
The Dead Indian Memorial Road Marker is located outside of Ashland, Oregon.
Waymark Code: WM8RMH
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 05/07/2010
Views: 8
Beaver Board V19 explains:
Long before the first Euro-American emigrants trekked westward, this road was a trail used by the Takelma and Shasta Peoples as a trade route. With the arrival of settlers and gold-seekers, the trail quickly became a wagon road called “Indian Market Road.”
During the 1850s, the increased population of Euro-Americans, their occupation of traditional food gathering areas, and often hostile behavior, caused the most serious “Indian Wars” in U.S. history. In 1854, the bodies of several dead, possibly murdered, Native Americans were discovered along this road in a narrow prairie several miles northeast of this marker. For many years thereafter this portion of Oregon was known as the “Dead Indian Country,” and until recently, this road was officially called “Dead Indian Road.”
Recognizing the negative connotations associated with the name ”Dead Indian Road,” and acknowledging that many Native Americans lost their lives in this valley as a consequence of westward expansion, the name was changed to “Dead Indian Memorial Road” in 1993.
To find this sign, take exit 14 off Interstate 5 and then 1/2 mile south on Hwy 66. The sign is in a gravel setting at the intersection of Highway 66 and Dead Indian Memorial Road.
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