Randolph, Oregon

Randolph is an unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States, founded as a "black sand" gold mining boomtown in the 1850s. Although it is considered a ghost town because there are no significant structures left at the site, the USGS classifies Randolph as a populated place. It is located on the north bank the Coquille River about 7 miles north of Bandon and about 3 miles east of the Pacific Ocean.

History

The community was established during a brief gold rush in Coos County by a Doctor Foster and a Captain Harris, who were probably from the South. They named the place after John Randolph of Roanoke, a Virginia politician. The site was first located several miles northwest of its current location, near the confluence of Whisky Run–a small stream–and the ocean. The sands at this location were mined between 1853 and 1855. A legend states that two miners buried a five-gallon can of gold dust under a tree in those days, but when they returned a forest fire had swept through the area, so they were unable to locate the gold, which has never been found. The locale was originally named Whisky Run, and at one time it had the largest population of any gold camp on the coast, even approaching that of Jacksonville. Whisky Run was later moved to the mouth of the Coquille River, and after the gold rush subsided, it was moved inland to its current location. A trail, originally established by the Coquille people, ran from the original site of Randolph to Empire. Randolph post office opened in 1859 and ran until 1893.

See also

• Dora (sternwheeler)
• Steamboats of the Coquille River
• Steamboats of the Oregon Coast

External links

• Historic image of Randolph School
• Images of Randolph from Flickr
• Randolph Town Site historic inventory by Stephen Dow Beckham