A Puzzling Name

Historians say that after the discovery of gold at Whiskey Run, “sober citizens” soon began to call the emerging mining camp-town “Randolph.”

Why Randolph?

The history of Randolph may be likened to a jigsaw puzzle of heroic proportions with many pieces missing.

– Verne Bright

In 1853, a group of men known as “The Coos Bay Company” ventured 164 miles west from Jacksonville to Empire City, then south to Whiskey Run. Walling writes that two of the men: Dr. [John H.] Foster and Captain [William H.] Harris, named the camp-town “for the famed Virginian, Randolph of Roanoke.” Later historical accounts, including those by McArthur, Friedman, and Helblock, repeat this account.

A century later, when examining Randolph as a ghost town, Bright records two other possibilities: the town was named after Randolph, Massachusetts, or it was named in honor of one of the founders of Port Orford: Randolph Tichenor, “a prominent citizen of the southern Oregon Coast.”

Considering the Possibilities

• Walling published his account about 30 years after the events occurred, within the living memory of individuals who might have been present at the mining camp-town. By convention, this account should be the most reliable.
• When moving from one place to another, “new” locations are often named after places that exist elsewhere. George Bennett, for example, named Bandon, Oregon, after his hometown in County Cork, Ireland. However, I haven’t found a direct connection between the miners at Whiskey Run to Randolph, Massachusetts,
• The names of early residents or local, prominent citizens are commonly used for place names, such as the nearby historical communities of Bullards and Parkersburg.

Further Considerations

Although the 1942 Oregon Historical Records Survey cites the possibilities above, it also includes an intriguing footnote: a fieldworker reported “Randolph was probably named for Randolph Tichenor; my information came from a Miss Tichenor of Bandon” (italics added).

I initially wondered if the information from Miss Tichenor might have been more family legend than fact, but I then found Randolph Tichenor’s obituary:

Since Tichenor was one of the first miners at Randolph [i.e., Whiskey Run], naming the place after him–a local, prominent citizen, seems like a compelling possibility. Although, why use his given name rather than his surname?

Perhaps Randolph was a name agreed upon because it represented more than one person or place. Whatever thought was involved, the quest for gold in 1853 ultimately demanded more attention than did the naming of the camp-town.

Bright’s observation about the many missing pieces of Randolph’s history still holds true today. Despite the challenges, I look forward to examining existing pieces of Randolph history and, in the spirit of eternal optimism, discovering more.

If you have other information about the naming of Randolph (at Whiskey Run), please contact me or leave a comment below.

Works Cited

Bright, Verne (December 1957). “Randolph: Ghost Gold Town of the Oregon Beaches”. Oregon Historical Quarterly. Oregon Historical Society. 58 (4): 293–306. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20612359 (pp. 293 and 297).

Friedman, Ralph. Tracking Down Oregon. Caxton Press, 1978 (p. 92).

Helbock, Richard W. Oregon Post Offices, 1847-1982. Lake Oswego, Oregon: Raven Press, 1982 [rev. 1985] (p. 83).

McArthur, Lewis A. “Oregon Geographic Names: Third Supplement.” Oregon Historical Quarterly. Oregon Historical Society. 44 (2): 176-218. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20611490 (p. 211).

Oregon Historical Records Survey Service Division. “Inventory of the County Archives of Oregon. No. 6. Coos County (Coquille).” Works Projects Administration, U.S. Government, May 1942 (p. A-23).

Port Orford Tribune. Obituary for Randolph Tichenor. (n.d.). Posted to Find a Grave website. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103163329/randolph-tichenor

Walling, A. G. History of Southern Oregon: Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Countries, Comp. from the Most Authentic Sources … Portland, Or: A. G. Walling, 1884 (p. 492).