Wallowa County

China Bar. Wallowa County.

A group of Chinese miners lead by Lee Shee worked the mouth of Salt Creek’s placer deposits in 1877. An alternate name for the location was Salt Creek Mine. Reference: U.S.G.S. quadrangle 7.5’ series, Temperance Creek, Oregon/Idaho, 1995; Wegars 1995: 51.

China Bar Rapids. Wallowa County.

China Bar Rapids is approximately one mile north of China Bar on the Snake River. Its name is considered to be derived from nearby China Bar. Reference: U.S.G.S. quadrangle 7.5’ series, Temperance Creek, Oregon/Idaho.

China Cap Creek. Wallowa County.

China Cap Creek flows in a northeasterly direction into Minam River. The place name is thought to be derived from nearby China Cap Peak in Union County. See China Cap, Union County. Resource: U.S.G.S. quadrangle 7.5’ series, China Cap, Oregon, 1993.

China Creek. Wallowa County.

The creek flows through China Gulch into the Snake River. The area was the site of placer gold mining by large numbers of Chinese. See China Gulch, Wallowa County. Reference: U.S.G.S. quadrangle 7.5’ series, Cactus Mountain, Idaho/Oregon, 1963; Carrey et.al. 1978: 340; McArthur and McArthur 2003: 198. 

China Gardens Dam Site. Wallowa County.

The site was on the Oregon side of the Snake River and down-river from Lower Dug Bar Rapids. The dam was not built. The name is thought to be derived from a river bench known as China Garden and nearby China Garden Creek, both on the Idaho side of the Snake River. The locale was one of gold mining in the late 1800's. Reference: Carrey et.al. 1978: 372.

China Gulch. Wallowa County.

China Gulch is near the confluence of the Imnaha and Snake River. Its name may have been derived from the extensive gold mining done by the Chinese in the area during the 1870's. See China Creek, Wallowa County. Reference: U.S.G.S. quadrangle 7.5’ series, Cactus Mountain, Idaho/Oregon, 1963; McArthur and McArthur 2003: 198; Nokes 2009: 39. 

China Rapids. Wallowa County.

China Rapids is on the Snake River in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Mining activity has occurred in the area. Reference: U.S.G.S. quadrangle 7.5’ series, Kirkwood Creek, Oregon, 1980.

Chinese Massacre Cove. Wallowa County.

Located near the confluence of Deep Creek and the Snake River in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, Chinese Massacre Cove is the five-acre site where 10 to 34 Chinese gold miners were robbed and murdered in 1887. The site was officially recognized and named by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names in 2005. A memorial plaque was dedicated on June 22, 2012. Reference: Nokes 2009: 179-181; “Unveiling.”

Salt Creek Mine. Wallowa County.

Salt Creek Mine was an early name for China Bar. See China Bar, Wallowa County.

References

Carrey, Johnny, Cort Conley and Ace Barton. 1978. Snake River in Hells Canyon. Cambridge, Idaho: Backeddy Books.

McArthur, Lewis A. and Lewis L. McArthur. 2003. Oregon Geographic Names. 7th ed. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press.

Nokes, R. Gregory. 2009. Massacred for Gold. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press.

“Unveiling.” http://www.examiner.com/ Accessed July 25, 2014.

U.S.G.S. Quadrangle 7.5’ series, Cactus Mountain, Idaho/Oregon, 1963.

_______. Quadrangle 7.5’ series, China Cap, Oregon, 1993.

_______. Quadrangle 7.5’ series, Kirkwood Creek, Oregon, 1980.

_______. Quadrangle 7.5’ series, Temperance Creek, Oregon/Idaho, 1995.

Wegars, Priscilla. 1995. The Ah Hee Diggings: Final Report of the Archaeological Investigations at OR-GR-16, the Granite, Oregon “Chinese Walls” site, 1992-1994. Moscow, Idaho: University of Idaho Anthropology Reports.