History Pub: Murders at the Chinese Massacre Cove, 1887

Now that school is out, teachers may have a chance to attend the monthly History Pub sessions at the Kennedy School.  Last Mondays are coming to be known for beer, pizza, and historical inquiry!

Seattle’s anti-Chinese riot of February 8, 1886, in front of the New England Hotel on Main & 1st Ave. Reproduction of a drawing in Harpers Weekly. Special Collections, UW, Social Issues Files Cb, neg. 527)

On deck for Monday, June 29, at 7:00:

R. Gregory Nokes will tell the story of the murder of thirty-four Chinese miners by a gang of seven horse thieves at a place in Hells Canyon, which has been designated “Chinese Massacre Cove” by the Oregon Geographic Names Board. Drawing on recently uncovered primary material, Nokes has patched together the tale of the crime and the acquittal of three gang members who were arrested and charged with murder, placing the events in the global context of relationships between American and Chinese citizens and governments.

R. Gregory Nokes retired from the Oregonian in 2004 after forty-three years in journalism. A native of Portland, he also worked for the Medford Mail Tribune and for the Associated Press, including four years as a foreign correspondent in Latin America and fifteen years in Washington, D.C. He lives in West Linn, and his book about the events at Chinese Massacre Cove will be published this year by the Oregon State University Press.

Nokes’ Fall 2006 Oregon Historical Quarterly article about the episode is posted here.