Jackson County opts not to rename Dead Indian Memorial Road

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Commissioners in Jackson County decided not to change the name of Dead Indian Memorial Road.
 
The Mail Tribune reports the board received a summary of comments from the community Thursday.
 
Though the vast majority of respondents want the name changed, it was an almost 50-50 split among those who live on the road that stretches from Ashland to Highway 140 near Lake of the Woods.
 
The commission postponed further action after noting that the size of the response paled in comparison to the county’s overall population.
 
The newspaper reports that white settlers in the 1850s found two deceased Native Americans in the area where the road was later built. Historians believe they likely were killed by another tribe.
 
Locals began calling the road Dead Indian Road after it was constructed in 1870. County commissioners changed it to Dead Indian Memorial Road in 1993, but the name remains controversial.
 
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Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/