Pistol River (

Tolowa The Tolowa people or Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethno-linguistic group. Two rancherias (Smith River and Elk Valley) still reside in their traditional territory in northwestern California. Tho ...

: chvt-ler’sh-chvn-dvn taa-ghii~-li~’ ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in Curry County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 84. It is near the

Pistol River The Pistol River is a coastal stream that meanders for through the Southern Oregon Coast Range to the Pacific Ocean near the unincorporated community of Pistol River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Flowing generally southwest from its origin near ...

and the

Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint Pistol River State Scenic Viewpoint is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), officially known (in state law) as the State Parks and ...

, just to the east of

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

. The community of Pistol River takes its name from the stream that flows past it. James Mace, a militia soldier, lost a pistol in the river in 1853, during a skirmish of the

Rogue River Wars The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue River Valley area o ...

, and it has been known as the Pistol River since then. The Pistol River post office was established in 1927. The Pistol River area is known for its

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

, and the International Windsurfing Tour holds the Pistol River Wavebash there annually. Many say that Pistol River has the best windsurfing in the state. Pistol River has a concert association that has hosted a monthly concert, often featuring nationally known acts, since 1982. In 1984 John Kirkland of ''

The World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

'' (of

Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay ( Coos language: Atsixiis) is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one en ...

) described Pistol River as having a "pioneer spirit" and "simplicity".
Clipping
from

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

. Kirkland added that the community could be considered "a throwback to an earlier point in American history."

Demographics

Education

It is in the

Central Curry School District Central Curry School District 1 (CCSD) is a public school district headquartered in Gold Beach in Curry County, Oregon, United States. Its boundary, in Curry County, includes Gold Beach, Nesika Beach, Pistol River, and Wedderburn as well as the ...

, which operates two schools: Riley Creek Elementary School ( K-8) and

Gold Beach High School Gold Beach High School is a public high school in Gold Beach, Oregon, United States. It is a part of the Central Curry School District. In addition to Gold Beach, the district's boundary includes Nesika Beach, Pistol River The Pistol River i ...

. The entire county is in the

Southwestern Oregon Community College Southwestern Oregon Community College is a public community college in Coos Bay, Oregon. It is Oregon's 2nd oldest community college, founded in 1961. History Founded in 1961, the college originally served Coos County and western Douglas Count ...

district. Pistol River previously had its own school district, Pistol River Elementary School District. In 1984 it had two teachers and 17 students, with grades 1-3 and 4-6 taught by one particular teacher. The school held periodic social events on holidays, leading Kirkland to call it "the center of Pistol River's social life." In 1997 the Pistol River school district merged into the Central Curry school district, and the Pistol River School immediately closed. The Central Curry district later sold the school's land.

References

External links

Photo of a historic marker from Salem Public Library
describing the Battle of Pistol River that took place during the

Oregon Coast Unincorporated communities in Curry County, Oregon Census-designated places in Oregon 1927 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon Populated coastal places in Oregon {{CurryCountyOR-geo-stub