Sitkum 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 ...

in Coos 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. It is about 27 miles north of Remote in the

Southern Oregon Coast Range The Southern Oregon Coast Range is the southernmost section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, located in the southwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States, roughly between the Umpqua River and the Middle Fork Coquill ...

near the

East Fork Coquille River The East Fork Coquille River is a tributary, about long, of the North Fork Coquille River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It begins near Bennett Rock in Douglas County in the Southern Oregon Coast Range. The map includes mile markers along the ma ...

. Sitkum is served by the

Myrtle Point Myrtle Point is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States, established in 1887. The population was 2,514 at the 2010 census. Located in the Coquille River Valley, Myrtle Point is part of the Coos Bay/ North Bend/ Charleston Metropolitan Statist ...

post office. A tavern or roadhouse was established as a

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

stop near a point halfway between Roseburg and Coos City on the

Coos Bay Wagon Road The Coos Bay Wagon Road or Coos Bay Military Wagon Road was a pioneer road in the U.S. state of Oregon that connected Douglas County to Coos Bay Coos Bay is an estuary where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, the estuary is approximately 12 ...

about 1872 or 1873. A competitor put up another halfway house nearby and the name ''Sitkum'', a Chinook Jargon word for "half", was selected for the place. Sitkum post office took its name from the tavern. It ran from 1873 to 1964, with one intermission. The Halfway House at Sitkum was a combination restaurant, tavern,

rooming house A rooming house, also called a "multi-tenant house", is a "dwelling with multiple rooms rented out individually", in which the tenants share kitchen and often bathroom facilities. Rooming houses are often used as housing for low-income people, as ...

, post office and

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

station where travelers stopped while horses were changed. There is little left of the community today, and the Sitkum School was converted into a residence. The former teacher's house and the gym still exist on the grounds.

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

cartographic team did not bother to record the town, and the site's map "pin" locates the town center out in a pasture.

References

External links

Historic image
of

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

camp in Sitkum from the Oregon State University Archives Unincorporated communities in Coos County, Oregon Civilian Conservation Corps in Oregon 1873 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1873 Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{CoosCountyOR-geo-stub