Yontocket Massacre (1853)

Yontocket village was located in what is now commonly known as the Tolowa Dunes State Park. During the ten-day Nee-dash ceremony in 1853, more than 450 Tolowa were murdered at this site. Settlers set fire to the redwood plank houses in the village during the night. As the Tolowa tried to escape from the burning buildings, they were shot. The massacre was an effort to remove the Tolowa from their lands.