Broderick-Terry Duel Site

Two granite shafts stand ten paces apart in this quiet ravine, marking the exact spots where United States Senator David C. Broderick and California Supreme Court Justice David S. Terry faced each other on the morning of September 13, 1859. The two men, once political allies within the Democratic Party, had become bitter enemies over the issue of slavery. Broderick, an abolitionist, and Terry, a pro-slavery advocate, chose this secluded ground near Lake Merced to settle their dispute after police intervened to stop an earlier attempt at a duel within San Francisco city limits.