• Ghost Towns in Oregon State
    10 replies, posted
It has been claimed in various parts of the Internet that Oregon has more ghost towns then any other state in the US. I'm not sure where this information originated from, but I have generally seen numbers that say "60." In my research, I believe that number to be OVER 200. Granted, the vast bulk of them are only names on a map these days, with maybe one or two ramshackle houses marking the location of the town. A full list of Ghost Towns I have identified [I]the location of[/I] (in handy Map form) [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/ghost-towns/"]can be found here[/URL]. I have a list of over 50 more towns that I need to research and locate. Keep in mind that like many in this hobby, I take the more liberal approach to identifying ghost towns using the "[URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2012/11/04/ghost-town-classifications/"]Ghost Town Classification system[/URL]." Class A: barren site Class B: rubble and/or roofless building ruins Class C: standing abandoned buildings (with roofs), no population, except maybe a caretaker. Class D: semi/near ghost towns. A small resident population, many abandoned buildings. Class E: busy historic community, yet still much smaller than in its boom years. Class F: Not a stand-alone class, but an addition to any of the above. This class usually designates a restored town, state park, or indicates some other “additional” status. Class G: the town joined or was absorbed by a neighboring thriving city. Class H: Same as Class D, with no or very few original building. Originating Purpose: 1.) Mineral Exploitation 2.) Agricultural, includes Live Stock, Farming and Fishing 3.) Timber, includes Company Built Towns 4.) Shipping or Travel Depot, Stage Coach Station, Train Station 5.) Religious or Idelogical 6.) Recreation and Service, includes Saloon Towns, Mining Supplies, Mill Town, Supply Depots. 7.) Manufacturing [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] First town I would like to share with you is "[URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2013/07/28/cross-hollows-oregon-double-ghost-town-2/"]Cross Hollows[/URL]." This town is just down the hill from a more famous town, Shaniko, but was a ghost town twenty years before Shaniko even became a town. [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Barn-Falling-Down.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Barn-Overview.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Cabin.jpg[/IMG] I do not have any internal pictures of this second building, there was at least one rattlesnake over that way so I didn't want to get any closer then I did. [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] I apologize for the forum stretching pics. [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2013/07/22/shaniko-oregon-tourist-ghost-town/"]Shaniko[/URL] is just "up the hill" from Cross Hollows. It was built as a railroad terminal and became a huge sheep wool terminal. At one point 75% of the Wool in the US came through town. Now days it is an active Tourist Town, and is only about a three hour drive from the largest city in Oregon, Portland. As a tourist town the locals have done a lot of work to keep buildings up and going although there are some sad parts such as a dilapidated and closed auto museum full of antique vehicles that are rusting away. [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/School-House.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Ice-Cream-and-Antiques.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Shaniko-Hotel.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Hotel-Interior.jpg[/IMG] The hotel is closed due to some controversy between the owner and the town regarding water rights. [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] [url]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Post-Office1.jpg[/url][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Post-Office1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Church1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Dentist-Office.jpg[/IMG] This is a dentist's office, believe it or not. And a view inside the auto "museum." Apparently this is owned by the same guy who owns the hotel. [IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Auto-Museum-Interior2.jpg[/IMG]
Looks awesome, I'm really into these slightly more accessible places which can cover much larger areas then your typical urban places. Often just getting to these places can be an adventure. If your worried about the images being to big you can put them in quotes too btw, saves a lot of time instead of having to resize them.
Two hundred miles away, in a different climate is Oregon's second most famous Ghost Town. [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2013/02/24/sumpter-oregon-ghost-town-history/"]Sumpter Oregon[/URL]! Famous for the three gold dredges that dug up the river, extracted gold from the "useless" material and left the tailings behind in huge piles that can still be seen today, the town relies heavily on tourists and seasonal gold miners working their claims. The remaining gold dredge, now an Oregon State Park. [QUOTE][url]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Sumpter-Dredge.jpg[/url][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Sumpter-Dredge.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] The only surviving structure from the fire that destroyed the town. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Sumpter-Bank-Vault.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] The old rail depot, now a museum for the restored Sumpter Valley Railroad. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Rail-Museum.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] And an example the type of buildings found around town. [QUOTE][url]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Antique-Store.jpg[/url] [/QUOTE] [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Articsledder;42201881]Looks awesome, I'm really into these slightly more accessible places which can cover much larger areas then your typical urban places. Often just getting to these places can be an adventure. If your worried about the images being to big you can put them in quotes too btw, saves a lot of time instead of having to resize them.[/QUOTE] How do I do that? :) [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] Interestingly, half the stops on the Sumpter Valley Railroad are all good ghost towns! [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2011/07/25/ghost-town-of-whitney-oregon/"]Whitney[/URL] is an example of one that has been almost completely abandoned. The west side of town has three inhabited houses. But the east side of town has these beauties. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/South-Whitney.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Whitney-House.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/North-Whitney.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] And just outside of town is this abandoned homestead. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Unknown-Homestead.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=hamellr;42201914] How do I do that? :)[/QUOTE] simply highlight the image and click the little chat bubble in the editor menu. here's an example [quote][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Rail-Museum.jpg[/IMG][/quote]
About seven miles north of Sumpter is an even smaller town, [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2011/07/25/ghost-town-of-bourne-oregon/"]Bourne[/URL]. The town was named after an US Senator from Portland. In all my travels this was the most surprising town. There are no stores, gas stations, groceries or post office here. But the town is still pretty active due to a handful of year round residents, and a larger portion of people who come here in the summer to work gold claims in the area. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/House1.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/House2.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Some of these buildings are still being lived in today. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/House3.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] And a view of main street. Notice the newer trailers and construction on both sides. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Downtown.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Articsledder;42202010]simply highlight the image and click the little chat bubble in the editor menu. here's an example[/QUOTE] That is awesome! Thank you very much! [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] Northwest of [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2011/07/25/ghost-town-of-granite-oregon/"]Granite[/URL] is another town trying to make itself a tourist town. This one is working the vacation angle more then Sumpter is, with several campgrounds and RV services nearby. Like Bourne, many of the buildings here are inhabited. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Granite-Building.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Granite-Church.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Granite-Drug-Store.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Granite-School-House.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Buried deep in the woods north of Granite and Sumpter is my personal favorite ghost town. This would be [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2011/07/25/ghost-town-of-cabell-city-oregon/"]Cabell City[/URL]. The town was built up as a "company town" around three mines owned by the Cabell Family. Their descendants still seasonly work the hard rock mines - or at least the tailings from the mines. It was getting dark pretty quickly here so I was not able to explore the buildings as much as I would have liked to do so, perhaps in the future I'll get the chance. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Cabell-City-Cemetery.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] This one of the actual mines. Rocks are loaded into the top part of the building and then go through a series of crushers/sorters to extract the gold. The tailings are dumped as fill away from here. Inside most of the machinery is rusted and obviously broken. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Cabell-City-Mill.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Cabell-City-Building.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] West of the Sumpter Valley is the John Day Valley. Along the North Fork of the River is a series of homesteads and farms, almost all of which are abandoned. Several ghost towns are through here, most are completely gone not even marked by rubble or names on a map. But there are a couple of interesting remaining towns, one of which is [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2012/12/28/ghost-town-of-susanville-oregon/"]Susanville[/URL]. This is the Ten Penny Mill's remains. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Ten-Penny-Mill3.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Downtown-Susanville2.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] The old General Store. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/General-Store.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] On the right is the fruit cellar of a house that is long gone, while up on the hill more is a view of what that house may have looked like. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Basement.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] And a view inside the house up on the hill. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Inside.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=hamellr;42202075] That is awesome! Thank you very much![/QUOTE] No problem, these places look awesome. Most of the stuff around me in the Northeast is what you would call Class A or Class B.
[QUOTE=Articsledder;42202149]No problem, these places look awesome. Most of the stuff around me in the Northeast is what you would call Class A or Class B.[/QUOTE] One of the things I have found is that there are a lot more ghost towns around then you might think. A good example is the town of "New Era" Oregon. When it was built it was several miles from Portland and far enough away that it was a days travel to get to town. A religious colony sprung up there for about a decade. That entire area is has been taken over by the City of Portland now and is a suburban neighborhood. But there is one single house that is 40 years older then the rest of the neighborhood that dated from that original town. [editline]15th September 2013[/editline] We're going to pop over to the west side of the state. Both of these towns are in Southern Oregon and are easily accessible off of I-5. In fact I stop by both every time I drive between Portland and Los Angeles or San Francisco. The first is [URL="http://pnwphotoblog.com/2012/06/13/ghost-town-buncom-oregon/"]Buncom[/URL]. There is not much left here, but the Buncom Historical Society is quite active in preserving these three buildings. They even [URL="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=ricktech-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0595315038"]wrote a book about the city[/URL] and it's history. This is the cookhouse (now community center,) and the Post Office/General Store [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Buncom01.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] A better view of the two buildings. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Buncom04.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] And across the street is this bunk house turned into a barn. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Buncom02.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Not many people know about the next Ghost Town, yet it has been taken over by the State of Oregon as a State Park and is being actively preserved. Several interpretive kiosks are around in the park, and the remaining Church is still in use. Golden is unique in the fact that it was a "dry" town. Miners were forced to go to one of other nearby towns for alcohol and "dancing." [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golden-Church-01.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] The "graveyard" next to the church only has one real headstone in it - seen just under the tree on the left. The rest of the headstones are wooden props added when an episode of Bonanza was filmed here in the 1970's. [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Graveyard.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Golden-Barn.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [QUOTE][IMG]http://pnwphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/General-Store.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] The store here is being built into an interpretive center and museum by the state. It's still a few years away due to budget cuts, but I'm looking forward to what may come out of this project.
something about these shitty old buildings makes me feel really comfy
This is a great thread! You've made some great finds and photos, OP.
[QUOTE=GeneralSpecific;42214528]This is a great thread! You've made some great finds and photos, OP.[/QUOTE] Thank you very much! I'm actively working on turning these into a book and have about twenty more locations to add. I'm concentrating on towns that are not normally found in other ghost town books though, so it's a bit slow going. Of course that means I have to actually visit these places in person - which just SUCKS so badly. :)
Beautiful
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