Oregon Treasure Stories

[Westernlegend1]

Baker County

The Old-Timers Claim​

The town of Haines in Baker County is according to the real old-timers sitting on land which is rich in gold! There is a story that has been around for a few years that when work was going on hooking up new water and sewer lines, a worker found a large gold nugget. Imagine walking along that section of fresh dirt after a heavy rain?

Photos Included:​

A map of Baker County with a mark showing where Haines is located at. A google map shows some detail, and a photo of some of the old building fronts from long ago. Some older coins should be at a site such as this.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Marion County

Butteville A River Town​

Butteville was founded back around 1845 and was located on the south bank of the Willamette River. Its main business was providing services to the many riverboats that traveled up and down river. Its officially status has been changed to that of ghost town, just over 200 residents live here today. The site being as old as it is would make it in my view a likely location for finding large cents and other pre- Civil War coins.

Photos Included:​

A section of map of Marion County with a mark placed in the general location of the old river town. A google image shows some details of the site. One source listed the town in Clackamas County which it might have been at one time, but then the county boundaries possibly changed over the years. Today it is considered Marion County.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Ghost Towns Of The Northwest​

This book covers several states and cost $17.95 when I bought it at a convenience store. The states covered are Oregon (15 sites), Washington (11 sites), Idaho (12 sites), Wyoming (10 sites), Montana (14 sites). Total number of illustrations is 311. I have read portions of it and it is an outstanding book. The man who did this book was also a backpacker who walked into these remote locations to get his own photos, he was not into metal detecting that I am aware of.
Author Norman D. Weis
Paperback bound over 300 pages.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Crook County

The Four Dutchmen’s Lost Placer​

The Ochoco Mountains are a very popular location for those into outdoor activities and maybe someday one of the folks that use the region for adventure will stumble across an adventure of another kind. Local stories are told that back around 1850 four Dutchmen discovered a placer deposit of gold in a remote canyon. They accumulated a sizable amount of gold and as fall was drawing near, they packed up to leave taking their gold with them. They cached the tools and left never to return to get the remaining gold in the deposit. Many years later some tools were found near an old cabin that had fallen down, the site might have been that of the four Dutchmen’s cabin. Somewhere in the region there is still gold if one finds the right spot.

Photos Included:​

A portion of map for Crook County with a mark in the general area of the lost placer deposit, another photo shows the terrain in the region of the lost discovery.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Lane County

A Town Called Crow​

The town of Crow was founded prior to 1874, in that year the post office opened and the post master, a fellow named Crow gave the town its name. Today not much remains of the original buildings, there is supposedly a museum located there, which deals with the pioneer days. Crow is a listed ghost town location.

Photos Included:​

A portion of map for Lane County with a red dot marking the site of the town, a google satellite image shows the site as it appears today. There could be some old foundations in the region as well as a buried cache or other dropped and lost items from the first residents that could be found.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Polk County

Black Rock Lumber Town​

Black Rock was an old lumber town and is currently listed as a ghost town site. It was at the end of a rail line coming from Dallas, the rail line was taken up after World War II. This town had seen some booming years in the late 1890’s thru the early part of the 1900’s, today the site is void of any buildings. It should prove to be an interesting site to check out.

Photos Included:​

A portion of Polk County with a mark placed in the general area of Black Rock, a google map shows some road details for the area. A satellite view shows no buildings remain form the good old days. Two photos of the town, one taken in 1910 the other in 1960.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Baker County

Sumpter​

This old gold mining town was established around 1862 and actually grew quite large having a population of several thousand due to the gold rush. Other mining camps and towns also sprung up as a result. A fire swept the region it is claimed around 1916, today there are under 200 residents living here. Some sources list the site as a ghost town, gold panning is still being done in the area, so if you like panning for gold it might be worth checking out.

Photos Included:​

A section of map for Baker County with a red dot marking the location of Sumpter. A satellite image of the region as it appears today and a photo of the town taken from the distance hills.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Gilliam County

Olex​

Back prior to 1874 the area which became Olex was settled and in time, it grew large enough to warrant a post office. A request was sent to Washington D.C. but the man who wrote the request had terrible handwriting, the town was to be named after an early settler who’s first name was Alex, thus the town was officially named Olex. Today the site is considered a ghost town location.

Photos Included:​

A portion of map for Gilliam County with a red dot marking the misspelled town’s location, a google map shows road details for the site. A satellite image shows the area as it appears today.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Umatilla County

Vansycle​

This was an old railroad town that later became a ghost town. It dates back to around 1881 when the railroad came thru the region. Once the rail line was put in, the area opened up for growing wheat. Vansycle apparently was one of the small stops where the local crops were loaded for shipping.

Photos Included:​

A portion of map for Umatilla County with a red dot marking the old town site, a satellite image shows the area as it appears today.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Benton County

King’s Valley​

This old town site is now a ghost town location and appears interesting enough for someone who could be in search of older coins and other items. The town was founded in 1853, and had a flour mill, later the railroad came and helped the town prosper even more. The local post office opened its doors in 1855, but closed them for good in the 1970’s. There appears to be a few buildings here, one of which looks like it could be the old railroad depot.

Photos Included:​

A map of Benton County with a mark placed in the general location of the old town, a google map shows where the site is in relation to other known places. The satellite image shows what the area looks like today.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Jackson County

The Hinkle Murders​

A mysterious murder took place at Logtown back in 1861. A Mrs. Hinkle and her two daughters, ages 6 and 16, died in a sudden fire at their home. The deaths were ruled as foul play due to how fast the fire spread and also because of the fact that it was known that Mrs. Hinkle had a cache of gold hidden around her place. A well known photographer of the times, Peter Britt was called to take a photograph of the dead woman’s eyes in hopes of capturing an image of the murderer, but the attempt failed. Back in those days it was believed that the last thing a person seen before they died was captured as an image on their eyes!
Today Logtown is a ghost town site, but at one time it was a busy place. It boasted of two blacksmith shops, a store, hotel, school, and two saloons. There were also a fair number of Chinese residents due to the discovery of gold in the region. For the most part the town burned down in the mid-1880’s, today the cemetery marks the location of another town that came and went.

Photos Included:​

A portion of Jackson County with a mark placed in the general location of Logtown, a google map shows some local road details. A satellite image shows what the region looks like today, maybe Mrs. Hinkle’s cache of gold is still where she hide it before she died.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Klamath County

Langell Valley​

Langell Valley is listed as a ghost town today, checking on the internet I discovered that one of the first to arrive in the region did so back around 1847 to raise cattle. There doesn’t appear to be much left of the town anymore, so it could be worth looking into.

Photos Included:​

A portion of map for Klamath County with a red dot marking the old town site, at least it still showed up as late as 1890. The google map shows the local roads, while a satellite image shows what the region looks like today.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Douglas County

Peel​

Peel is listed as a ghost town today, little info was available on its history. Situated in a narrow valley in a remote part of the county, it is a safe bet few have taken the time to check it out.

Photos Included:​

A portion of map for Douglas County with a red dot marking the site of the ghost town of Peel, an area map shows it is off in an almost forgotten section of the state. Both topo maps and satellite image provide a detailed look at the region.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Baker County

A Joke That Backfired​

The ghost town of Greenhorn is an interesting story, supposedly some greenhorns came to a gold mining camp from out east, they walked into a saloon and asked where they could start digging for gold. One resident miner told them as he pointed up at the side of a mountain that’s a good place. The greenhorns left and returned with richer samples than anyone in the area ever seen, so that is how the ghost town of Greenhorn got its name. At its peak the town reached between 2,500 and 3,000 residents, vacation homes and some original buildings still remain.

Photos Included:​

An old map of Baker County with a mark placed in the general location of the gold mining town of Greenhorn, an area map shows it is in an isolated area. A map with a close up view of the local roads is included.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Baker County

A Joke That Backfired Part 2​

Greenhorn is said to actually be sitting on the border of two counties, so some might find further info on it by researching Grant County. This should prove to be an interesting ghost town site.

Photos Included:​

More maps for Greenhorn, one is a satellite view of the area and also a topo map which interestingly enough shows some of the old mines located here. The old picture is of Greenhorn and is from 1913.

 

[Westernlegend1]

Josephine County

Does Almeda Bar Still Hold Gold?​

This article is from Oct 5, 1986 and tells about test drilling around the old Almeda Mine, searching for mineral wealth. The rising price of gold caused the renewed search for the precious metal during the Regan years. This effort was being cautious due to issues concerning the environment. According to an old 1874 mining act folks still have the legal right to search.

 

[knitterbug]

New Era

Clackamas County

A New Era​

I did some checking into this listed ghost town of Clackamas County. The place was called New Era, I guess that was due to the pioneers heading out there to settle the land. What I found was it does show up on a map dated 1895, but does not appear any more after that. It could be that it was renamed, I am not sure. I checked down to townships and it is not listed there either. Cemetery search also pulled up nothing. So this might be a true ghost town, with little on it. One source I did find, mentioned a religious meeting ground was once there. I read that those places can be good hunting for older coins, so someone might want to do some further research into it and possibly check the location out.

Photos Included:​

A black X marks the location of New Era on this 1895 map. The Barlow Road just might lead to New Era, many pioneer's traveled it, some portions are still visable while other sections are overgrown today. Otherwise just by searching for the site you might run across a tempting place to swing your coil such as this old barn.

I was surprised to learn that I lived so close to a "Ghost Town". After seeing on your picture of a map I did some research and found New Era is only two miles down the road I live on. I drive past it all the time. It's a group of houses that look none too old or special in any historic way. I will certainly be looking into them and the area around them more to see what I can find out.

 

[Westernlegend1]

I use the author Gary Speck's (Dust in the Wind) classifications for ghost towns. Some have folks living in them today and are not as active as they once were.

 

[mxtom]

Ruby El Hult (dec'd) has written two books on treasures in the Northwest. I don't remember their names but both of them discussed the Port Orford Meteorite at length. Here is a link to google: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=Ruby...t&aq=f&aqi=&aq=f&aqi=&oq=&fp=2cca7b2e99206b9c

 

[Westernlegend1]

Douglas County

Nugget​

Reports of gold discoveries and gold prospectors abound in this region. The site known as Nugget is listed as a ghost town and most likely seen some activity during the gold rush days. Some traces of the past must be around and could be found by someone with a metal detector.