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5,400 words

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon's LostCommunities

by Rick Hamell

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 2

Foreword

I did not start out to explore Oregon's ghost towns or

history. While I previously had an interest in history with

Oregon as a minor interest, I was more about the big picture.

During my explorations of the "lost" and forgotten parts of

Oregon, I discovered countless interesting stories about the

State that I never knew about before.

Many of these stories are buried in seldom checked out books

at Libraries, in the old book section of used book stores, or in

the minds of a few resident old timers who live nearby. Half the

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 3

fun of looking for ghost towns and their tales, has been digging

for the information.

What is a ghost town?

Most people think of ghost towns as a collection of

decrepit abandoned buildings in the middle of nowhere. By this

definition there are only three such sites in Oregon, and the

available inventory of many other states gets drastically

slashed. By widening out the definition of what constitutes a

ghost town we get back hundreds of interesting sites that would

be otherwise overlooked.

A good rule of thumb that I have used is that the

population is currently 1/10 of what it was at it's height. This

opens up a host of other interesting towns to historic scrutiny

and preservation. Two of Oregon's most famous towns, Shaniko in

Central Oregon, and Hardman in Eastern Oregon are examples of

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 4

this. Both are historic towns with small year round resident

populations that have a number of abandoned and under utilized

buildings. But both towns had hundreds of residents at their

height.

I do not know who created the Ghost Town Classification

system below. But I did find that it did not meet my needs

completely so I expanded upon it a bit by adding "Class H," and

"Originating Purpose" to the list.

Class A: barren site (Examples, Palmer, Kingsley )

Class B: rubble and/or roofless building ruins

Class C: standing abandoned buildings (with roofs), no

population, except maybe a caretaker. (Examples, Cabell City)

Class D: semi/near ghost towns. A small resident population, many

abandoned buildings. (Example, Hamilton, Green Horn)

Class E: busy historic community, yet still much smaller than in

its boom years. (Example, Granite , Sumpter)

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. (Example, Golden,

Ritter)

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 5

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.

(Example, Idanha)

Originating Purpose:

1.) Mineral Exploitation (Example, Greenhorn)

2.) Agricultural, includes Live Stock, Farming and Fishing

(Example, Clifton)

3.) Timber, includes Company Built Towns (Example, Bridal Veil)

4.) Shipping or Travel Depot, Stage Coach Station, Train Station

(Example, Friend)

5.) Religious or Ideological

6.) Recreation and Service, includes Saloon Towns, Mining

Supplies, Mill Town, Supply Depots. (Example, Whitney)

7.) Manufacturing

Using this example the town of Golden Oregon, which is now

an Oregon State Park, would be a Class F1 town. Before 2009, when

Oregon took over the remains of the town as a historical

location, the town would have been a Class D1 as there are a

number of historic houses within a couple of miles of the main

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 6

portion of town that historically all would have been part of

Golden.

Golden

Golden Oregon, the driest Ghost Town in Oregon

Golden earned it's nickname as "The Driest town in Oregon"

due to William Ruble's anti-alcohol ways. He forbid any in town,

causing locals to head west to Wolf Creek, or south to Placer to

spend their money.

Golden is one of the few "true" Ghost Towns in Oregon. At

least as most people count them, IE, with actual buildings

remaining but no population. Luckily though it's now an Oregon

State Park and is being restored and maintained by the state.

The area of Coyote Creek was first settled in the 1840′s by

Gold Miners. Another gold strike in nearby Salmon River saw the

local population disappear to take advantage of that. Chinese

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 7

Gold Miners immediately moved in only to be pushed out again by

white miners.

In the 1870′s the first "hydraulic giant" (essentially a

huge water hose,) was introduced to the area. The damage from

where this washed down entire hillsides to be searched for gold

can still be seen.

The mining activity was so intense at this time, that the

Oregon-California StageCompany made a detour here from Leland to

drop off passengers, mail, and goods.

William Ruble ,like so many others, was drawn to this area

by the lure of easy to find gold. He soon brought his family to

settle along the creek. Like many other miners in the area, they

used hydraulic water mining to wash hills away. The remains were

then run through sluice boxes to recover the gold.

While hydraulic mining was effective, it suffered issues

when water levels dropped in the Summer. To solve this issue, the

Ruble brothers, Bill and Schuyler, invented the Ruble Elevator.

It increased mining efficiency drastically and became an instant

success, even winning an award at the famous Lewis and Clark

Exhibition in Portland.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 8

By the mid 1880′s William Ruble had purchased all the claims

east and west of the area, and resolved the outstanding legal

issues with the last claim. The family then mined the easier

claims themselves, while leasing the rest to other miners.

A post office was established January 10th, 1896 to serve

the area's 150 or more families. Schuyler Ruble was the first

Post Master. William Ruble was an teetotaler, leaving the town a

dry one. Local miners would frequently head south to Placer for

alcohol, and west to dance hall at Wolf Creek.

The decline of Golden was as swift as it's rise, and the

post office closed March 31, 1920.

When entering Golden, be sure to watch on the right side.

Two older houses, along with the school house are partially

hidden in the woods. All are on private land and obviously serve

local families still. Once you've entered town, the old creek is

on the right. Coyote Creek is now protected wetlands.

On the left the first visible building is one of the town's

two original churches. Next to that is a small cemetery. Rumor

says it was used a prop in the TV show Gunsmoke. Most of the

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 9

grave markers are blank wood so this is possible. There is one

real grave stone here though, hidden under some bushes.

Behind the church and too the right is the old carriage

house of the Ruble House. Unfortunately it's not very

picturesque, and still has signs of recent repairs with modern

materials.

A small cart lays dilapidated next to an information kiosk

with the following three signs. The remaining two buildings are

another ramshackle old barn, and an old general store.

Getting to Golden is really easy. Take the Wolf Creek exit

off of I-5 (north and south bound.) If you're going south bound,

keep driving south along Old State Highway 99S. Just after

passing through "town," there will be an underpass on the left.

The underpass is unlabeled, but there should be a Oregon State

Park sign pointing to this road. Follow Canyon Creek Road about

3.5. The town will all be on the left side.

If you're northbound on I-5, just take a right off the exit

and you'll be on Canyon Creek Road.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 10

Antelope

Antelope, Oregon is most famous for the attempted take over

by the Rajneeshpuram in the 1980′s. The Big Muddy Ranch which

served as their headquarters outside of town still remains but

has been taken over by another, less radical religious group. The

rest of the town has reverted back to it's sleepy ghost town

status since then. Only a few items remain of those times. Most

of the town now consists of houses, mobile homes and a couple of

older buildings.

The original townsite of Antelope was originally established

in 1863 as a stagecoach stop by Howard Maupin. This location is

just north east of the Antelope Cemetery. The main town was moved

South East about half a mile in 1881 so that it was one the newly

established Dalles to Canyon City Wagon Road. The remains of this

road is highway 218 that runs through the middle of town as Main

Street.

The town burned down in Winter of 1894, only two buildings

remain from this era.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 11

On the north side of town, the first building seen is the

Antelope School. It no longer serves as a school, but still does

duty as a community center. The Rajnessh apparently used as a

barracks to house homeless people from California, that they

brought in to stack the town council and change the votes.

Greenhorn

Greenhorn is Oregon's smallest incorporated city, and also

the highest at 6,300 feet. It has a full time mayor, but no "full

time" residents. The town first appeared in the 1860′s but does

not seem to have been incorporated until 1891. A Post Office was

not installed until 1902.

Ralph Friedman says that the rock known as Greenhorn got

it's name when two "Green Horns" from back east stopped at a

local Saloon (perhaps in nearby Robisonville?) to ask where they

could find gold. One joker looked out the window and pointed to

the rock high up on the hill saying "I reckon that is a good

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 12

place." The two politely thanked the man and left. They returned

the next day having struck gold and kicked off yet another gold

rush in the area.

Copperfield

In some ways parts of Oregon are still very much the Wild

West. The independent spirit is far from dead as ranchers still

attempt to eek out a living on land their ancestors first

homesteaded on. There are still places where horses tied up in

front of stores in the "downtown" is not even commented upon.

Doctors double as Veterinarians and make house calls. Cults of

crazy religions create communes, and neighbors just say "Someone

should do something 'bout that.

First incorporated in 1908, the town of Copperfield was

hands down Oregon's rowdiest town. The first Copperfield was

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 13

established about 75 miles north east of Baker City on July 26th,

1899 with the opening of the post office. This location is now

known as Oxbow and sits on the Snake River near Oxbow Reservoir.

In the late 1800′s the town served as a supply depot for

local miners. The town had several saloons and a couple of

bordellos.

By 1913 between workers from E.H. Harriman's rail road

project and the more workers at dam being built nearby on the

Snake River, the town had become the most lawless location in

Oregon. Over 1000 citizens live in the town. But the Mayor and

City Council owned the local Saloons. Of Law Enforcement, there

was none. It was said that the local Marshall was ordered by the

Mayor to allow the wild Saturday night to dawn parties.

Daily fights that lasted an hour each were common between

the railroad workers and the dam workers. The could use rocks,

knives and bottles, but guns and rattlesnakes were forbidden.

Roulette wheels and gambling were common in every tavern and

hotel.

But the town was already dying a slow death by 1913 as the

mining business had dried up long ago. Both the dam and railroad

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 14

projects had finished and with them the exodus of hundreds of

workers. The population dropped from 1200 to 84 in the space of a

few months. This simply increased the problems as the saloon

owners attempted to attract every last drinking man possible into

their establishments. Four saloons were burned down in obvious

arson attempts. Mayor A.H. Stewart and one of the other city

council members conspired against Martin Knezevich to close his

competing saloon down.

Worse yet, in an attempt to make money the saloon owners

even served minors. This outraged local mothers and rancher

women. Martin Knezevich, who had been reduced to selling soda pop

due to problems in "following the liquor laws" goaded these women

into petitioning Governor Oswald West to do something about the

town. Nearly half the town folk wrote him, including some of the

young boys who had been served alcohol in the other saloons.

An ardent Prohibitionist himself, Governor West was

outraged. He first pleaded with Ed Rand who was the Baker County

Sheriff to clean up the town. Sheriff Rand declined stating that

he did not have the power to close down the saloons without a

proper trial and to do so would be Unconstitutional. District

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Attorney C. T. Godwin supported Sheriff Rand in his decision.

Both men had already tried to clean up the town but failed due to

a lack of evidence.

Next he telegramed the city Mayor and ordered him to close

the saloons by Christmas Day, 1913. Or else he might go to

Copperfield himself "to shoot a bartender," and fulfill a long

time desire. The town ignored him.

By the end of the year, Governor West was most likely

exasperated with the situation and called upon his secret weapon.

Miss Fern Hobbs moved to Hillsboro Oregon and put her

younger brother and sister through school while she worked. She

worked as private secretary to the president of the Title

Guarantee and Trust Company. While she was employed there, the

bank failed. Secretary of State Ben Olcott who worked with the

failing bank to protect the State's assets, noted Miss Hobbs'

loyalty and efficiency.

After the failure of the bank, she worked for J. Wesley Ladd

(who's brother William S. Ladd created Ladd's addition in

Portland) as a Governess. On the side she continued to work as a

secretary and even studied law. She was able to graduate in 1913

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 16

from the Willamette University College of Law and became the

first female lawyer in Oregon.

Some time after loosing her job at the bank and before she

got her degree, Ben Olcott recommended her services as a

stenographer to Governor Oswald. He was so impressed with her

abilities that he hired her as his private secretary. At $3000 a

year, she became the highest paid woman in public services in the

United States.

Oswald soon put her in charge of his anti-vice movement.

During 1912 she interviewed a variety of underworld characters

and worked to further the Governor's visions. By the time the

Copperfield incident had come up, Miss Hobbs had just returned

from Washington D.C. where she had successfully negotiated a land

dispute between Oregon State and the Federal Government.

Oswald sent her to Copperfield to resolve his problem there.

Along with some of the "bravest and toughest militiamen in

Oregon" who were dressed in civilian clothes, Miss Hobbs boarded

the train for Burns Oregon, then to Copperfield. All the National

Guardsmen were veterans from the Philippines, and their leader

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 17

Lieutenant Colonel Berton K. Lawson, was warden of the State's

prison. Their presence was kept a secret by everyone involved.

Mayor Stewart of Copperfield, who had been alerted of her

coming, declared that the town would give her a grand reception

so that she would find nothing wrong. They decorated the town

with ribbons and flowers and awaited her arrival.

On the afternoon of January 3rd, 1914 Miss Fern Hobbs

stepped down from the Baker-Copperfield train. Her arrival was

greeted by the town toughs and assorted gamblers who had come to

laugh at her. Unfortunately for them, the six National Guardsmen

disembarked directly after her. Dressed in their uniforms, and

with loaded weapons.

The no doubt perturbed Mayor Stewart invited her up the hill

to a dance hall. Everyone present followed where she stepped up

to the bandstand, pulled out a paper and began to read the

proclamation of Martial Law.

The townspeople stood stunned at such a thing. The ever

polite Miss Hobbs asked the city council to resign. Mayor Stewart

calmly arose from his seat and declared that he would not do so.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 18

The rest of the city council followed and declared that they

would not close their saloons. This was on the advice of James

Nichols, a law partner of District Attorney Godwin

With his no doubt years of practice at whipping recruits

into shape, and his stint in the Oregon Prison system, Lieutenant

Colonel Lawson immediately ordered the men to unbuckle the

holsters of their guns. He strode to the front of the room and

tacked a copy of the Proclamation of Martial Law on the wall.

The townsmen quietly relinquished their weapons at the door.

Miss Hobbs returned on the 4:00 PM train to Baker, spent the

night in the Geiser Grand Hotel and returned to Portland the next

day. In the meantime Lawson and his men locked up the saloons (no

word if they locked up Martin Knezevich's too,) and posted guards

all around.

The next morning Attorney Nicolas obtained an injunction

against the Governor's actions. Col. Lawson received the telegram

informing him of such. It ordered himself, Miss Hobbs and

Governor West to appear in the Baker County Court to explain what

right they had to close the saloons.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 19

In anger Lawson ripped the telegram into shreds and seized

the town depot to censor telephone and telegraph messages. He

then wired for more troops based on an erroneous report by the

Oregonian that Sheriff Rand was putting together a posse. Sheriff

Rand later disavowed the news saying he would not risk any lives

over this matter. But Governor West requested a hearing to remove

him from office and appointed Miss Hobbs to represent the State

as special counsel.

The next day, ten (or twenty depending on the source) more

soldiers arrived in the town. They immediately began packing up

all the liquor in town, including all the gambling equipment and

even two "obscene" paintings that had been patriotically draped

with American flags in one of the saloons. It was all loaded into

a boxcar and sent to the Baker City dump where it was later

burned. Over 10,000 pounds of alcohol were confiscated.

On January 8th 1914, Sheriff Rand and a Portland attorney

representing Governor West met in nearby Huntington. They reached

an agreement to reduce the number of National Guardsmen to 4.

Circuit Judge Anderson ruled on the 19th of the same month that

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 20

the courts could not interfere with the Governor's right to

declare Martial Law.

The saloon owners later filed against the Governor to

recover $8000 for lost liquor but the Baker County Circuit Court

and the Oregon Supreme court both ruled that Governor West was

within his rights. Soon afterwards the remaining saloons were

burned down (no word if it was accidental or on purpose,) and the

town continued to die it's slow death.

The Post Office finally closed July 15th, 1927.

Currinsville

Currinsville is located about two miles south of Eagle

Creek, Oregon and four miles North of Estacada. It was an

overnight spot on the Barlow Road portion of the Oregon Trail.

The earliest mention of the location of Currinsville is in

"History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the

Sea" by Fred Lockley. In a short biography of Erwin Charles

Hackett, county recorder of Clackamas County and three term mayor

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 21

of Oregon City, Hackett mentions having a picture of a barn

located on the site of a fort built in 1855 on Joseph Young's

land claim to protect against hostile natives who had been

killing Pioneers and burning houses along the Barlow Road. This

would have been during the Rogue River Indian Wars that took

place mostly in southern Oregon but spread around the entire

territory.

Located near the Phillip Foster Farm (currently a living

history Museum,) around which the town of Eagle Creek was built

at the end of the Barlow Trail, the area had enough population to

get a post office on Jun 24, 1874. The original Post Office name

was Zion and William H. H. Wade was the first postmaster. The

name of the post office (and town) was changed to Currinsville on

January 24, 1884 with George J. Currin as the first post master.

(Source; Oregon Geographic Names) Before the Zion Post Office was

opened, the area was known as Young's Prairie.

By July 1888 a stage coach left Portland three times a week

from Lent's Post Office (in the Lent's Neighborhood in Portland,)

and stopped at Damascus, Eagle Creek and Currinsville.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 22

From Church History, Clackamas Oregon: "Dr. Swander reports

the Currinsville Church was launched in 1891. The town was

located on Highway 224 four miles north of Estacada. The 1892

Disciples Year Book shows there were eight members and the

contact person was Frank Lemon. Since the group was so small and

no property value is listed, it is doubtful if they had a

building of their own. It is thought that the group was later

absorbed by the Estacada Church."

Located in what was at the time heavy forest, fires were not

unknown. One local farmer lost his house and barn to fire in

September 1893, and another lost his barn with cattle still

inside.

In 1902 Currinsville became one of the stops on the Oregon

Water and Power Railroad to Cazadero. Other stops included

Boring, Barton, and Estacada. The Post Office was closed on

February 16, 1906. The residents were split between the Eagle

Creek Post Office and the Estacada Post Office.

But the story of Currinsville doesn't quite end there. The

Oregonian of March 23, 1912 talks about a secessionist movement

of East Clackamas County with Estacada as the County Seat over

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 23

high taxes imposed by Oregon City. The article talks about

speakers being sent to Currinsville. While nothing much seems to

have come of the movement, the subject of high county taxes in

Eastern Clackamas County refuses to die for several more years.

The East Clackamas County Fair of September 13, 1914 in

Estacada featured community bands from Currinsville, and another

nearby community called Garfield.

Secessionism seems to be in the news again on March 24,

1916. County Judge H.S. Anderson spoke to a crowd of 75-80 people

at Ely's Hall (maybe John Ely's house, who seemed to be on of the

organizers) during the Eastern Clackamas Taxpayer's League. The

League meets again on July 20, 1916 (in the evening due to farm

work it is noted,) in Barton to again discuss the matter of high

taxes. This time with County Assessor Jack (no last name.)

Concerns over "The Great War," or WWI as we know it today

quickly overshadowed Tax issues. Many local residents joined the

military. Some did not come back. Among them James A. Linn, son

of James O. Linn and Mary L. Cater. James A. Linn was in the 37th

Engineer Battalion and died at Walter Reed Hospital March 29th,

1918. The unit was mobilized in January 1918 in Virginia, and

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 24

didn't see battle until September 1918 so it's most likely that

James died of disease or accident. The obituary makes no mention

of cause of death, but does say he was a member of the Modern

Woodmen of America which is a fraternal life insurance

organization that still exists today.

Another local, Newton Moak, who apparently attended the

Currinsville Schools died from blood poisoning on December 2 1918

after being shot with shrapnel. Most likely the original wound

came in November during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The funeral

was being held on October 9th, 1920 in Oregon City. Moak was a

member of the 363rd Infantry of the 91st Division and had been

originally buried near Paris France. Tragically, WWI officially

ended a month before his death on November 10th, 1918. He lived

to see the end of the Great War, but didn't make it home.

But Currinsville's patriotism didn't stop at sending it's

population to war. The district was one of several to exceed it's

quota in war bonds in July 1918.

On May 30th, 1925 George Currin (the guy the town was

ultimately named after) and his wife celebrated their 50th

wedding anniversary – in their home in Gresham. But the final

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 25

blow for Currinsville must be the consolidation of election

districts on July 31st, 1933. The number of districts was reduced

from 104 to 60, with a savings of $2000 per a district.

Currinsville was merged with Barlow, North Molalla, Meadowbrook,

Dodge, South Estacada, George and Garfield.

Only a few years later Currinsville is in the news again.

This time locals are reporting that horses are being spooked and

taking off. And not just young animals, but hardened veterans

that know their job well. There was no further word of what was

causing the problems with the horses.

Further news stories wander into the mundane from here on

out. Death notices, land for sale, advertisements for groceries

in the 1960′s, and car accidents. These days Currinsville is

hardly a bump in the road. A few dilapidated barns, older farm

houses and Portland Crafstman style homes along with a cemetery

(located on private property at the corner of Duus Road and SE

Eagle Creek Road,) all point towards a once vibrant community. A

simple street sign says "Currinsville," and a few maps still

remember the name. But Currinsville has joined many other Oregon

Cities in the annuals of history to become a Ghost Town.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 26

Clifton

Clifton is on the Columbia River about seventeen miles up

stream of Astoria. It's generally accepted that Stephen G. Spear

named his farm Clifton after the cliffs in the area. The first

post office was opened on January 6th 1874. Up until 1890 when

the first cannery was built by J. W. and V. Cook, it was mostly

occupied by gill netters.

Salmon fishing and canning was a huge business for the

entire mouth of the Columbia. Salmon canneries lined the shores

of this portion of the river. Unfortunately most of those

buildings are gone now, but a few can still be seen here and

there. Clifton is the opposite extreme of Astoria, very little of

it exists any more although it was a quite a large city at one

time.

Italian, Yugoslavian and Greek immigrants fished the heavy

salmon runs in the Columbia. Chinese immigrants worked in the

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 27

cannery and lived in bunkhouses above the town. The cannery

closed in 1906 and the Chinese moved on. The rest stayed and the

city quietly split up among ethnic lines. Italians in the lower

part, Greeks at the top, and the Yugoslavians occupied the middle

part.

Logging operations took over and were enough to sustain the

town population. There were once five different camps within

three miles of the town.

At it's height, the town had two stores, one of which housed

both the school and post office. It had two saloons, one of which

had a skating rink and dance hall upstairs. The town never had a

fire department, jail or city hall. The dance hall burned to the

ground in 1921. Reports differ as to if it was rebuilt or not.

By 1930 the logging camps had all closed, having exhausted

the old growth trees in the area. US Highway 30 came through the

town in 1937. Before that people hopped one of the four daily

trains between Astoria and Portland, or took a boat to the city

of Cathlamet on the Washington side of the river.

By 1950 the town was pretty much gone. One of the two stores

and church closed. Houses were dismantled and used for lumber.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 28

The second store closed in the 1960′s and became the office of

the town's caretaker, who was employed by Bumble Bee.

Now days the town isn't even on the main road any more and

little remains of this once busy town. In 2005 the Lewis and

Clark Explorer was the last train to pass through town, it didn't

stop.

Wendling

Wendling, Oregon was a company Mill Town built by the Booth-

Kelly Lumber Company in the Mohawk Valley about 20 miles

Northeast of Eugene Oregon. At it's height it had a population of

about 1000 people, half of which worked at Booth-Kelly's Wendling

Mill. The hills around the area were populated by hundreds more

men living in logging camps that fed the Wendling Mill and

Springfield Mill.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 29

The first mill in the area was owned by a man named Holcomb

who built it at the junction of Mill and Wolf Creeks. In 1885

Whitbeck and Sterns purchased the mill, operated it for a short

time before selling to Johnson and George Wendling. They

operating it for a few years before selling to George Kelly, Tom

Kelly, and Robert Booth in 1898. These men had formed the Booth-

Kelly Lumber Company and immediately set about "modernizing" the

mill.

The town grew so fast that an Post Office was established in

1899. In October of 1900, the Springfield-Wendling branch of the

Southern Pacific Railroad was built to Wendling. This allowed

timber and lumber to be shipped by train instead of wagon and

allowed output to be increased even further. It is reported that

the line was extended another 25 miles up the valley where trains

brought timber to the mill from remote logging camps.

In 1903 the Southern Pacific Railroad announced that they

would no longer sell land grants to individuals after realizing

how much potential profit timber profit there was in the lands

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 30

they owned. This was in conflict of the Pacific Railroad Acts

enacted by Congress in 1862 and 1863. The Federal Government

filed suit against the Southern Pacific Railroad, causing

operations to cease. Because of this Booth-Kelly was shut down in

1904 as they could no longer transport logs or lumber. The mill

was able to open again two years later after the lawsuit was

resolved and by 1908 had grown yet again.

In August 1910 most of the town was destroyed by fire. The

mill itself was saved, but most everything else had to be

rebuild. Less then a year later the town featured larger houses

with indoor plumbing. Before that the town consisted of a bunk-

house with 46 rooms and electricity, a company store, cottages

for married men and their families, an church, a school, a

resident doctor, locomotive barn, machine shop, blacksmith shop,

train depot, bowling alley, barber shop, and an skating rink.

The roads in Wendling were interesting, they were covered

with left over sawdust from the mill. Later they were replaced

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 31

with discarded and left over planks from the mill, along with

wood-slat sidewalks.

The mill saw another fire in 1922, but was able to stay in

business until 1946. The closing was prompted by a labor dispute,

before a third and final fire that destroyed the building. This

signed the death warrant for Wendling as any remaining timber was

too far away to be financially viable. The Post Office closed in

1952, and the land sold to the Georgia Pacific Corporation in

1959.

One of Wendling's most engaging residents was Opal Whiteley,

who as a child had kept a diary of her adventures in a

fantasyland composed of the trees, beasts, and wild flowers

populated by fairies. Opal claimed to be an illegitimate child of

French aristocracy who was either purchased or adopted as a

replacement by her mother who had "lost" the original Opal.

The book of her life, complied by Opal herself, and launched

as a serial in the Atlantic Monthly Press in 1920 ended up

selling three editions and 15,000 copies in less then a year. By

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 32

1921, the Story of Opal was pulled from shelves due to the

controversy surrounding Opal's life.

Not much is left of Modern Wendling. A few older houses, the

covered bridge, and the memories of residents lay among the

ghosts of the mill. Concrete remains mark the final location of

the mill, the general store, and the third spillway dam. There

are rumors of the remains of a playground, and the children's

cemetery on the hill. But the road up is closed to traffic other

then logging trucks. Other then these remains, the forest is

slowly taking over the town again.

Oregon's Ghosts - An Exploration of History through Oregon'sLost Communities/Hamell 33

Endnotes