A weekend with the Blues

[DirtyDog]

For some time I have been wanting to spend a couple days in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon to photograph historical mining industry related towns and ruins. The Blue Mountains contain the only significant hard rock mining district in Oregon. So clearly, I need to get my butt over there and do some exploring!

All historical photos are courtesy of the Baker County Library, Baker City Oregon

On my way to the Blues I make a quick stop at Canyon City, Oregon to get a few photos of that old mining town:

Used my time machine to get this one:

 

[DirtyDog]

The Blue Mountains are really neat in the fall as there are numerous Tamarack Trees which are pine trees that turn yellow in the fall resulting in some amazing fall colors that you usually don't see in pine forests. The center of mining activity in the Blues was the town of Sumpter - a town that in the first decade of the 1900's was quite the mountain metropolis having as many as 30,000 residents. Sadly, most of the town burned to the ground in 1917 and never recovered. These days, Sumpter is a popular hunter's village with a few amenities and plenty of history to explore in the surrounding mountains.

Sumpter at Western Mining History - numerous photos

Sumpter in 1900:

Sumpter Burning in 1917:

 

[DirtyDog]

The two biggest attractions at Sumpter are the Sumpter Gold Dredge State Park and the Sumpter Valley Railroad:

This would be a fantastic event for our resident photographers:

 

[DirtyDog]

McCully Forks Campground is a nice campground just a few miles west of Sumpter:

Six miles north of Sumpter is the former mining town of Bourne. Bourne has a handful of summer cabins left today:

Bourne in the 1890's:

More Bourne, Oregon photos at WMH

 

[DirtyDog]

Granite was one of the more prominent mining towns in the district and there are still a handful of residents today:

Grand Hotel, Granite 1890's:

More Granite, Oregon at WMH

 

[DirtyDog]

Greenhorn was another old mining town that I had understood was abandoned but it seems that not only were there at least several occupied homes, but there was a public outhouse and a little telephone building. I'm wondering what is going on up there to require such facilities, if anyone knows please let me know!

Greenhorn 1905:

Greenhorn City, Oregon at WMH

 

[DirtyDog]

Finally I took a trip up to the Fremont Powerhouse, a mining-era hydroelectric generation plant that has been restored. The caretakers homes have also been restored and are available as rentals:

And that's all folks!

 

[ski3pin]

DD, looks like an very interesting trip with much history. Thanks for the report and photos. We have been wanting to explore in the Blue Mountains. Really enjoyed the old photo of the Grand Hotel, quite the place!