Sumpter Gold Rush

Yuba-Style Gold Dredges were mechanized placer mines, and floated in a pond of their own making. Three Gold Dredges operated in the Sumpter Valley
from 1914 until 1954 learn more

The Dredges weren't the only
big machines in town.....

The Monighan once worked the Sumpter area too...it did it's share of gold mining as well, and assisted the Sumpter Dredge when needed.

The Monighan now sits at the

Cracker Creek
Museum of Mining

The Monighan came to Sumpter in 1940. This 12 ton monster was used to dredge dry land on a large scale in the valley.
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The Monighan Dragline at the Cracker Creek Museum of Mining in Sumpter, Oregon

To learn more about our historic gold mining town, visit the
Sumpter Museum

"Ghosts and Gold in Eastern Oregon"

Gold was first discovered in the Sumpter area by a group of men in 1862, who then named their new town after historic Ft. Sumter in South Carolina. Some believe they just forgot the "p." The name was later changed by the U.S. Postal Service. Legend says that the U.S. Postmaster ordered the spelling changed because of the Civil War Reference to the real Ft. Sumter.....Regardless of how it was spelled, Sumpter was booming by the late 1890's.....growing to about 3000. Of course the U.S. Census Bureau wasn't counting Chinese, or Women and Children at that time so that number could easily have been doubled! Sumpter was a town to rival most around the State with wooden streets, a couple of banks, an opera house, several saloons, four churches, even an optometrist's wheel for making eye glasses! Gold Mining still continues in the Sumpter area with private Placer and Hard Rock Mines peppering the Elkhorn mountains. State Park Rangers give free gold panning lessons every weekend
at the Sumpter Valley Dredge you can even keep
the gold you find (for a small fee.)

According to theU.S. Geological Survey......
we have at least 80% of original gold still in the mountains of the area. If you do decide to dip your gold pan in the river, just be mindful of existing mining claims and private property.

Mine exhibit at the Sumpter Municipal Museum

Check out the Gold Mining display at the

Sumpter Municipal Museum

Visit our friends at the www.goldminerscorner.com

Looking to buy a Gold Mine or just have some questions about Gold Mining in Sumpter, Oregon?
www.boulderpatchmines.com Ask for Diggerdan!

See over 1,000 historic gold mining photos: www.bakerlib.org

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