Auburn was an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...
in rural
Baker County, Oregon, United States, now considered a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
.
Auburn lies off
Oregon Route 7 southwest of
Baker City and east of
McEwen on the edge of the
Blue Mountains.
Auburn is deserted today, but the former
gold mining boomtown was once the largest community in
Eastern Oregon.
Auburn only had one or two buildings until 1861, when gold was discovered in the area.
[ By September 1862, Auburn had grown into a full-fledged town with over 20 stores and 1000 homes to serve the mining industry.]county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of Baker County, but by the 1870s Auburn was largely deserted,[ with a population of 200 people in 1873.]post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
, the first in northeast Oregon, closed in 1903.
See also
* List of ghost towns in Oregon
References
Further reading
*Bright, Verne. "Blue Mountain Eldorados: Auburn, 1861." '' Oregon Historical Quarterly'' 62, 1961: 213-236
*McLoughlin, Virginia Duffy. "Cynthia Stafford and the Lost Mining Town of Auburn." '' Oregon Historical Quarterly'' 98, 1997: 6-55
External links
*
Ghost towns in Oregon
Former populated places in Baker County, Oregon
Populated places established in 1861
1861 establishments in Oregon
Former county seats in Oregon
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