Copperfield is a former town in Baker County, in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It is on the west bank of the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

and the north bank of Pine Creek, downstream of a feature of the Snake River known as The Oxbow. Copperfield Park, managed by Idaho Power, occupies the former town site. The

Geographic Names Information System The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is a database of name and location information about more than two million physical and cultural features, encompassing the United States and its territories; the Compact of Free Association, asso ...

also lists ''Copperfield'' as a variant name for Oxbow, Oregon.

Early history

According to the historian Lewis McArthur, the town was formed in the late 1890s as "Copper Camp", and was inhabited by prospectors of the local copper ore; However, the Oregon writer

Stewart Holbrook Stewart Hall Holbrook (1893–1964) was an American logger, writer, and popular historian. His writings focused on what he called the "Far Corner": Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. A self-proclaimed "low-brow" historian, his topics included Etha ...

asserted that "there was no copper in Copperfield", and that the community "had one purpose; namely, to cater to the uninhibited appetites of more than two thousand men who were engaged on two nearby construction projects." Copperfield was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted around 1898, along a Northwest Railway Company line that never developed. Soon the locality was known as "Copperfield" and a post office was established in 1899. The population grew to 1,000 by 1910 because two tunnels were being dug near The Oxbow by the local railroad company and by the predecessor of the Idaho Power Company. This railroad activity was described as a "brawling railroad construction camp" during this period by Barbara Ruth Bailey.

Martial law

As Holbrook describes it, "early in 1913 the construction jobs began to peter out. Fewer men were employed. Competition for the remaining trade became stiff. The saloon keepers began feuding." With stories of arson, the town acquired a reputation for lawlessness. When the county authorities failed to get control of the situation, Governor

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Early life West was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at t ...

announced he was sending his secretary, Fern Hobbs, with a signed declaration of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

to clean up the place. The locals, who had been led to believe she was travelling alone, were surprised by state militia who had accompanied Hobbs and enforced martial law on the town after she read the declaration to its inhabitants. A few months after Hobbs' intervention, a fire "of unknown origin destroyed a block or two of the jerry-built structures. No saloon ever reopened."Holbrook, p. 81

Ghost town

There were two more fires, and then the post office closed in 1927, essentially turning Copperfield into a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

. In 1965, however, the community of

Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

was founded near the site of Copperfield when the Idaho Power Company was building the

Oxbow Dam Oxbow Dam is a hydroelectric run-of-the-river rockfill dam in the western United States, on the Snake River in Hells Canyon ( river mile 273) along the Idaho-Oregon border. Description Completed in 1961, the dam is part of the Hells Canyon ...

. The former site of Copperfield is now a park run by Idaho Power.

References

External links

Oregon State Archives: The Copperfield Controversy archived website
from the Baker County Library {{Oregon Modern History Former populated places in Baker County, Oregon Populated places established in 1898 Ghost towns in Oregon 1898 establishments in Oregon