Address: 211 Austin St, Sumpter, OR 97877, USA
Phone: +15418942486
Richard Scherer
This is a cool old gold mining dredge that has been restored and now sits in a park area in the historic gold mining town of Sumpter Oregon where the dredge operated for many years. There is also a nature path there for you to explore the dredge ponds, flowers and a board walk to enter and explore the dredge. As you come through the valley you'll see the old dredge piles running along the river as you come to the turn-off for Sumpter. I love it up there. As always leave it better than you found it and enjoy 😉.
Lela Hoefer
The dredge self guided tour was great as you could move at your own pace. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. Panning for gold was fun for all ages. Will definitely recommend!
bartellj
An amazing display of Unique mining history. The restoration on this dredge is pretty amazing! You can walk inside and see all the original mechanics. Multiple plaques tell how everything works. There is also a nice trail with lots of mining relics.
cvwalls
What a Wonder this dredge must've been in its day!! You can see where it was used by all the tailings around town . Well taken cared of, located in the middle of town. Nice walking path around the dredge with benches along the way. Couple kiosks with pictures of it in use. Just approximately 30 miles out of Baker City on hwy 7, follow signs. They filmed "Ghost Mine" just out of town on Cracker Creek (Crescent Mine).
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Sumpter is a town. There are claims for sale through local real estate agents, but for your safety you should assume that all land in the area is already someone's claim. You can, with a free permit available at the visitor center, pan for gold in the state park. You may only use one shovel, one pan, and one bucket. No metal detectors or dredges are allowed. Most of the land around Sumpter is National Forest or private property.
If you worked on the dredge in 1940's you would think so. It felt like a spooky place to dredge workers back then. When lights would go out on inside of dredge from losing power. Blame it on Joe Bush, the ghost of the dredge, workers would say. Created as a joke by an older brother of one of the dredge workers at the time. To explain anything that went wrong or thought strange or unusual on the dredge which operated 24 hrs a day. The idea of Joe Bush the ghost has now become a legend and adds to the interesting history of the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge built in 1935. It now sits in a pond at the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area where it stopped working in 1954. The dredge and visitor center are closed during winter, but visitors can still view dredge from outside and enjoy network of nature trails in area. Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area is open May 1 - Oct 31. Visit Sumpter Bed & Breakfast as a popular haunted destination in Sumpter.
We were there last weekend and it was open, we walked through it, got to pan for gold good time
City Hall is your best bet. Small town. Not everything is staffed 100% of the time.
Yes. I saw the first one and it looks like it?? It is a Spooky Old Place. It is said, when it was running, you could Hear It 20 miles away. Google it.
Yes
At this time of the month: no.
The park is open May 1 to October 31, 7 AM to 7 PM. The Dredge itself is open at 8 AM and closed at 5 PM. The visitor center is open from 9 AM to 4 PM although weather may require adjustments. Tours are available on weekends and during the week by special arrangement. Gold panning lessons are available on weekends and by special arrangement such as school groups.
Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day are the weekends for Flea Market in Sumpter. Flea Markets are not related to the Sumpter Valley Dredge or the Sumpter Valley Railroad.
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