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Sumpter, Oregon
Photo: Doug, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dredge No. 3, the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge, is a 1935 floating gold-mining machine that churned up the valley's gravels until 1954 and is now a state heritage area. The legend of Joe Bush says a ghost leaves wet, bare footprints on the decks, flickers the lights and opens and closes doors. By the accounts of workers, the legend began as a joke: a foreman blamed Joe Bush for anything that went wrong on the dredge. It is an affectionate bit of mining-town folklore rather than a documented haunting.
State heritage area open daily May through October, with guided dredge tours on weekends; the interpretive center keeps seasonal hours.
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