Oregon’s Sumpter Valley Dredge

Sumpter Valley Dredge
Largest abandoned dredge in the U.S.

In 1862 gold was discovered in this valley nestled in the Elkhorn Mountain Range. Between 1912 and 1954, dredges were used to extract rock and dirt from the riverbank and then this machine would separate the gold from the sediment. *  This dredge ran 24/7 with one exception--when it broke down.

When this happened, especially in the middle of the night, things got scary.

Large Gear

In 1918, Chris Rowe while greasing the dredge’s gears was sucked in and crushed to death. Years later, when the second of the three dredges was brought in to replace the first, the gears from the first one were transferred to the new machine.

Rowe’s ghost, who had been spotted by a workman in the hull of the first machine was said to follow the old gears into the new mechanism, for his ghost was now seen in this new dredge.

In the 1940s, a mechanic named Joe Bush worked on the dredge. He was the second man who was killed while working on this machine.

His ghost is the one connected to most stories told today about the haunted third dredge.

Workman in the Sumpter Valley in the 1940s and 50s state that Joe’s ghost would move their tools and eat their forgotten lunches. If the lights flickered, his spirit was always blamed.

Most disturbing of all was the fact that his wet, bare footprints were often spotted on the dredge’s various decks.

All this activity, according to old-timers Wes Dickison and Norm Hansen, who worked on the dredge in the 40s and 50s, caused such a ruckus that men refused to work at Sumpter.

They state the scariest times were when the dredge would break down at night—then the lights would go out.

Two men made up the night crew. One would have to leave to inform the boss, the Dredge master, while the other one—usually the junior crewmember—had to stay behind to keep an eye on the machine.

Most of the time, this is when Joe Bush’s ghost was heard and seen.

* This operation extracted 4 million dollars in gold.

The dredge was restored in 1995.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department have preserved this area as a heritage site. Tours of the Sumpter dredge are given in the spring and through the fall.

Park Rangers tell stories about Joe Bush’s ghost over a nightly campfire. Some have even spotted his spirit.

One female visitor went pale upon hearing these stories. During her tour earlier in the day she had spotted Joe— it dawned on her she had seen his ghost in one of the dredge’s upper windows.

Here is a video about this dredge.