JOURNEY
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, July 31, 2019
C5
Dredge
Continued from PageC4
keeping, surveying, truck
driving, management and
other roles.
On the outside, a min-
ing dredge resembles a
boat floating on a pond of
its own making. Project-
ing from the bow is a boom
with 72 one-ton buckets
that dug up the countryside
at the rate of 20 buckets per
minute. Another boom at
the stern deposited tailings
across the landscape that,
seen from the air, resemble
worm castings and can be
seen for miles along State
Route 7.
Inside the dredge, elec-
trically powered machinery
duplicated on a larger scale
the same processes used by
placer miners during the
gold rush across the West.
Large rocks and gravel
were sifted, sorted and sep-
arated from finer miner-
als and then washed over a
series of riffles, where gold
settled and was trapped.
A film crew shot foot-
age of Sumpter No. 3 for
an episode in the 2013 tele-
vision series “Ghost Mine”
about a phantom called
Joe Bush. Dredge workers
claimed to have seen wet
footprints, flickering lights
and doors opening and
closing on their own.
The name Joe Bush
does not appear in com-
pany records, but in 1918
an oiler named Chris Rowe
was crushed in the gear-
box of Sumpter No. 1, and
the story goes that his spirit
The Sumpter Valley Railroad depot in Sumpter
is located on the same road that leads to the
gold dredge state park site.
Eagle photos/Richard Hanners
Sumpter has several museums and a state park that present the rich history of gold mining in the Powder
River Valley.
This machine on display at the Cracker Creek
Museum of Mining in Sumpter combined
a 1900-era cone crusher with a 1950s-era
gasoline engine.
4 miles to Sumpter.
The state park is open
May 1 through Oct. 31
from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
Guided tours, gold panning
lessons and other programs
are offered on weekends.
Admission to the park is
free. For more information,
call 541-894-2472 or visit
historicsumpter.com.
may have ended up inside
the third dredge — along
with equipment from the
earlier dredges.
To reach the historic
dredge from John Day,
drive east on Highway 26
to Austin Junction, fol-
low State Route 7 for 25
miles, turn left on State
Route 410 and drive about
Wherever your 4 wheels
take you in Grant County,
we are there for you.
Citywide flea
markets are
set up across
Sumpter for the
Memorial Day,
Fourth of July
and Labor Day
weekends.
COME IN FOR BREAKFAST,
GET LUNCH TO-GO!
sh.
e
r
f
t
a
e
Subway of John Day • 121 S Canyon Blvd.
Phone: 541-575-0782 • Order online at subway.com
821 W Highway 26,
John Day
johndaypolaris.com
551 W Main • John Day • 541-575-1346
WORK-LIFE BLEND
Come see for yourself.
You BELONG here!!
Expand Your Career
Blue Mountain Hospital District, a Critical Access Hospital which
serves the Grant County region. Located in beautiful eastern
Oregon. We have an incredibly dedicated and dynamic team
based environment.
Currently Seeking
Director - Nursing Services for Long-Term, Intermediate Care Facility - (Care Center)
Director - Medical Lab - (District)
Registered Nurses/Charge Nurse for Long-Term, Intermediate Care Facility - (Care Center)
Registered Nurses for ER, OB/L&D (Labor & Delivery), Med-Surg - (Hospital)
Physical Therapists - (Home Health & Outpatient)
Certified Medical Assistant or Certified Clinical Medical Assistant - (SWCC)
Best Benefits
• Benefits include Retirement Plan with
Employer Match
• Generous PTO
• Advancement Opportunities
• Nursing Shift Differential
• A lifestyle of enjoying the outdoors in a
quiet, remote & rural community.
“Quality Healthcare Close to Home”
EOE/AA We support a tobacco free and drug free workplace.
Please call Human Resources for questions
or more information at 541-575-4192
Explore or Apply Online:
www.bluemountainhospital.org
Off-road Vehicles
Tractors
Snowmobiles
Sheds
Coffee
& More
Location
John Day, Oregon
Seattle
Spokane
Check out our website at johndaypolaris.com for our Summer Sales Event!
Portland
Salem
Eugene
John Day
Bend
Boise