Kinzua, Oregon

Kinzua is a ghost town or former town site in Wheeler County, Oregon, United States. It existed as company town from 1927 to 1978.[3] Kinzua lies directly east of Fossil and uses a Fossil mailing address.

For other places with the same name, see Kinzua (disambiguation).
Kinzua, Oregon
Ghost town
Clubhouse of the Kinzua Hills Golf Club in 2011
Kinzua, Oregon
Location within the state of Oregon
Coordinates: 44°59′22″N 120°03′32″W
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyWheeler
Named forKinzua, Pennsylvania[1]
Elevation
3,402 ft (1,037 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code
97830 (Fossil Post Office box)
Area code(s)541
Coordinates and elevation from United States Geological Survey[2]

The community was founded by Pennsylvania lumberman Edward D. Wetmore to support the sawmill operations of the Kinzua Pine Mills Company, that was named for the Kinzua Township in Pennsylvania.[4][5] At one time Kinzua was the most populous community in Wheeler County and 330 people worked at the mill.[6]

In 1929, the company built the Kinzua & Southern Railroad to ship forest products from the mill to Condon, 30 miles (48 km) to the north.[7] From Condon a Union Pacific feeder line went north to Arlington on the Columbia River.[8] Through 1952, the Kinzua & Southern carried mail and passengers via a self-powered rail bus called "The Goose".[7] The line closed entirely in 1976.[5]

In 1965, Kinzua included 125 homes, a community hall, church, library, store, and the golf course.[1] When the mill closed in 1978, the buildings were removed and the townsite was planted with trees,[1] mainly ponderosa pine.[5] The six-hole golf course of the Kinzua Hills Golf Club occupies part of the site.[3] The nearby Kinzua landing strip and Kinzua Mountain retain the name as well.[1]

See also

References
  1. McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 539. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  2. "Kinzua (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. November 28, 1980. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  3. "Kinzua Hills Golf Club". Pasture Golf. April 24, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  4. Thomas R. Cox, The Lumberman's Frontier (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2010), 334–38
  5. "Condon Kinzua & Southern Railroad Kinzua Pine Mills". High Desert Rails. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  6. Beckham, Stephen Dow; Lentz, Florence K. (2000). John Day Fossil Beds National Monument: Rocks & Hard Places:Chapter 6, "Economic Development". Seattle, Washington: National Park Service. p. not numbered. OCLC 47958562. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  7. Culp, Edwin D. (1978) [1972]. Stations West, The Story of the Oregon Railways. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 97. OCLC 4751643.
  8. Beckham, Stephen Dow; Lentz, Florence K. (2000). John Day Fossil Beds National Monument: Rocks & Hard Places: Chapter 5, "Transportation". Seattle, Washington: National Park Service. OCLC 47958562. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
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