"Left from Baker on State 7, a graveled road, to GRIFFIN'S GULCH, 3.2
m., where Henry Griffin discovered gold in April, 1861. At 7 m. is a
junction with a dirt road; R. on this road, which leads through Blue
Canyon. Blue Canyon Creek (L) is still placer mined to some extent.
At 8.4 m. ELKHORN PEAK can be seen directly ahead, 12 miles to the north
west, its distant wooded slopes offering a sharp contrast with the
sagebrush and stubble along the roadside. Lodgepole pine and juniper
become more frequentas the route reaches the SITE OF AN INDIAN
BATTLEGROUND, 9.6 m. (L), where many spear and arrow heads have been found.
From the crest of a hill, 10.3 m., can be seen the SITE OF AUBURN (see
below), once the seat of Baker County but now marked by a group of
weeping willows. There were only about 40 houses, nearly all built high
on the hillside, in the town of more than 5,000 population. In true
mining-camp fashion, most of the floating population rolled in blankets
before fires at night or lived in tents. Two cemeteries are still
visible, one for whites and the other for Chinese. The bones of many of
the latter were sluiced away in the insatiable search for gold.
At 10.8 m. (L), easily identified by its grove of cottonwoods, is the
Site of the David Littlefield Home, the first in what was to become
Baker County. Littlefield was one of the men who discovered gold here in
1861. A few of the outbuildings still stand.
At 12 m. (R), directly opposite across the canyon, is a second view of
the site formerly occupied by Auburn. Beyond the bare area is
Frenchman's Gulch.
In the vicinity are CALIFORNIA and POKER GULCHES (L), and FREEZEOUT
GULCHES NOS. 1, 2, AND 3. Gold to the value of millions of dollars has
been taken from this district but the rich veins have been exhausted;
the streams are still panned to some extent."
That is where I grew up. Family is still in Baker City. Been to
Griffin's Gulch, Blue Canyon Creek, French Gulch, etc. Auburn has no
buildings left from old time. Sprouting up right now are new "settlers",
at bottom of Blue Canyon.
Griffin's Gulch is very next exit after leaving city of Baker City, on
Hwy 7. To get to Auburn, one have to pass through Bowen Valley, then
right right immediately to Auburn Road and go to the top before the road
become rutted. There is a turnout area. North side, is at bottom, Auburn
townsite. South side is what used to be my great-grandparents' ranch.
Downhill from the ranch was Littlefield ranch. Got photos from 1930s to
1970s then 2013.
Cottonwoods are still standing at David Littlefield's site. They are
incredible tall and very very big trunks now (last seen in 2013). I
should know because the next owners were my grandparents. Plenty of
photos showing the cottonwoods. Littlefield House was burned down
earlier before my grandparents bought the ranch.
David Samuelsen
On 4/8/2017 2:55 PM, Billie Walsh wrote:
I have just finished the book "Oregon Trail". I have
uploaded it to
http://freepages.books.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~billie0w/oregon_trail/orego...
People in Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon may want to link to it.
Those were the primary states crossed.
Here's an excerpt from the Notes:
> The Oregon Trail is primarily a guidebook, but it is also history,
> told, after the first chapter, in geographical rather than
> chronological or topical sequence. The explorers Lewis and Clark, the
> fur trader Manuel Lisa, the refugee Mormons, and the construction gang
> of the Union Pacific Railroad are tied together by campgrounds near
> the same place on the bank of the muddy Missouri. The first chapter
> gives the background and paints in the broad outlines of the story; it
> also introduces some of the leading characters whose activities and
> trials are related in their rich details, sometimes bizarre and
> occasionally tragic, in the following sections.
There are other books that may be of interest at on the same site.
http://freepages.books.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~billie0w/index.html