Since we have only just learned ourselves, it is very fun visiting with visitors who are already well versed in panning technique, as well as those who just want to give it a try. A bit of fool’s gold can also be taken for comparison. After learning to pan and finding some gold, visitors can keep a small sample for $2 – 3 flakes of gold, and two garnets. They’ve also thrown in some red garnets for fun.
We hope to get a ride on it while we are in the area!Īs interpretive/maintenance hosts at Sumpter Valley Dredge, we are teaching gold panning lessons to children and adults at four panning stations that have been built and salted with real flakes of gold so visitors can actually see the difference between true gold flakes and iron pyrite, or fool’s gold. The park is visited on weekends and holidays by the Sumpter Valley Steam Railway, which brings passengers from McEwen to the train depot inside Sumpter Valley Dredge State Park, adding to the charm of the park. Plenty of trails are woven throughout the park for guests to learn of Oregon's mining history and enjoy Elkhorn Mountain scenery and wildlife.The Sumpter Valley Steam Railway operates on weekends, bringing visitors to the train depot here in the park. Despite leaving an unsightly ridge of tailings that stretches out for miles, gold dredging is part of eastern Oregon's heritage and gold mining history. During its 20 years of service, the giant bucket brigade dug up more than 4 million dollars (over 160 million at today’s prices) of gold. Viewed as an important historic monument, the 75 year old dredge enjoys a rich history. Oregon’s Parks and Recreation added the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area to its inventory of parks in 1994. Powered by electricity, the conveyor utilizes 65 to 72 one ton buckets, moving 100 acres of earth every year. Although, twice as much gold was mined by the miner's pick, the Powder River Gold Dredging Company designed and built three gargantuan gold dredges. Here in Sumpter, gold was first discovered in 1862, setting the tone of employment for the next century. Built in the early 1900s, the Sumpter Valley Dredge Company chewed up huge sections of eastern Oregon real estate.
Appearing much like a Rube Goldberg machine from the early 20th century, this 1250 ton behemoth was used to uncover gold in Sumpter Valley.
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