Kinzua is a ghost town or former town site in Wheeler County, Oregon, United States. It existed as a company town from 1927 to 1978.[3] Kinzua lies directly east of Fossil and uses a Fossil mailing address.
Kinzua, Oregon | |
|---|---|
 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 / 44.98944°N 120.05889°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Wheeler |
| Named for | Kinzua, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Elevation | 3,402 ft (1,037 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 97830 (Fossil Post Office box) |
| Area code | 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
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ "Kinzua (historical)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ a b "Kinzua Hills Golf Club". Pasture Golf. April 24, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Thomas R. Cox, The Lumberman's Frontier (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2010), 334–38
- ^ a b c "Condon Kinzua & Southern Railroad Kinzua Pine Mills". High Desert Rails. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Culp, Edwin D. (1978) [1972]. Stations West, The Story of the Oregon Railways. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 97. OCLC 4751643.
- ^ 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.
External links
edit- Sederstrom, Don. "Kinzua, Oregon". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
- Historic image of Kinzua Pine Mills, 1939