Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge: Oregon Gold Mining History

[@MattCookOregon]

Wow 1k views within the first week. Amazin! What goldmine places or topics should I cover next?

[@oregongoldhunter]

Bohemia gold mining district with Oregon gold hunter . I'm coming back to Oregon soon!

[@MattCookOregon]

@@oregongoldhunter Are you sure Oregon is a good choice for mining? They call it ORE-GONE, get it? I did Bohemia recently, here is the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y57QiKB_id6Gfrs

[@BRP42]

Thanks!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you so much! I need to get back to some goldmine content.

[@theogdirkdiggler]

Thank you Matt for your hard work preserving our heritage here in Oregon & Nevada

[@theogdirkdiggler]

I wonder the gold was per ton ?

[@theogdirkdiggler]

I want to go on that train! Do you know how they powered the steam engine? Great presentation!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks Dirk! Yeah I would love to do the train aswell. I think it only runs certain parts of the year. Steam engine? I think they usually just have a coal fire going that heats up the water.

[@j.ericswede7084]

Very nice video of the Sumpter Dredge and gold mining in Northeast Oregon. Heading there again this weekend!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you very much. Lots of mining history there. I would love to go too and I might this summer. I also did a video on Cornucopia goldmine there if interested. kzbin.info/www/bejne/boimc6KdfNGbn6c

[@benjaminkrieske6854]

My family owns a cabin in Sumpter, grandparents built it there about 55 years ago. For a long time my dad had the horn he took off the dredge when he was in high-school, he recently donated it back to the town to restore for the historical aspect of the dredge. Great video showing some of the quaint towns history.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you. That is very fortunate to have somewhere to stay there. I could do more videos there if I ever get a chance.

[@hargas1974]

I was there a week ago. Thank you for making this video.

[@MattCookOregon]

Awesome. I don't get to visit that area as much as I would like. Hopefully soon as there is so much video content to be made there.

[@hargas1974]

@@MattCookOregon, I also went to Joesep and Hell's Canyon. So beautiful there. Can't wait to see more of your videos there.

[@MattCookOregon]

Nice I love it there. Last time there I did a video of going up the two tallest Wallowa peaks. I do have a hells canyon overlook video but its terrible. Got to go back.

[@hargas1974]

@@MattCookOregon, I'll have to check those videos out. Thank you!

[@skyybluu3118]

Great video thank you

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you!

[@softroadingthewest]

Superb film Matt. Very interesting, beautifully filmed, engagingly presented. Really enjoyed it!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks dude. Means a lot coming from quality like yours. Haven't stopped by in awhile cause I have too much video to edit from Wallowas.

[@EcouragingGodStories]

Thanks, Matt, for making the video! Great job! Very informative.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you! Lots of history to visit at Eastern Oregon.

[@Sutterjack]

Very nice little documentary - thanks for posting !

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks! Goldmine history is a very fun subject to me. Hopefully I can get out and do more soon.

[@JuanasFamilyJournal]

Awesome aerial view and great quality camera. That's a great history sharing.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you Juana.

[@frankf9233]

Nice work man! I enjoyed the historical research and the drone footage!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks! The birds did not enjoy the drone footage. They forced me to land early haha.

[@MattCookOregon]

....kinda like when google makes your EV expire early if you know what I mean....

[@rankmedia5071]

Just dribbled upon this video and I have to say it’s a very well done video!

[@MattCookOregon]

Hey thank you! Goldmine history is a really fun subject to cover.

[@ArielleViking]

Interesting history and great information. I learned about an area and a process that I was never aware of. Beautifully filmed and produced.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks Arielle!

[@catherinecamp4503]

We visit today. I couldn’t quite comprehend what I was looking at and how it functioned. After watching your fantastic video I’m that much more aware of its awesome power, the affect it had during the day, the change of environment it left behind and how the dedication to keep,it in such wonderful condition it to be respected. Thank you for your video!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you for the nice words on the video. It is such a cool piece of visual history. Nice town built around it too. We just visited last winter and rode the Christmas train.

[@sassyandcrafty1]

@@MattCookOregonoh dear! I need to do a much better job proofing my comments! Evidently, I was a bit more tired than I realized after driving from Sumpter back to Western Oregon that day. Thank you for deciphering and replying to my comment so graciously 😊

[@MckenzieRiverDronePhotography]

Another really great one Matt.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you! Careful on this spot fellow droner, I got swarmed by birds!

[@MckenzieRiverDronePhotography]

Matt.Cook.Oregon I saw the swallows swarm you in one of the shots, lol

[@MattCookOregon]

@@MckenzieRiverDronePhotography Yep it was actually a crazy sight from the ground you could see like a hundred. I got some quick footage and got out of there.

[@HappyTrailsHiking]

As always, fantastic video footage and voiceovers. Well done! I learned stuff and enjoyed it. Never seen a dredge before.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks! History videos might be my favorite. Dredges are controversial now. All the environmental impact. Miners still love them but they are battling constant new restrictions.

[@MayhemProspecting]

Awesome history and amazing place Matt. I'll be heading there this weekend actually and to prospect nearby streams too! Very informative. Thanks for sharing

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you. There are some old mining towns nearby I would like to make more videos of. Panning sounds fun. I haven't tried panning enough to have any success.

[@MayhemProspecting]

@@MattCookOregon So much history up there I love it!

[@shawnbrooks6404]

Perfect to go with my read alouds of Skeleton Creek! Thank you sir!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you. Yeah I could see this place being spooky.

[@KingFPV]

Excellent video & great voiceover. Thanks for the history & the work you put into this.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you! The goldmining stuff seems to be my most popular content by far. Just need to find more places.

[@mikeinhoodriver]

Wow, thanks so much for that history. Having recently camped in that area, I was not quite sure how all those tailings ended up in the valley, I had just assumed it was from an actual mine, not from dredging. You solved the mystery! Great video! Thanks, Mike (Hood River, OR)

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks Mike. I am missing these goldmine videos. Need to think of another. If you got any ideas I am all ears!

[@CraigsExpertTips]

wow. thanks for sharing. just met in a great live chat!

[@MattCookOregon]

Nice to meet ya. If you are into nature and history you will enjoy these videos probably.

[@ManasesRamos]

Another well done video dude!!!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you very much!

[@davidlodeesen1735]

Awesome job, Matt. You have a real skill for doing this!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks David! Hoping to get more into history cause that is super fun to do.

[@VintageRenewed]

Nice job on the video. I help at the sumpter valley railroad which a lot of people will ride the train to sumpter, tour the dredge and ride back They learn a lot of the history for that area when doing both

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you. That is awesome. Wish I was there for the train but oh well next time.

[@RussellVineyard]

Great history lesson, as always. I spent ten months in Baker City and didn't know this was nearby.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you! I guess Baker city is surrounded in gold mine history so it would be easy to miss parts of it.I would love to spend some extended time over there... One day.

[@GOWIN8109837]

Awesome Doc. 👍

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you Andy. Goldmine history is a very fun topic for me. I had a few planned this year but covid and wildfires happened. Hopefully those sites are still around.

[@GOWIN8109837]

@@MattCookOregon I plan on going that way soon. Hope to see it.

[@MattCookOregon]

Nice! Check the town of Sumpter too. There is a corndog stand. Best corndogs ever by far. Can't miss it.

[@GOWIN8109837]

@@MattCookOregon done deal.

[@jackkonnof4106]

Thank you. I haven't been there in 20 years and the dredge wasn't restored yet or accessable. I always wanted to see it inside.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you. I miss doing goldmine content. Hopefully I find some more soon.

[@JungleJayAdventures]

Excellent video Matt.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks! Got my JJ adv shirt. #1 fan.

[@JungleJayAdventures]

Awesome my friend!

[@raysoyars2905]

i used to go to the dredge with my family when we lived in Sumpter in late 1960's There used to be another dredge on the other side of the highway that was burnt to the ground, when we visited the old sumpter dredge it was an enter at your risk place, it was getting close to rotting away when I think they decided to restore it and turned it into a tourist place. I never got to see it after we moved away. someday I will get back there and remember my childhood

[@raysoyars2905]

It sure looks a lot different then when I was a kid, it was rotting and rusted up... nice to see it as it is today almost as it was when it 1st started running. Its tailings however, almost killed me when I was 7, panning on the river one day the bank gave way and away I went some stranger also panning that day jumped in the river to save me.

[@raysoyars2905]

none of the windows were there in the 1960's

[@MattCookOregon]

That is awesome to hear about life in gold country, other than the almost dying part. It is so cool people got together and raised funds to restore this. Only a few are out there like this. Gold is a big part of our history and I love to learn and share about it.

[@bernieg2433]

I heard that when the dredge was running, they hit clay a couple times and it took all the gold with it and spit it out the back and it got buried and lost. So somewhere in the tailings are big clumps of clay full of gold.

[@MattCookOregon]

Ha wow that is awesome. Whered ya hear that? Local story? I have been addicted to panning lately and may have to mess around there.

[@bernieg2433]

@@MattCookOregon Years ago I went there on a class trip and toured the place and the lady there giving the tour told us about it. Love your movies btw

[@stinkfinger]

Fantastic, love stuff like this...

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks! Oregonian? Any ideas for the next one?!

[@pamelagonzalez9567]

Awesome video Matt!!!!

[@MattCookOregon]

THanks!!!!!!!!!!

[@wildernessfieldjournal8211]

What a cool and unusual piece of history! I never knew about those amazing and powerful machines. Its a shame that it left such a scar on the landscape. Always good to learn the lessons of history though. Great documentary style film, I loved the opener. Thanks for teaching us something new Matt.

[@MattCookOregon]

Absolutely. I love covering goldmine history. It is a big reason why a lot of people came to Oregon in the first place. Hope to cover more soon as the mines are just now drying out.

[@AndyWah]

Interesting stuff wonder do they give night tour probably pretty creepy there during the night.

[@MattCookOregon]

They are closed at night. But they did feature this place on a cable tv show called ghost mine.

[@rudy_vid4592]

A man named Joe Bush supposedly died here. He was stealing gold, and his leg got caught in the gears used to mine, and it crushed his leg, and spit him into the river. He had so much gold weighing him down, and he drowned. If you want to know more, than read the Skeleton Creek books.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks for this info.

[@PineappleGrenade84]

Found this after buying some commemorative silver rounds. Please do more videos

[@MattCookOregon]

I got tons! You mean more goldmine videos? I got a few.

[@bjthecrow]

Im a placer miner from north ga and think this video is real nice. I dredge and highbank to do all my mining and have videos of both on my channel.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks. I gotta check some of that out. I have been trying to gold pan but I never find anything so it doesn't make for a good video.

[@bjthecrow]

Well I had saw you on pusa Livestream yesterday and you had asked if there were any miners on there and when I saw it I thought maybe another fellow Miner so anyway my channel is dedicated to that only so if you have any questions my email is in the description of all my videos feel free to hit me up anytime

[@kenmosely540]

My grandpa died on that dredge in 2/17/1942 George Buck Mosley theirs a plack there in his memory

[@MattCookOregon]

Sorry to hear that. I will check that out next time I am there. Hopefully he had a good life as a gold miner.

[@kenmosely540]

@@MattCookOregon I never knew him he passed away when my dad was 8 years old

[@casedoumasr656]

Ken I have been to the dredge 3 times and heard the tragic story about your Grand father from the park Ranger 🙏🇺🇸

[@kenmosely540]

@@casedoumasr656 please tell me the story I've never heard a whole lot about it

[@casedoumasr656]

@@kenmosely540 Ken from want I heard a person was greasing the wench area close to where the main door way is he was not visible and some one came in to start to dredge up and did not know any one was there the person greasing was caught in the gears from what we were told and died 🙏 when we were there we walked in the door way by the Big wench's and we stopped and had a Cold chill up are backs later we asked the gal in the souvenir shop if anyone had ever died on the dredge and she said yes very slowly and we said was it in by the winch and she said yes why do you ask then we told her our story of what happened when we walked in the doorway then she said there was a plaque and I guess the East wall and it explains that there was a person that died on the dredge and I'm assuming that must be your grandfather because from what we were told there was only one person that had ever died on the dredge it's kind of strange that I remember this whole tour thing of the dredge and all that and what happened to us when we walked in but it was just an eerie feeling that we felt and we had no idea that anything happened there until we started asking questions I suggest you call up to Park and see if you can have someone explain it to you but that's the story that I remember almost word for word I hope this helps you in some way take care you can always send me back a message if you wish anyway I'm glad I could help out thank you 🙏🇺🇸⛏️

[@kayskidf1]

good presentation... seeing an old dredge that's been treated with respect is refreshing. one exception..the mercury method of gathering together the gold particles is old fashioned and pretty nasty toxic. just handling the stuff is dangerous. i'm going to guess anyone interested enough to see how a dredge works(- fascinating in it's simplicity and directness). has since seen several styles of mini riffles machines for even very fine gold. like tons of other people, watched the TV TLC Gold Rush Show...(we've made "Shut ' er down" the tag line to a drinking game - pretty rough hangovers...) ingenuity is amazing. i am lucky enough to go see it in person.

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you! Yeah mercury is def nasty and old fashioned but that is what they used for this dredge. I love gold mining shows too. Can't get enough. I am trying to find new sites to cover still. I have been thinking of the Ogle mine, not sure if there is much of a story there.

[@VidiasPlayWorldVPW]

new here i would love to gold gold mining what a beautiful place

[@MattCookOregon]

Awesome! Grab a gold pan for cheap and get started its easy!

[@jrushingp]

Been to Sumpter many times in my adult life through the 80’s and 90’s always the promise that the dredge was being preserved and would be open by such and such a date the last time I was there it had finally opened but I got there too late in day it was closed .... drats

[@MattCookOregon]

Nice. It should be there for awhile so stop on by. I highly recommend the fried corndog stand in Sumpter too.

[@voltagex22]

Number 42 is mine if you get the reference then you know what book its from

[@MattCookOregon]

Hitchhikers guide?

[@voltagex22]

@@MattCookOregon no skeleton creek

[@MattCookOregon]

@@voltagex22 Thanks. Wish I heard of that before doing the video. Might have added some interesting story.

[@rudy_vid4592]

@@MattCookOregon A man named Joe Bush supposedly died here. He was stealing gold, and his leg got caught in the gears used to mine, and it crushed his leg, and spit him into the river. He had so much gold weighing him down, and he drowned. Id you want to k ow more, than read the Skeleton Creek books.

[@slytherinriot6006]

Fred Lewis Is Mining From Here Not A Mile Away At The Elkhorn Claim...

[@MattCookOregon]

Nice. Can I have some gold?

[@slytherinriot6006]

@@MattCookOregon If You're Willing To Pay...Of Course

[@MattCookOregon]

@@slytherinriot6006 haha just messing around. Would be pretty cool to see some gold mining in action for a video though.

[@uwillnevahno6837]

I'm late to the party w/this question, would removal of the 10 foot tall gravel piles for use in industry help clear/heal the land?

[@MattCookOregon]

Wow 5 years. Where have you been? Depends on who you ask. If you replaced the gravel with dirt, it would definitely bring more greenery back.

[@541beausham]

No way there a dredge in Oregon! I thought those where only in Alaska! I'm going to explore Oregon until I find it lol

[@MattCookOregon]

Yep big ol dredge. Lots of gold history here. I enjoy covering it on video. I will try to think of a better mining joke for you about ore-again (oregon) : )

[@markschuette3770]

they should also explain what a disaster these machines were on the river ecosystem!!

[@MattCookOregon]

Yeah I only mentioned the damages a bit. Everything back then was terrible for the environment!

[@izzyj926]

Is the dredge in a place called skeleton creek😬😬😬

[@MattCookOregon]

Sumpter. But I guess there is a conspiracy that skeleton creek is based on sumpter? was that book any good?

[@izzyj926]

@@MattCookOregon I recommend reading it if you want scares I've got the whole set

[@rudy_vid4592]

Its near by if I'm not wrong

[@rudy_vid4592]

Its near by if I'm not wrong

[@casedoumasr656]

Awesome video of the gold dredge been here 3 times walked in by the wenches and we both got a Very cold chill down our backs and then later we found out why ?? A worker was lubing the wench's and someone started the plant up the man got caught in the gears and died.p.s.by the main train depot out of town is a small pond and I believe what is left of no1 dredge timbers are in the water. P.s East of Boise id there is another Gold dredge park Yankee Dredge .Your videos are awesome 🏆⛏️🇺🇸🤔

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you very much. I didn't know about the guy dying like that, freaky. I have a lot of fun visiting and learning about our gold mining history. Hopefully will do another soon.

[@casedoumasr656]

@@MattCookOregon Hello i'am sending a reply back on the comments there is person by the name Ken Mosely he is the grandson of George buck Mosley who died on the dredge that was greasing the wench I sent him the info that I had posted in these comments he had asked if I could tell him the true story that we were told I did 🙏🏆😟 hope this helps the grandson 🤔

[@rudy_vid4592]

No. 42

[@MattCookOregon]

Thanks.

[@darthvader8074]

Time for dredge no. 3 Tony Beets

[@MattCookOregon]

Tony has a dredge?!

[@darthvader8074]

@@MattCookOregon yep

[@masong2864]

This dredge was part of a story written by Patrick Carman called Skeleton Creek

[@MattCookOregon]

A couple people commented that. Might be worth a read.

[@jimclark6749]

In the middle of this piece, you'll see a company name... Bingham, Portland, Ore. binghampumps.com/

[@MattCookOregon]

Good eye! Your company or anything?

[@rodhelms3008]

And it leave a lot of gold the fines

[@MattCookOregon]

Yep

[@coastaldreams9179]

what you are calling [ wheels ] are break bands for stopping or allowing machine parts to [work or function ]. common sense would say why would wheels be mounted inside a machine ? also a wheel of that design would be ineffective for that ground environment

[@MattCookOregon]

Break bands. Thanks for that. It is hard to find some info on these old things. I meant wheel as in the shape only. I hope to explore more mining stuff soon.

[@rodhelms3008]

Gold goes up when the dollar drop maybe we hey will fire up the dredge

[@MattCookOregon]

I would love some gold. Seems like whenever I hear about modern mining the operating cost is too expensive.

[@TomandJulieMineExploring]

Great video, Matt!

[@MattCookOregon]

Thank you! Pretty cool the Baker county travel group shared this.

[@TomandJulieMineExploring]

@@MattCookOregon That is cool.