Find Sumpter Real Estate on this web page. For information about homes for sale in Sumpter Oregon, Contact our Baker City office at 541-523-7390.
Residential
43561 GRANITE CR RD, Granite 97877
Residential
43561 GRANITE CR RD, Granite 97877
Residential
810 NEW ST, Sumpter 97877
Residential
Cemetery RD, Sumpter 97877
Residential
272 BONANZA ST, Sumpter 97877
Sumpter Real Estate. Find homes for sale in Sumpter Oregon, tucked away in the trees and nestled in Oregon’s Elkhorn Mountain Range, lies the historic gold mining town of Sumpter, Oregon. Sumpter has an active commercial district that offers shopping and a good number of restaurants. Sumpter offers some great snowmobiling opportunities in the winter. Sumpter is located just off HWY 7 between Baker City and John Day Oregon.
Sumpter’ is 4,424 feet above sea level. The year-round population of Sumpter is approximately 191, consisting of 190 very nice people and one ‘old grouch’.
Sumpter Oregon is on the Elkhorn Scenic Byway and is surrounded by mountains, rivers, streams, and lakes and offers virtually everyone the opportunity to enjoy many of Nature’s amenities; great fishing, swimming, boating (nearby), camping, gold panning, hunting, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, backpacking, 4-wheeling, ATV’ing, hiking and exploring.
The surrounding mountains of Sumpter climb to over 9,000 feet, where The ‘Elkhorn Crest Trail’ straddles the rugged rocky ridge of The Elkhorn Mountains. The Elkhorn Crest Trail is a scenic 25 mile trail which begins near Sumpter and ends at Anthony Lakes, home of the best Winter Downhill “Powder” Skiing available. If you are the adventurous type, this moderately strenuous high country trail is a ‘must do’. There are several day hikes along the route. The scenery and wildlife you will witness are absolutely AWESOME!
The post office was established in 1883, with the spelling of the town’s name as Sumter ; in 1885 the spelling was changed officially to Sumpter. With the invention of the pneumatic drill, stamp mills for crushing ore and new methods to chemically extract the gold from its alloys in the 1890s. By 1897 the Sumpter Valley Railway was extended into Sumpter proper. By the US Census of 1903 the official count was more 3500 registered voters, not including women, who hadn’t yet received the right to vote. The Chinese, who had been brought to the area to work, weren’t allowed to vote either.Find homes for sale in Sumpter Oregon. Sumpter, Oregon is almost due west of the Baker City real estate market. It’s tucked away in the trees of the Elkhorn range. Sumpter was founded as a result of the gold rush in the 1860s. In 1862, Hugh Asbury, John Reel, Fletch Henderson, Bill Flanagan, and Dick Johnson were traveling to the California gold fields when they camped at what’s now called Cracker Creek. To their surprise, they found gold in the creek and decided to stay rather than continue to California. They named the area Sumpter after the famous fort in South Carolina. Remnants of their fist cabin, located between McCully Creek and Cracker Creek can still be seen today.
By 1899 brick buildings were appearing in Sumpter and two blocks of Granite Street were paved with planks. Sumter became known as The Queen City. At the height of the gold boom, as many as six railroad carloads of mining machinery were delivered every day, and six hundred car loads of timber were hauled to lumber mills in Sumpter and Baker City. The stage coach arrived seven times each day and millions of dollars of gold were mined. At the peak, in 1900 three was an output of $8,943,486 from thirty-five mines.
The first of three dredges to mine the gravels of the Powder River began in 1913. What is left of Dredge #1 can be seen near the Sumpter Valley Railway depot in McEwen, where its last bucket turned up the rich farmland of the Sumpter Valley. Mining continued until 1953 when the clatter of the noise of line huge trommel were silenced forever.
On August 13, 1917 the fire bell throughout Sumpter because fire of an unknown origin had erupted in the cooks quarters of the Capital Hotel. The fire quickly spread to other buildings, and much of the town was destroyed.
Looking for properties for sale in Sumpter Oregon, contact our office at 541-523-7390.