What unites most ghost towns is a history of decline: a timber community that exhausted its resources, a mining boomtown swallowed up by fires, a village that succumbed to sheer lawlessness.
Oregon's many ghost towns—according to some counts, more than 200—hold remnants of the state's past. Getting there can mean a long drive but the journey rewards with historic, atmospheric riches.
You don't have to leave Multnomah County to find a ghost town. Bridal Veil, a once-bustling lumber town, lies just a half hour east of Portland; its namesake Bridal Veil Falls is one of many waterfalls that dot the Columbia River Gorge.
Visitors today will find only a cemetery and a post office that happens to be one of the smallest in the country—but hums during wedding season, when newlyweds can get a specialized stamp on their wedding invitation.
Collection
[
|
...
]