Pondosa, Oregon

Pondosa is an unincorporated community and ghost town[1] in Union County, Oregon, United States. Pondosa has an elevation of 3261 feet (994 meters).[2]

Pondosa, Oregon
Unincorporated community
View of Pondosa in 1952
Pondosa, Oregon
Pondosa, Oregon
Coordinates: 45.008°N 117.643°W / 45.008; -117.643
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyUnion
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)

The town came into being in 1927, when the four Stoddard brothers of La Grande bought land in the area.[3] They moved the sawmill operations of the Grande Ronde Lumber Company in nearby Perry to the site.[3] The town was named after the Ponderosa Pines that dotted the area.[3] A post office was established in 1927.[3] In 1931, Truman Collins of The Collins Companies of Portland bought the mill.[4] The mill was sold again in 1956, this time to Boise Cascade, which made plans to shut down the mill.[3] This caused the decline of the town, which had over 500 inhabitants at the time.[3] The post office was discontinued[3] following a severe fire that damaged the majority of the town on June 20, 1959.[1]

References
  1. Bebout, Bill (June 22, 1959). "Ghost Town Of Pondosa Left In Charred Ruins By Flames". La Grande Observer. La Grande, Oregon. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Pondosa". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  3. Barklow, Irene (1987). From Trails to Rails: The Post Offices, Stage Stops and Wagon Roads of Union County. Enterprise, Oregon: Enchantments Publishing of Oregon. pp. 224–227. ISBN 0-9618185-0-6.
  4. "A History of The Collins Companies". The Collins Companies. 2005. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
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