Oregon Gold Production Summary
By A. H. KOSCHMANN and M. H. BERGENDAHL - USGS 1968
Click here for the Principle Gold Producing Districts of the United States Index
After the initial period of high production during which the richer placers were exhausted, discoveries of auriferous quartz veins helped stabilize the mining economy. Lode mining began as early as 1859 on the Gold Hill vein in Jackson County (Raymond, 1870, p. 214-232) ; gold-bearing quartz veins were also worked in the 1860's in the Canyon Creek district, the Eagle Creek district, the Mormon Basin district, and the Baker district.
The first boom in Oregon expired about 1870, but it had been strong enough to attract people with diversified talents so that other industries such as farming and cattle raising cushioned the shock. In addition, the gold rush was responsible for the early entry of railroads into the State, and this hastened the growth of cities and provided a more stable economy.
Although mining of gold in Oregon was at an alltime low in 1965 (fig. 22), mining of nickel, uranium, mercury, and a host of nonmetals was flourishing as one of the important industries in the State.
Total production of gold in Oregon from 1852 through 1965 was 5,796,680 ounces. This total includes estimates of Lindgren (1901, p. 569-571) for production before 1900 and data from the U.S. Geological Survey (1904-24) and the U.S. Bureau of Mines (1925-66) for the years 1902-65. Production data for districts are fragmentary, especially where production of several districts was combined in the reports, thus the totals for districts are minima.
