A Ghostly Town — Buncom, OR

Oregon is said to have about 200 ghost towns; SW Oregon has only one — Buncom.  As is often the case in circumstances of scarcity, the sole example is treasured, promoted, and restored to within an inch of its death.  First established, so to speak, in 1851 by Chinese goldminers, the town later expanded to include a saloon, post office, and general store.  Cinnabar, chromium, and silver also were mined.  By 1918, the gold was gone and the town abandoned.   Most of the buildings burned, but three buildings erected in the early 1900’s survived, including a post office, bunkhouse, and cookhouse.  The Buncom Historical Society continues to preserve the buildings.  Although on private land, there is parking in front of two of the buildings and they are seen easily.

As is our wont, we took a back road to Buncom.  Griffin Creek Lane is unpaved for five miles, narrow, dusty, and winding.  But the dense forest of madrones made it worth it (or at least worth the cost of a subsequent carwash).  Located in the Applegate area, there are numerous ranches, farms, and vineyards.  It is a pleasant drive and wine afficionados might enjoy stopping at one of the area wineries.    — Anne

To view or download directions to Buncom, click here

I guess we can claim unique, since it is the only designated ghost town for many miles around.  Maybe even mildly interesting, if you know its history.  But odd?  No way.  Almost any drive through rural Oregon will take you past many derelict wood structures in more advanced stages of ectoplasmic decay.  And quite possibly older, but granted, they don’t have a claim to being called towns.

For the connoisseur of ruins and the slow triumph of Nature over the works of man, the giveaway of human intervention is easily visible in the form of intact panes of glass in all of the windows.  Admittedly, someone decked out with an artificial hip, a brain shunt, a pacemaker, eyeglasses and hearing aids should probably not get excessively uppity about restorative interventions.  Nonetheless, my personal bias is that a ghost town should project an air of pitiable dilaptitude rather than structural integrity and tidiness.  And I’m sticking to it.   A real honest-to-badness genuine-appearing ghost town is still on the list, but it looks like it might take more than a day trip. Stand by, but don’t hold your breath.         Aspiringly yours,  Bob