Abandoned Towns
Aerial view of the forested Pine Creek valley at Cornucopia, with a road and small clearings along the valley floor

Gold mining town

Cornucopia

A gold camp at the head of Pine Valley that produced roughly $18 million to $20 million in precious metals. The war closed its mines in 1942, and the town never came back.

45°00′30″N 117°11′34″W · ≈4,730 ft

Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain). See the photographs in the gallery below.

Ruins · 2025 report

The newest report we found is from August 2025. The Baker City Herald said the restored Cornucopia Jail, owned by the Pine Valley Community Museum, would be dedicated on August 16 with a history walk, and quoted the speaker, Tom Cook: "The ghost town is a 10-minute walk from the lodge." We couldn't confirm which other buildings stand or which ground is public. A 2014 photo shows a "No Trespassing" sign on the jail. Stay off private land and out of the buildings.

Overview

Oregon's horn of plenty

Lon Simmons found gold in the mountains north of Pine Valley in 1884. By July 1885 at least 500 men were living there, and the town was platted in 1886 under a name meaning horn of plenty. The main mines were the Last Chance, Queen of the West, Union-Companion and Red Jacket. Around 1902 up to 700 men worked for Cornucopia Mines of Oregon, the sixth-largest mining operation in the country, but old equipment and horse-drawn hauling held it back, and an unpaid engineering bill that year led to foreclosure.

New strikes in 1915 and 1921 kept the camp going. In 1922 electricity, pneumatic drills and a twenty-stamp mill arrived. The 1929 crash stopped work, and the 1930 census found 10 people. By 1934 the mines were running again. In 1939 Cornucopia produced 66 percent of Oregon's gold, and the 1940 census counted 352.

Early in 1942 the federal government closed gold mines to push miners into war work, and Cornucopia was abandoned. Wikipedia puts its lifetime output at about $18 million in precious metals; the Baker City Herald gives $20 million in gold and silver. Cornucopia Lodge was built beside the old town in 2008, and in 2025 volunteers finished restoring the town jail.

Timeline

Cornucopia through the years

  1. Lon Simmons finds gold in the mountains north of Pine Valley.
  2. At least 500 men are living in the area by July.
  3. The town is platted.
  4. Up to 700 men work for Cornucopia Mines of Oregon, then the sixth-largest mining operation in the country. An unpaid $40,122 engineering bill leads to foreclosure.
  5. The claim is settled on February 7, and the mines grow again.
  6. A large gold strike in November.
  7. Electricity and pneumatic drills arrive after a strike late in 1921. A twenty-stamp mill crushes 60 tons of ore a day.
  8. After the 1929 crash halts mining, the census counts 10 people.
  9. The mines are processing gold again.
  10. Cornucopia produces 66 percent of Oregon's gold.
  11. The census counts 352.
  12. The federal order closing gold mines for the war shuts Cornucopia down. The town never recovers.
  13. Cornucopia Lodge is built nearby.
  14. The jailhouse on Second Street joins the National Register on November 24.
  15. Volunteers finish restoring the jail, owned by the Pine Valley Community Museum. A dedication is planned for August 16.

What's left

What's there now

The Cornucopia Jailhouse on Second Street, 2014, before its restoration
The Cornucopia Jailhouse on Second Street, 2014, before its restoration · Photo: Ian Poellet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The jailhouse in August 2019
The jailhouse in August 2019 · Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

The one building we can confirm is the jailhouse on Second Street. It joined the National Register in 2014, and the Baker City Herald reported in 2025 that it now has a new roof, a new foundation and solar-powered electricity, paid for by donations and finished by volunteers. The Pine Valley Community Museum owns it. Wikipedia places the gold mines northwest of the old town center. We couldn't find a reliable dated account of which other buildings still stand.

The 1954 Cornucopia sheet in the historic maps below shows the most detail: rows of buildings along Pine Creek, a tunnel just northwest, and the Cornucopia Mines up Jim Fiske Creek to the west. The 1986 sheet still names Cornucopia on Pine Creek below Cornucopia Peak.

  • Jailhouse on Second Street, restored 2025
  • Other buildings and mine workings: condition not reported
USGS topographic map of the Cornucopia townsite on Pine Creek
USGS The National Map, topo. Cornucopia on Pine Creek beside a pond, with the Cornucopia Trailhead to the north.
Aerial view of the Cornucopia area in a forested mountain valley
Aerial imagery, same area. A road runs down the forested valley past a pale open patch and small clearings.

Historic maps

Cornucopia on USGS maps, 1954–1986

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Cornucopia, 1954
Cornucopia sheet, 1954, 1:62,500 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Cornucopia is reached only from the south, up the Cornucopia Highway from Halfway. From Baker City, take OR 86 east to Halfway first. Cornucopia Lodge's directions say the pavement ends about 6 miles out of Halfway, and the last 5 miles are unpaved.

USGS topographic map between Halfway and Cornucopia with the route drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From central Halfway10.7 miabout 46 min
  1. From Kellogg Street, turn left onto North Main Street, OR 413.0.5 mi
  2. Continue on the Halfway-Cornucopia Highway.2.1 mi
  3. Turn right onto the Cornucopia Highway and follow it to the townsite.8.0 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • The only road in is the Cornucopia Highway from Halfway (Wikipedia).
  • Cornucopia Lodge's directions: "Pavement ends after 6 miles and road Y's. Stay left, then follow unpaved portion for 5 miles."
  • In winter the lodge says it is "accessible only by snowmobile," or by a pickup it arranges. Wikipedia's climate table, from 1909 to 1972 records, averages 70 inches of snow in January.
  • Get fuel and supplies in Halfway.

Photos

Cornucopia in photos

Visitor reports

Been to Cornucopia?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Cornucopia

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Oregon index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Cornucopia": fact sheet fields (road, climate, best time).
  2. Wikipedia, "Cornucopia, Oregon", retrieved October 2026: discovery, platting, mines, 1902 workforce and foreclosure, strikes, mill, census counts, 1939 share, 1942 closure, production, mine location, lodge date, access from Halfway, snowfall.
  3. Wikipedia, "Cornucopia Jailhouse", retrieved October 2026: Second Street location, National Register listing on November 24, 2014.
  4. Baker City Herald, "History talk planned Aug. 16 in Cornucopia", August 5, 2025: $20 million figure, jail ownership and restoration, dedication and history walk, Tom Cook's remark that the ghost town is a 10-minute walk from the lodge.
  5. Cornucopia Lodge, contact and directions and winter page, read October 2026: pavement ending after 6 miles, 5 unpaved miles, winter access by snowmobile or arranged pickup.
  6. Coordinates: Wikipedia (from USGS GNIS). Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

Record6 of 9
  • Coordinates
  • Discovery and platting
  • Mines and production
  • Census counts
  • Historic maps, 1954–1986
  • Jail restored (2025)
  • Which other buildings stand
  • Public and private land
  • Visitor access to the townsite
Missing items are what we'll ask readers and local sources to fill.