Granite

Overview

A Fourth of July gold camp

Prospectors from California, bound for the Idaho gold camps, found gold on Granite Creek on July 4, 1862. A Wallowa-Whitman National Forest sign in town credits Albert G. Tabor with the strike and says he named his claim Independence for the day. A settlement called Granite City went up downstream the next year. Wikipedia puts it about a mile and a half downstream, Historic Sumpter half a mile west. In 1867 the town moved to its present site under the Independence name. When it applied for a post office, Oregon already had an Independence, so it became Granite. Sources date that change to 1874, 1876 or 1878.

The 1870 census counted 448 people. Mining carried Granite for 80 years, and the town incorporated in 1900. In 1942 War Production Board order L-208 shut down gold mining as nonessential to the war, and Granite's economy collapsed. Telephone and electric service ended after the war, and the 1960 census found 3 people. The Ah Hee Diggings lie about a mile north of town.

Granite came back a little. Telephone service returned in 2000, and the 2020 census counted 32 residents, which keeps it among Oregon's smallest incorporated cities. A 2025 travel article reported both of its businesses, the Outback store and the Lodge, permanently closed. In July 2026 the Olive Butte Fire forced a Level 3 evacuation of the town; six days later the order was eased to Level 2.

Timeline

Granite through the years

1. 1862Gold is found on Granite Creek on July 4. A Forest Service sign in town credits Albert G. Tabor, who named his claim Independence.
2. 1863A settlement called Granite City grows up downstream of the present town.
3. 1867The town moves to its present site and takes the name Independence.
4. 1870The census counts 448 people, the most it ever recorded.
5. 1870sOregon already has an Independence, so the post office opens as Granite. Sources give 1874, 1876 and 1878.
6. 1900Granite incorporates, with Grant Thornburg as its first mayor.
7. 1940The census counts 86.
8. 1942War Production Board order L-208 shuts down gold mining, and Granite's economy collapses.
9. After the warTelephone and electric service end.
10. 1957The post office closes. The city keeps the name.
11. 1960The census counts 3 people (Wikipedia's text says 2).
12. 2000The population is back to 24, and telephone service returns.
13. 2020The census counts 32 (Wikipedia's text says 30).
14. 2025A travel article reports the town's two businesses, the store and the lodge, permanently closed, with the lodge for sale.
15. 2026On July 11 the Olive Butte Fire puts Granite under a Level 3 "go now" evacuation. The level drops to 2 on July 17.

What's left

What you'll see

Historic Sumpter (2022) lists a schoolhouse, church, general store and dance hall among the old buildings, and a 2025 travel article names the town hall as well. People still live in Granite, so respect private property and posted signs. We have no field report from after the 2026 fires.

The historic maps below all show Granite on Granite Creek. The 1901 Sumpter sheet marks the town at 4,680 feet, with Redboy and Congo Gulch to the southwest along Clear Creek and a guard station to the southeast on Bull Run. The 1955 sheet shows ranger stations northwest of town on Granite Creek and southeast on Bull Run, and the 1987 sheet shows Porterville just southeast of town and mines along Clear Creek.

• Schoolhouse
• Church
• General store
• Dance hall
• Ah Hee Diggings, about a mile north

Historic maps

Granite on USGS maps, 1901–1987

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.

19011:125,00019551:250,00019871:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

From Sumpter, Granite Hill Road climbs over Blue Springs Summit at 5,864 feet and runs on to Granite. From Baker City, take OR 7 to Sumpter first. There are no services in Granite, so fill up in Baker City or Sumpter.

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

Photos

Granite in photos

The Forest Service sign about the 1862 strikeA board building with an open bell tower, 2008The town from the cemetery, June 2013The road into town from the west, 2013

Visitor reports

Been to Granite?

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.

Thanks. Your report reached us, and we'll read it before it goes on the page.

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Nearby

Other sites near Granite

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

• Cabell City6.4 mi NE · Grant
• Robinsonville7.4 mi SW · Grant
• Bourne10.9 mi E · Baker
• Sumpter11.7 mi E · Baker
• Whitney12.1 mi SE · Baker
• Austin14.8 mi S · Grant
• McEwen17.1 mi SE · Baker
• Susanville19.1 mi W · Grant

Sources

Sources and credits

1. ghosttowns.com, "Granite": fact sheet fields (road, climate, best time, remains).
2. Wikipedia, "Granite, Oregon", retrieved October 2026: discovery date, Granite City and Independence, 1878 post office and first postmaster, incorporation and first mayor, census counts, L-208, utilities, Ah Hee Diggings, Elkhorn Drive. (Its line on 2025 business closures has no citation, so we use Islands instead.)
3. Historic Sumpter, "Granite, Oregon", copyright 2022: prospectors bound for Idaho, the earlier site half a mile west, 1874 name change, old buildings, route over Blue Springs Summit and pavement.
4. Islands, "Hidden In One Of Oregon's Smallest Cities…", August 10, 2025: store and lodge permanently closed, lodge for sale, town hall among the old buildings.
5. Baker City Herald via Blue Mountain Eagle, "New look along section of Granite Hill Road", September 23, 2022: repaving from Blue Springs Summit to Granite.
6. East Oregonian, July 11, 2026, and Baker City Herald, July 17, 2026: Olive Butte Fire evacuation at Level 3, then Level 2.
7. Baker City Herald, "McCully Fire continues NW spread", September 2, 2026: byway open between Sumpter and Granite.
8. Wallowa-Whitman National Forest alerts, read October 19, 2026: McCully and Anthony fire area closures through December 31, 2026.
9. Wallowa-Whitman National Forest sign in Granite, as photographed on Wikimedia Commons: Albert G. Tabor, the Independence claim, 1876 name change.
10. Coordinates: Wikipedia (from USGS GNIS). Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

• The Forest Service sign about the 1862 strike: Rscecil77, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• A board building with an open bell tower, 2008: Scott Catron from Sandy, Utah, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
• The town from the cemetery, June 2013: Ian Poellet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• The road into town from the west, 2013: Ian Poellet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
• Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Sumpter 1901, 1:125,000; Canyon City 1955, 1:250,000; Bates 1987, 1:100,000.