Pondosa is an unincorporated community and ghost town[2] in Union County, Oregon, United States.

Pondosa, Oregon
View of Pondosa in 1952
View of Pondosa in 1952
Pondosa, Oregon is located in Oregon
Pondosa, Oregon
Pondosa, Oregon
Pondosa, Oregon is located in the United States
Pondosa, Oregon
Pondosa, Oregon
Coordinates: 45°0′29″N 117°38′34″W / 45.00806°N 117.64278°W / 45.00806; -117.64278
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyUnion
Elevation3,261 ft (994 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
GNIS feature ID1136642[1]

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.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pondosa, Oregon
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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.
edit