Talk:Sumpter, Oregon

Ghost town
Just curious - why is this in the ghost town category if it has a population of nearly 200? Al Clark 02:19, 16 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Well, it is listed at ghosttowns.com and seems to fit the various definitions at ghost town, including "current population is significantly less than it once was" and "tourist ghost town". I added it to the category per List of ghost towns in the United States. I know you're not supposed to use Wikipedia as a source for itself, but according to that article, "ghost town" is not synonymous with "completely abandoned". It's a term of some controversy, however, with some editors claiming that calling a populated place a ghost town is insulting to the residents, but Sumpter itself seems to promote the gold rush ghost town image and there are quite a few abandoned buildings there. Despite all that, I'm not real attached to it staying in the category, but would like to hear any reasonable arguments for not including it. Katr67 03:02, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Addition about history
Sumpter oregon was founded by southern civil war deserters. They built a cabin in the winter of 1862-1863 and named it fort sumter after the place where the war started. The p was latter added by the post office due to the tension it created by being a reminder of the civil war.

Hawley, Brooks and Melvin Kathan. A Brief History of a Town and a Gold Dredge in the Sumpter Valley. Portland: Cascade Printing Service, 1967.

(by 24.20.81.200) -- Jsayre64  (talk)  17:36, 12 October 2013 (UTC)