Castleton

Castleton. . Castle Creek was named by General Custer when he and his troops traveled through its headwaters in 1874., Gold was discovered in this valley to the west in 1875. A mining camp soon developed into the town named Castleton with a population of about 250 folks. Here was a hotel, grocery store, saloons, even a jewelry store. , The gold carrying ore lay 25 feet deep. No profitable way was found to remove the water and tailings so the miners drifted away to richer digs. , Castleton again came alive in the 1880’s when it was used as the construction center for the recently abandoned railroad that you can see against the hill side. , Just in front of the sign, notice the ribs of the barge that contained the Evans dredge. It floated on this once large pond now being reclaimed by silt and swamp grass. “The Dredge”, a large and unique operation worked up and down the creek from 1911-1914. It left huge piles of rock and ponds that you see. Gold was there but in deep, and irregular pockets. The project was unprofitable. The machinery was moved to John Day, Oregon. , ~In memory of George and Helen Frink~.