The Sumpter Valley Dredge and the Ghost of Joe Bush

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Location: Sumpter, Oregon, United States of America
Dates Active: 1935 to Present
Category: Haunting
Cause: Unknown
Status: Possibly Ongoing
Entry ID: 011624A-00027

Summery: 

This historic gold dredge located in Sumpter, Oregon is haunted by Joe Bush, who leaves behind wet foot prints, makes lights flicker, opens and closes doors, and other strange activity.

In Depth:

The Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge No. 3 began operation in 1935, processing over 7 yards of earth every minute in order separate out the gold within. It shut down in 1954 due to the gold production being less than the cost to operate. This particular dredge was the third to operate in the area, with some of the parts of Dredge No. 1 used in its construction.

During the time in which it operated, workers on the dredge jokingly referred anything strange happening on the dredge as the work of the ghost Joe Bush. While there is no real reference to any such person as being real, there have been several deaths that are associated with the dredge.

The first death was Christopher Robin Rowe in 1918, who was crashed in the gears while working on Dredge No. 1. Those same gears were later used in Dredge No. 3.

The second death happened in 1942 on Dredge No. 3 itself, when worker George "Buck" Mosley fell asleep while on lunch, only to never wake back up.

While there was never a Joe that worked on the dredge stories of his ghost began to spread the same year George died. Many workers claimed that Joe, whomever he was, would move tools, leave wet footprints, and - if you happened to leave it where he could find it - eat your lunch.

External Links (Last Checked January 16, 2024):

The Sumpter Valley Dredge and the Ghost of Joe Bush in Media:

  • Ghost Mine, Season 1, Episode 3 "Vengeful Spirit" (First aired: January 30, 2013)
  • Skeleton Creek, book by Patrick Carman
    • This children's horror book series utilizes a website and videos to continue an overarching narrative in a fictional town of Skeleton Creek, but utilizes the stories of Joe Bush and Sumpter, Oregon within the site.
       

Related Entries and Connections:

Last Updated: March 23, 2024

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