Nothing much is left of the old company town of Bates. The mill is long gone. The homes are all gone. Now the site is a state park.
It must have been quite the place during its golden days.
Austin
A barn marks the entrance to the little town of Austin. There are nowhere near the 500 people in Austin that there once were.
More mobile homes under roofs.
End of the line.
Greenhorn, the Highest and Smallest City in Oregon
Greenhorn is seven miles off the paved road down a forest access road. It holds the designation as the highest and smallest incorporated city in Oregon. The last two US censuses found exactly zero people in the city. The state of Oregon pegs it at two people. There are enough people around that a Baker County Commissioner was going to hold a town hall a few days after we were there.
There are about seven or ten houses and shacks in town. The town used to have about 2000 people.
There is even some property for sale!
Around the year 2000, the town got telephone service.
There is a construction business that operates out of Greenhorn.
Leaving Greenhorn.
