Austin is an unincorporated community, considered a ghost town,[1][2] in Grant County, Oregon, United States. It is located north of Oregon Route 7, near the Middle Fork John Day River in the Malheur National Forest.
Austin, Oregon | |
|---|---|
  Austin, Oregon | |
| Coordinates: 44°36′10″N 118°29′48″W / 44.602656°N 118.49661°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Grant County |
| Founded | late 1800s |
History
editAustin was named for Minot and Linda Austin, early settlers of the area.[3][4] The Austins operated a small store and hotel, Austin House. Austin House was started as a hotel and stagecoach station by a Mr. Newton.[2] Austin post office was established in 1888 and closed in 1950.[3]
The tracks of the Sumpter Valley Railway reached Austin in 1905.[4] The railway was built by Oregon Lumber Company and Austin became an important railroad logging community.[5] Austin was the hub of the area until Bates, a company town of the Oregon Lumber Company,[4] was built 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west.[5] Austin was also a supply depot for local mining towns, including Susanville and Galena. Austin sawmills supplied lumber for places such as Greenhorn and the Bonanza Mine, higher up in the Blue Mountains.[2] At its height, the population was about 500 (some estimates say it was high as 5,000)[2] and the community had three sawmills.[1][2] The town also had a substantial jail and the offices of several doctors, lawyers and real estate operators.[2] As the neighboring mining towns disappeared, however, Austin also went into decline.[2]
By 1997, a newer business called Austin House was the only business remaining in the Austin area, at Austin Junction where Oregon Route 7 meets U.S. Route 26. Built in 1959,[6] the business is about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from the original site of Austin and serves as a combination tavern, grocery store, restaurant and gas station.[3] As of 2002, fewer than 35 people lived within a 5-mile (8.0 km) radius of Austin.[5]
Climate
edit| Climate data for Austin, Oregon, 1991–2020 normals, 1912-2020 extremes: 4213ft (1284m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 58 (14) |
65 (18) |
75 (24) |
90 (32) |
95 (35) |
103 (39) |
108 (42) |
103 (39) |
99 (37) |
89 (32) |
73 (23) |
60 (16) |
108 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 49.2 (9.6) |
53.4 (11.9) |
61.9 (16.6) |
73.5 (23.1) |
83.5 (28.6) |
89.0 (31.7) |
95.5 (35.3) |
94.4 (34.7) |
89.4 (31.9) |
76.9 (24.9) |
60.2 (15.7) |
47.8 (8.8) |
95.8 (35.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 34.4 (1.3) |
39.4 (4.1) |
46.1 (7.8) |
52.9 (11.6) |
62.0 (16.7) |
71.3 (21.8) |
83.4 (28.6) |
82.7 (28.2) |
73.3 (22.9) |
58.5 (14.7) |
42.0 (5.6) |
33.5 (0.8) |
56.6 (13.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 24.8 (−4.0) |
29.0 (−1.7) |
34.7 (1.5) |
40.4 (4.7) |
47.9 (8.8) |
54.9 (12.7) |
63.3 (17.4) |
62.4 (16.9) |
54.1 (12.3) |
43.3 (6.3) |
32.1 (0.1) |
24.8 (−4.0) |
42.6 (5.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 15.2 (−9.3) |
18.5 (−7.5) |
23.2 (−4.9) |
27.8 (−2.3) |
33.8 (1.0) |
38.5 (3.6) |
43.2 (6.2) |
42.0 (5.6) |
34.8 (1.6) |
28.2 (−2.1) |
22.2 (−5.4) |
16.0 (−8.9) |
28.6 (−1.9) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −7.7 (−22.1) |
−6.3 (−21.3) |
6.1 (−14.4) |
15.9 (−8.9) |
21.4 (−5.9) |
27.3 (−2.6) |
31.3 (−0.4) |
29.3 (−1.5) |
21.4 (−5.9) |
12.6 (−10.8) |
2.5 (−16.4) |
−8.5 (−22.5) |
−16.3 (−26.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −52 (−47) |
−47 (−44) |
−25 (−32) |
−1 (−18) |
7 (−14) |
13 (−11) |
15 (−9) |
17 (−8) |
10 (−12) |
−6 (−21) |
−29 (−34) |
−41 (−41) |
−52 (−47) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.56 (65) |
1.74 (44) |
1.92 (49) |
1.66 (42) |
1.84 (47) |
1.62 (41) |
0.69 (18) |
0.71 (18) |
0.79 (20) |
1.25 (32) |
2.66 (68) |
3.32 (84) |
20.76 (528) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 22.3 (57) |
11.3 (29) |
7.1 (18) |
2.8 (7.1) |
0.4 (1.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.8 (2.0) |
11.1 (28) |
26.8 (68) |
82.7 (210.35) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 20.7 (53) |
21.6 (55) |
14.7 (37) |
3.3 (8.4) |
0.6 (1.5) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.7 (1.8) |
7.5 (19) |
16.0 (41) |
26.2 (67) |
| Source 1: NOAA (1981-2010 snowfall)[7][8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS2 (records, 1981-2010 monthly max/mins & snow depth)[9] | |||||||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Miller, Donald C. (1977). Ghost Towns of Washington and Oregon. Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Publishing Company. p. 71. ISBN 0-87108-500-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g Florin, Lambert (1970). Oregon Ghost Towns. Seattle: Superior Publishing Company. p. 17. OCLC 2713643.
- ^ a b c McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 39. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
- ^ a b c Johns, Sonja. "Bates-Austin Remembered (a brief history)". Bates & Austin Remembered. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Galena Watershed Analysis - Supplement 2002" (PDF). United States Forest Service. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
- ^ "Austin House Cafe & Country Store". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
- ^ "Austin 3 S, Oregon 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved August 14, 2023.
- ^ "Austin 3 S, Oregon 1981-2010 Monthly Normals". Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
External links
edit- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Austin
- Historic image of Austin from the Oregon State Library
- Modern image of Austin House from the Oregon Scenic Images for Grant County from Oregon State Archives
- Images of Austin from ghosttowns.com
- History of Austin and Bates from Austin House Cafe & Country Store
- Grant County, Oregon biographies from oregongenealogy.com, including biography of Minot Austin