National Register Listing

Sumpter Valley Railway Historic District

Roughly between Baker and Prairie City starting near the McEwen station site and W to the Dixie Pass area, Sumpter, OR

The Sumpter Valley Railway was historically significant in the development of the Blue Mountains region, an area of over 7,500 square miles encompassing some of the most rugged and sparsely populated country in the Pacific Northwest. Built between 1890 and 1910, the railway ran 80.1 miles from Baker, Oregon, to Prairie City, Oregon, touching the communities of McEwen, Sumpter, Whitney, Austin, and Bates en route. During most of its period of operation from 1890 to 1947, the railway provided the only means of mechanical transportation to these communities. Industries dependent upon the railway included logging and lumber, gold mining, and stock raising. On the national level, the railway is representative of the industrialization of the mountain west. Development of the forest, range and mineral resources of the Blue Mountains followed the railway; as these resources dwindled, the railway and the communities it served diminished to the point that the railway corridor contains today less than 10% of the population it held in 1900. Historic personages associated with the railway include its founder, David Eccles (1849-1912) of Salt Lake City, who was one of the great capitalists of the American frontier. His son, Marriner Eccles, worked on the railway prior to his career in national politics as an advisor to President F. D. Roosevelt and the chairman of the Federal Reserve. The civil engineer responsible for the railway's design and construction was Joseph A. West, a prominent railroad engineer in Salt Lake City. Currently, the Sumpter Valley Railway is one of the four or five best-remembered narrow gauge railroads in the far west. The subject of a popular history that has remained in print since 1967, the railway is noted for its longevity, the beauty of its setting, and its association with the fabled gold mines of the Blue Mountains.

The Sumpter Valley Railway meets National Register criterion A in its association with the broad pattern of events in the regional history of the Pacific Northwest. It is of interest also in its association with David Eccles and Marriner Eccles, both of whom were prominent personages on the regional and national scenes. The period of significance has been cited as 1890 to 1939 to correspond with its construction, peak operation, and the last episode of major repair. The railway operated, however, until its final abandonment in 1961.

Also contributing to the significance of the district are four items of historic rolling stock associated with the Sumpter Valley Railway and the W. H. Eccles Lumber Company. These items are in use or temporarily stored as exhibit items on the McEwen-Sumpter segment restored by the Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration, Inc. Locomotive No. 3 is believed the only historic wood-burning, narrow gauge locomotive still in operation in the American West.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1987.