Ashwood, Oregon

Ashwood is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. It is located 32 miles northeast of Madras. It is considered a ghost town.

Ashwood was named for its proximity to Ash Butte, a butte with volcanic ash deposits on its sides, and to honor Whitfield T. Wood, who settled in the area in the 1870s. Ashwood post office was established in 1898.cite book
last = McArthur
first = Lewis A.
authorlink = Lewis A. McArthur
coauthors = Lewis L. McArthur
title = Oregon Geographic Names
origyear = 1928
edition = Seventh Edition
year = 2003
publisher = Oregon Historical Society Press
location = Portland, Oregon
id = ISBN 0-87595-277-1
pages = ]

The Ashwood area was first used by the Native American Sahaptin and Northern Paiute people. After the Sahaptin were forced to move to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in the 1850s, and the Northern Paiute were defeated in the 1870s, settlers moved into the area to raise cattle and sheep. Sheep ranching became an important local industry by 1900 because of the availability of the railroad in nearby Shaniko that facilitated the shipping of wool. Ashwood became a gold- and silver-mining boomtown in the 1910s. The Oregon King Mine was an important mine that was established during the early boom period.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Horse Heaven Mine & Ghost Town
work =
publisher = Active and Abandoned Railroads of the Pacific Northwest
date =
url = http://www.brian894x4.com/HorseHeavenMine.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-07-31] The minerals soon began to play out, however, and local residents turned back to ranching and agriculture as the mainstays of their economy.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Ashwood, 1915
work =
publisher = Oregon Historical Society
date =
url = http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/historical_records/dspDocument.cfm?doc_ID=8481EBF0-E894-6E96-6128CEE375713ED6
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-11-22]

Ashwood is popular with rockhounds, as the area has an abundance of petrified wood, jasper, and thundereggs—Oregon's state rock.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Oregon Collecting Sites
work =
publisher = Bob's Rock Shop
date =
url = http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/orsites.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2006-11-22]

References

External links

* [http://www.madraschamber.com/ashwood.cfm About Ashwood, Oregon from Madras-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce]