Sumpter Valley Dredge

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Sumpter Valley Dredge

At the Sumpter Valley Dredge State Heritage Area on the edge of town, we stepped aboard the massive 1,240 ton YUBA style dredge. We’re fortunate to have visited one of the largest and most accessible gold dredges in the country, since not many are still on public display. Built at a cost of $350,000 in 1935, it produced $4.5 million in gold until 1954 (gold was then $35 an ounce), and was actually the third dredge to be used during that time period. It’s hard to believe all that bulk actually floated on it’s own small pond, but that’s exactly how the dredge moved from place to place—it dug into the soil in a sideways pattern creating a constant pool of water that was taken from the Powder River.

After a good look at the motors and machinery inside the cool depths of the dredge, we walked back out into the hot sunshine and strolled along the tailings (discarded rock piles) and imagined the thrill of finding gold! Many dredge workers probably had the same dream. Earnings back then were only 90 cents an hour for oilers and $1.10 per hour for winchmen. The workmen had just two days off each year— Christmas and Independence Day. The dredge ran 24 hours a day/7 days a week in all kinds of weather, requiring three shifts of about 20 men each.

Sumpter Dredge Technical Facts:
• Hull is 120 feet long x 52 feet wide x 11 feet deep
• Stacker is 96 feet long
• Ran 72 buckets (10 cubic feet each) at a speed of 25 buckets per minute
• Moved an average of 280,000 cubic yards of soil per month
• 250 horsepower bucket line motor was powered by a 12-mile, 23,000 volt electric line from a portable substation
• 3,000 gallons of water per minute were supplied by two 10 inch and one six inch pumps
• The dredge was anchored in place with a spud (or counterweight) and bow and stern lines connected to "deadmen" (usually logs buried in the ground). Using winches aboard the dredge, it could be maneuvered to dig in any angle. With the bucket line digging ahead while the 96-foot stacker mounded the tailings behind, the dredge worked back and forth across the valley using the water from the Powder River.

Keywords: Free, Historic Site, Interesting, Park (Local / State / National), Historic, Everyone, Summer (June - August), During the week, In the morning, Easy to reach