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Waldo is a ghost town located in Josephine County, Oregon, United States, about three miles from the California border.[1] It was settled in 1852 as a gold mining camp called Sailor's Diggings.[1][2][3] The place was later renamed "Waldo" in honor of William Waldo, who in 1853 was the Whig candidate for governor of California.[1][3] This was apparently because, believing the settlement was in California, William Waldo campaigned there and convinced the populace that they should vote for him.[2][4] The town was the first county seat of Josephine County.[1][5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d History of southern Oregon : comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties (Portland, OR: A.G. Walling, 1883), p. 446, 456-7.
- ^ a b Illinois Valley history page on Cave Junction, Oregon web site.
- ^ a b Grants Pass history page on Grants Pass, Oregon web site.
- ^ Teather, Louise, Place Names of Marin (1986), p. 85.
- ^ Josephine County history at Oregon State Archives.
[edit] External links
