Oregon Ghost Town Tour #2 – Part 6

In Spring of 2022, our family took a day trip to visit some historical ghost towns in Central Oregon. We visited Antelope, Shaniko, and Kent, Oregon – then we were hooked! We planned a second tour to see even more Central Oregon ghost towns. Join us as we take you through 6 more historic ghost towns. Grass Valley, Moro, Wasco, Boyd, Dufur, and Friend.

After visiting Boyd and Dufur, we continued South to out final town of the tour – Friend, OR. As of 2022, Friend’s population is only a handful of people. Friend was named after George J. Friend. The first post office in the community, established in 1903, was on his homestead. He and his wife Clara are buried in the nearby Friend cemetery. Friend was the end of the line on the Great Southern Railroad. The line was built in 1908 and ran from The Dalles all the way down to Friend. The Friend depot was closed in 1928 and the entire rail line was abandoned in 1936.

Watch our walking tour of the Friend Ghost Town here!

To Visit:

GPS Coordinates: 45.345, -121.276 Friend is 12 miles SW of Dufur, OR. This town is truly out of the way and you’ll need to be prepared to drive on several miles of gravel road to get there.

Maps:

Photos:

Trip Tour Includes:

Day One:

• Grass Valley, OR
• Grass Valley Cemetery
• Moro, OR
• Wasco, OR
• Sunrise Cemetery

Day Two:

• Boyd, OR
• Dufur, OR
• Dufur Community Cemetery
• Friend, OR
• Friend Cemetery

Book Sources:

Additional Resources:

• https://cityofdufur.org/
• https://traveloregon.com/places-to-go/cities/dufur/
• https://www.dufur.org/
• https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/dufur/#.YuwC_3bMJPY
• http://www.gorgeconnection.com/dufur/history.php
• http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/dufur.html
• https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/culture-history/ghost-towns/oregon-ghost-towns-boyd-dufur-and-friend/