Durkee — BAKER County

Source: Tom Ashworth's Prospectors Cache (tomashworth.com / Mike Higbee / 49erMike). Author: Tom Ashworth. Original page: baker_or.shtml. State index: https://web.archive.org/web/20040830075749/http://www.tomashworth.com/goldloc.shtml Area: Durkee. Map coordinates are an approximate county centroid — not a precise claim site. 23 miles southwest of Baker on U.S. 30, you will find the Burnt Creek District. This district had a total production of at least 50,000 ounces of lode gold and 3,500 ounces of placer gold. You can find gold in all Burnt River tributary streams and gulches. Shirttail Creek was especially rich. Southeast of Durkee by 6-12 miles, you will find the Weatherby district, straddling U.S. 30 along the Burnt River. North of the Highway, along Chicken and Sisley Creeks was some very important placers and lode mines. If you go South by Southwest from Durkee about 15 miles to the ghost town of Rye Valley, at the heads of Basin Creek and South fork of Dixie Creek produced over 200,000 ounces of gold out of placer and lode sources.