Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
Shelburn is where the SP&S Brownsville line and the Espee Mill City branch intersected. In times past there was a town and depot here.
Now there's not much left besides a broken down shed and an unusual steel water tank for the steam locomotives that used to tread these rails. Two legs of the crossing are gone. Albany & Eastern runs trains to Mill City on this track twice weekly. A recent, state assisted, tie replacement program kept the line open but the speed limit on this track is less than 20mph in many places.
The old cemertery on the hill has stones dating back to 1850 and many from the 1860's...where the cholera epidemic claimed so many lives.
In 1890 a post office was established,to join the blacksmith shop,school,stores and several other business's. Two ofthe leading citizens...Shelton and Washburn were honored by having their names combined in the naming of the town.
Sawmills began to spring up and the railroad came through. A large hotel was built and operated by Stanley Strylewicz . JR Mioses was the lone barber and the place to go for gossip. A large dance hall was erected and filled to the brim every Saturday night. One of the old timers Ed Zink was still living in a small shack that was built from lumber salavaged from a larger home in 1971.
Many of the dances were interrupted by brawls due to too many men...not enough women....Liquor was forbidden at the sawmill...and by Saturday night a huge thirst had built up...leading to several still visible bullet holes in the dance hall...
The town began to die down after the lumber was cut out,the potatoe fields developed a diseaseand the train began to stop only for their passengers to grab a bite to eat. As the auomobile era came in ,residents began to shop at Salem or Stayton and the local stores lost their business and closed .
In 1971 the town was almost deserted.....The dance hall used as a chicken barn ....the old blacksmith shop (used also as harness repair and farm equipment sales) was still standing ,with its little wing that was used as a millinery shop,phone office and then residence.
Now there's not much left besides a broken down shed and an unusual steel water tank for the steam locomotives that used to tread these rails. Two legs of the crossing are gone. Albany & Eastern runs trains to Mill City on this track twice weekly. A recent, state assisted, tie replacement program kept the line open but the speed limit on this track is less than 20mph in many places.
The old cemertery on the hill has stones dating back to 1850 and many from the 1860's...where the cholera epidemic claimed so many lives.
In 1890 a post office was established,to join the blacksmith shop,school,stores and several other business's. Two ofthe leading citizens...Shelton and Washburn were honored by having their names combined in the naming of the town.
Sawmills began to spring up and the railroad came through. A large hotel was built and operated by Stanley Strylewicz . JR Mioses was the lone barber and the place to go for gossip. A large dance hall was erected and filled to the brim every Saturday night. One of the old timers Ed Zink was still living in a small shack that was built from lumber salavaged from a larger home in 1971.
Many of the dances were interrupted by brawls due to too many men...not enough women....Liquor was forbidden at the sawmill...and by Saturday night a huge thirst had built up...leading to several still visible bullet holes in the dance hall...
The town began to die down after the lumber was cut out,the potatoe fields developed a diseaseand the train began to stop only for their passengers to grab a bite to eat. As the auomobile era came in ,residents began to shop at Salem or Stayton and the local stores lost their business and closed .
In 1971 the town was almost deserted.....The dance hall used as a chicken barn ....the old blacksmith shop (used also as harness repair and farm equipment sales) was still standing ,with its little wing that was used as a millinery shop,phone office and then residence.
