Gypsy Heart
Gold Member
Whitney was never a mining camp ,though it was surrounded by them. It was stritcly a center for logging operations.
Ms Erma Cole was a schoolteacher there during 1919-1920
She states that the temperature that winter stayed at 55 below zero for quite a spell. She boarded at one of the small hotels near the saloon on the East side of the street. The walls were just boards with batten covering the cracks. She had a small sheet iron stove ,a bed and table in her 9 x 10 room. The little stove glowed red at all times but she wasstill cold .When the temp rose to 50 below ...she says it almost seemed balmy!
Each Saturday saw a huge dance and the hotel owner made a trip to Prairie City each week to restock his bootleg booze.
A dozen or so buildings remained in early 70's ...at the south end the imposing sawmill...three stories high with large adjoining pond
Located about a 1/2 mile south of Highway 7 between Austin and McEwan, Whitney was the prime station on the 80 mile long, narrow-gauge Sumpter Valley Railroad. 14 rail crews were stationed in town and 75 people were employed at the local saw mill which supplied lumber for the surrounding gold mining camps. Even with all this activity, the population never rose above 100
Ms Erma Cole was a schoolteacher there during 1919-1920
She states that the temperature that winter stayed at 55 below zero for quite a spell. She boarded at one of the small hotels near the saloon on the East side of the street. The walls were just boards with batten covering the cracks. She had a small sheet iron stove ,a bed and table in her 9 x 10 room. The little stove glowed red at all times but she wasstill cold .When the temp rose to 50 below ...she says it almost seemed balmy!
Each Saturday saw a huge dance and the hotel owner made a trip to Prairie City each week to restock his bootleg booze.
A dozen or so buildings remained in early 70's ...at the south end the imposing sawmill...three stories high with large adjoining pond
Located about a 1/2 mile south of Highway 7 between Austin and McEwan, Whitney was the prime station on the 80 mile long, narrow-gauge Sumpter Valley Railroad. 14 rail crews were stationed in town and 75 people were employed at the local saw mill which supplied lumber for the surrounding gold mining camps. Even with all this activity, the population never rose above 100
