Miners in Mormon Basin during "gold rush" days.

Gold is discovered in the Mormon Basin giving birth to the boom towns of El Dorado and Malheur City. Hoping to strike it rich, thousands afflicted with gold fever labored from dawn to dusk seeking the elusive riches. Water was an essential resource to separate the gold from the gravel in the sluice used in placer mining.  As surface gold became less available, gold was mined using shafts, a more productive but arduous method of mining.

Address: Washington and Main North (Olsen Lumber)

Artist: Robert Thomas and Teresa Black (painted in 1995)