Joe Bush (ghost)

Joe Bush is the name of a ghost that allegedly haunts the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge in Sumpter, Oregon, United States. Dredge workers working on the No. 3 dredge at Sumpter Valley often reported strange happenings involving the ghost. The ghost is said to leave wet, bare footprints on the dredge's decks and cause lights to flicker and doors to open and close unexpectedly.

Theories of identity

Controversy surrounds Joe Bush's actual identity. There are two main theories:

1. Chris Rowe worked on the No. 1 dredge as an oiler maintaining the gearbox. In 1918 he was inexplicably crushed in the gears that he worked on while on duty. No one was present and an explanation never developed. When the gears from the No. 1 dredge were transferred to the No. 3, the one that still stands in Sumpter Valley Dredge State Park, Chris Rowe's ghost traveled with the gearbox. The problem is that reports of the ghost were never reported on the No. 1 dredge.
2. While documentation does not exist for the employment of anyone named Joe Bush, former workers said there was a mechanic named Joe Bush on the No. 49 dredge during its operating years. He was employed for a few years but may have provided an alternate name for employment records.

External links

• Montana Standard article about the ghost of Joe Bush
• Lisa Britton, The Legend of Joe Bush, Baker City Herald, October 31, 2007.
• Lisa Britton, Sumpter's Spooky Old Dredge Inspires Author's Ghostly Tale, Baker City Herald, February 10, 2009.