Baker City

Despite being a town of just over 10,000 residents, Baker City feels significantly larger – an if you look into its history, you can understand why.

In 1861, a man named Henry Griffin found gold near the Powder River, suddenly the area was the epicenter of a gold rush. The rush led to the towns of Sumpter, Bourne and Auburn, and within 20 years, Baker City developed into the center of it all.

Between gold and timber, Baker City had hotels, an opera house, a Carnegie Library and grew into the largest city between Salt Lake City and Portland.

Ginger Savage, executive director of the Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, knows the minute someone walks up the stairs, whether they are there to enjoy the artwork, or the architecture of her building.

“I can always tell,” she said with her trademark smile. “If they are looking up, you know they are going to start talking about our great old building. If they are looking at the artwork, it’s time to start discussing our great local art community.”

Hiking, history and heritage, that’s the theme of the Oregon Trial Interpretive Center just East of Baker City.

The center, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, is about 26,000 square feet nested on top of Flagstaff Hill. The trip to the top of the hill is a winding affair, but once you make the mile-long journey, it is well worth it.