More than a century and a half ago, in 1845, a group of hardy pioneers traveled by wagon train from Iowa to Oregon. By the time they reached the Malheur River, about a mile below the present site of Vale, they had already traveled some 1,500 miles. Tired and ready to reach their destination, they encamped at a spring to rest.

Some were in despair as they had lost several oxen that had died from poison. When one of the members examined a carcass, his hand was infected, and he, too, died. Tempers were pitched, and dissension began to rise within the travelers.

One member of the train, Stephen Meek, who had joined the party somewhere in present-day Montana or Idaho, claimed that he had been to Oregon and knew a shortcut. Along the trail, many of the men had begun to distrust Meek, and when the party set out westward from the springs, they split into two groups—one following the known route and the other Meek’s promised shortcut.

The Meek party swung to the south toward the Steen Mountain country. But Meek didn’t know where he was going, and with the group’s anger, he fled the wagon train in fear for his life after only one week. Dissension within the group caused them to split once again at the headwaters of Willow Creek. Part of the group headed towards Huntington and down the Columbia River, while the rest of the party continued to travel along the Malheur River.

Along the way, the party encountered trouble again, as one member was stricken with fever and died, and just a few miles later, several of the oxen were lost. On August 25, 1845, three young men soon searched for the stock, walking all day into the late afternoon before coming to a small stream. Quenching their thirst, they picked up 15-20 pebbles in the creek that displayed an unusual color. Finding their oxen, they then returned to the train.

Exhibiting their stones to the older men on the train, the “more seasoned” travelers pronounced them to be “copper.” When someone asked, “Was there much of it?” one of the boys replied, “We could have filled one of these blue buckets.”

One of the train’s members, Mrs. Fisher, kept a single nugget, and the train continued its journey, leaving behind the other stones. Stephen Meek did make it to The Dalles and returned to the train with a party of rescuers to save them. The wagon train finally reached its destination at The Dalles in October 1845.

All was forgotten until three years later when gold was discovered in California. At that time, some of the party members recalled the incident, and Mrs. Fisher, who had kept one of the nuggets, soon discovered that it was actually gold.

Thus began the search for the mythical Blue Bucket Mine. Though the location of the gold remains a mystery today, it is believed to be at a tributary of the John Day River.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2025.

Also See:

A Pioneer Story and the Lost Blue Bucket Mine

Cursed Treasure of Columbia City

Rockhounding in the Prineville Region

More Oregon Treasures

See Sources.