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See inside the ruins of Oregon’s timber past at Vernonia’s ghost mill
See inside the ruins of Oregon’s timber past at Vernonia’s ghost mill
See inside the ruins of Oregon’s timber past at Vernonia’s ghost mill

Published on: 08/04/2025

This news was posted by Oregon Today News

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Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.The former Oregon-American lumber mill powerhouse, seen from the paved trail around Vernonia Lake, rises out of the brush — its roof long gone, its concrete walls streaked with moss, graffiti and time.The concrete exterior of the former Oregon-American lumber mill powerhouse, photographed June 25, 2025, still stands along Vernonia Lake. Once a hub of industrial activity, the structure is now draped in graffiti and brush — a monument to Oregon’s timber past overtaken by time and trees.Vernonia Lake, seen on June 25, 2025, was once the 40-acre millpond for the Oregon-American lumber mill — a vital part of the operation where old-growth logs were held before processing at one of Oregon’s most advanced sawmills. Now it’s a public park and wildlife habitat.The concrete exterior of the former Oregon-American lumber mill powerhouse, photographed June 25, 2025, still stands along Vernonia Lake. Once a hub of industrial activity, the structure is now draped in graffiti and brush — a monument to Oregon’s timber past overtaken by time and trees.Vernonia Lake, seen on June 25, 2025, was once the 40-acre millpond for the Oregon-American lumber mill — a vital part of the operation where old-growth logs were held before processing at one of Oregon’s most advanced sawmills. Now it’s a public park and wildlife habitat.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.A female red-winged blackbird perches among cattails at Vernonia Lake on June 5, 2025, one of many species that thrive in the wetland habitat surrounding the former Oregon-American lumber mill site.Vernonia Lake, seen on June 25, 2025, was once the 40-acre millpond for the Oregon-American lumber mill — a vital part of the operation where old-growth logs were held before processing at one of Oregon’s most advanced sawmills. Now it’s a public park and wildlife habitat.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.Vernonia Lake, seen on June 25, 2025, was once the 40-acre millpond for the Oregon-American lumber mill — a vital part of the operation where old-growth logs were held before processing at one of Oregon’s most advanced sawmills. Now it’s a public park and wildlife habitat.Vernonia Lake, seen on June 25, 2025, was once the 40-acre millpond for the Oregon-American lumber mill — a vital part of the operation where old-growth logs were held before processing at one of Oregon’s most advanced sawmills. Now it’s a public park and wildlife habitat.The former Oregon-American lumber mill powerhouse, seen from the paved trail around Vernonia Lake, rises out of the brush — its roof long gone, its concrete walls streaked with moss, graffiti and time.Graffiti covers the walls of the old powerhouse at the former Oregon-American Lumber Company mill in Vernonia, Ore., on June 25, 2025. Once the heart of one of Oregon’s largest sawmills, the structure is now roofless and overgrown, with trees rising where machinery once stood.

Just an hour from Portland, the concrete ruins of a timber empire sit quietly at the edge of Vernonia Lake, all that remains of one of Oregon’s most ambitious sawmill operations.

News Source : https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2025/08/where-an-oregon-forest-took-back-a-mill-vernonia-lake-and-the-ruins-left-behind.html

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