Waldo is a ghost town located in Josephine County, Oregon, United States, about three miles from the California border.History of southern Oregon : comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties (Portland, OR: A.G. Walling, 1883), p. 446, 456-7. It was settled in 1852 as a gold mining camp called Sailor's Diggings.Illinois Valley history page on Cave Junction, Oregon web site.Grants Pass history page on Grants Pass, Oregon web site. The place was later renamed "Waldo" in honor of William Waldo, who in 1853 was the Whig candidate for governor of California. This was apparently because, believing the settlement was in California, William Waldo campaigned there and convinced the populace that they should vote for him.Teather, Louise, Place Names of Marin (1986), p. 85. The town was the first county seat of Josephine County.Josephine County history at Oregon State Archives. The post office for Waldo was established in 1856; service was discontinued in 1928.
See also List of ghost towns in Oregon
References
External links Waldo, Oregon History