The town of John Day (pop. 1,821), the metropolis in this chain of ghostly gold towns, holds the area’s one not-to-be-missed attraction: Kam Wah Chung Museum (daily May 1–Oct. 31 only; $3; 541/575-0028), 250 NW Canton, run by the state and located in a nice park just north of US-26 at the center of John Day. Built as a trading post in 1866–1867, in the late 1880s the Kam Wah Chung building became a general store and medical center for the Chinese workers who toiled in the mines, and for 60 years it continued to be the center of the almost exclusively male Chinese community of eastern Oregon, which at times made up a majority of the regional population. Most of the building is preserved intact, displaying a fascinating collection of items ranging from herbal remedies and ornate red Taoist shrines to gambling paraphernalia and ancient canned goods. There’s also a bedroom with bunks and a wood stove left as they were by the last residents, Ing Hay and Lung On, the herbalist and storekeeper who lived and worked here until the 1940s.
Right next to the museum is the John Day swimming pool, much appreciated on a hot summer afternoon. For food, the Grub Steak Mining Company (541/575-1970), at 149 E. Main Street, has a sumptuous menu of rib eyes and other beef entrées. The Dreamers Lodge Motel (541/575-0526) at 144 N. Canyon Boulevard, and a Best Western (541/575-1700) at 315 W. Main Street, both have reasonable rates.
