Pendleton is the small town resting peacefully in the farmlands of the northeastern region of Oregon, which was mostly a farming community in the beginning. In case you weren’t aware, Oregon is truly a state full of rich history and is actually home to the most ghost towns in the country. Pendleton is said to have a sordid past and a secret that has been hidden underground for over a century. For several decades around the turn of the 20th century, there were two towns in Pendleton, one was above the land, but the other was below. As you walk the streets of the historic city of Pendleton, you may not realize the secret world just beneath your feet. It all started back in the 1870s when Chinese laborers started building tunnels to conduct business and take refuge from discrimination. The Chinese workers were harshly discriminated against by the white population of Pendleton and were not always welcome with the general populace. The country no longer needed these thousands of Chinese workers, who in 1883 helped build the railroad linking Portland to the East Coast. Their service to a new nation was being replaced by “native sons” for jobs and depressing the wages.
The sector is supposed to have been underlain by a network of tunnels. The Pendleton Underground had saloons, bordellos, apothecaries, opium dens, butcher shop, and more. Pendleton was home to many secret and controversial businesses. Some were legal, others were not. At one time, Pendleton had become an entertainment capital where cowboys and ranchers could come to drink, gamble and visit one of the 18 bordellos. One story even claimed that a pair of train robbers who used the tunnels to store their ill-gotten goods had died here under an old home in a gun battle over the stolen gold. It’s been said that ghosts of the robbers still haunt this area and you can sometimes hear them crying: “It’s my gold! Mine!.
The Pendleton Underground was not discovered until sometime in the 1980s, as potholes started showing up on the streets of Pendleton and these were not usual potholes. The city workers unveiled this fascinating hidden gem. Remnants of card rooms, saloons and bordellos provide a glimpse into the wild past of this hidden city. In 1989, several of the tunnels have been restored and some of the town's history recreated to form Pendleton Underground Tours. Pendleton Underground Tours is a non-profit corporation, giving tours of Pendleton’s red-light district. The tour provides historical context to the dark side of Pendleton, including bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution. The tour also reveals the story of the Chinese workers who helped to build the state to what it looks like today. Pendleton is the prime destination for a weekend-size slice of the good life.
The sector is supposed to have been underlain by a network of tunnels. The Pendleton Underground had saloons, bordellos, apothecaries, opium dens, butcher shop, and more. Pendleton was home to many secret and controversial businesses. Some were legal, others were not. At one time, Pendleton had become an entertainment capital where cowboys and ranchers could come to drink, gamble and visit one of the 18 bordellos. One story even claimed that a pair of train robbers who used the tunnels to store their ill-gotten goods had died here under an old home in a gun battle over the stolen gold. It’s been said that ghosts of the robbers still haunt this area and you can sometimes hear them crying: “It’s my gold! Mine!.
The Pendleton Underground was not discovered until sometime in the 1980s, as potholes started showing up on the streets of Pendleton and these were not usual potholes. The city workers unveiled this fascinating hidden gem. Remnants of card rooms, saloons and bordellos provide a glimpse into the wild past of this hidden city. In 1989, several of the tunnels have been restored and some of the town's history recreated to form Pendleton Underground Tours. Pendleton Underground Tours is a non-profit corporation, giving tours of Pendleton’s red-light district. The tour provides historical context to the dark side of Pendleton, including bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution. The tour also reveals the story of the Chinese workers who helped to build the state to what it looks like today. Pendleton is the prime destination for a weekend-size slice of the good life.
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