Auburn is deserted today, but the former gold miningboomtown was once the largest community in Eastern Oregon.[4] Auburn only had one or two buildings until 1861, when gold was discovered in the area.[4] By September 1862, Auburn had grown into a full-fledged town with over 20 stores and 1000 homes to serve the mining industry.[4][5] In that month the Oregon Legislative Assembly made Auburn the first county seat of Baker County, but by the 1870s Auburn was largely deserted,[4] with a population of 200 people in 1873.[5]
The post office, the first in northeast Oregon, closed in 1903.[5] It had opened on November 1, 1862, with William F. McCrary as the first postmaster.[6]