Waldo is a ghost town located in Josephine County, Oregon, United States, about three miles from the California border.[1] It was settled in 1852 as a gold mining camp called Sailor's Diggings.[1][2][3]
The place was later renamed "Waldo" in honor of William Waldo, who in 1853 was the Whig candidate for governor of California.[1][3] This was apparently because, believing the settlement was in California, William Waldo campaigned there and convinced the populace that they should vote for him.[2][4] The town was the first county seat of Josephine County.[1][5] The post office for Waldo was established in 1856; service was discontinued in 1928.[6]
^McArthur, Lewis A. (1982). Oregon geographic names (5th., rev. & enl. ed.). Western Imprints, the Press of the Oregon Historical Society. p. 767. ISBN0875951139.