The ghost town of Golden is one of the least disturbed gold mining sites and settlements in Oregon.

William Ruble and his wife Ruth established Golden with their sons Bill and Schuyler as part of their family mining enterprise. The family relocated from Salem and together with community members, they constructed the four structures now remaining at Golden with locally milled materials. The earliest of these structures dates to 1892 and the latest to 1904. With the possible exception of the Golden Church, the buildings are vernacular in the truest sense of the word, lacking architectural features aspiring to any particular style.

Approximately five acres in size, the town site includes four standing buildings and a number of other landscape features, such as roadways, an orchard and mining digs. The buildings are:

• Bennett Store and Post Office
• Golden Church
• William N. Ruble House
• Grain Shed

Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 2002.