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Watson

Ghost town · Malheur County, Oregon

Diamond Butte quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1967, 1:24,000)
Diamond Butte quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1967, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Watson is a ghost town in Malheur County, Oregon. It is one of 15 former communities in Malheur County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 6th among the 34 Oregon counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Watson as a historical populated place on the Diamond Butte topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 43.3277° N, 117.4538° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleDiamond Butte
Elevation2,663 ft
Nearest living townJordan Valley, OR
Distance to it31.3 miles
GNIS feature ID1129612
Coordinates43.32766, -117.45378

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Watson is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Jordan Valley, OR (population 163), about 31.3 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 2,663 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Watson?

Watson is in Malheur County, Oregon, at 43.3277, -117.4538.

How many ghost towns are in Malheur County?

Malheur County, Oregon has 15 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.