Gasping for hard currency to finance the Civil War, and awash in raw gold from two Eastern Oregon gold rushes, the federal government tried to build a mint in The Dalles in 1863. But the Oregon delegation kept trying to switch its location to Portland ... finally, the gold rush petered out, and so did plans for the mint. (The Dalles, Wasco County; 1863) (For text and pictures, see http://www.offbeatoregon.com/1810d.the-dalles-mint-that-wasnt-519.html)