Tucked Between Bend And Oregon's High Desert Is An Abandoned Hamlet Steeped In Rugged Stillness

Oregon may be home to trendy cities like Portland and naturally breathtaking cities brimming with craft beer and outdoor adventures like Bend, but it's also a place that's haunted by ghost towns. In total, there are 200 ghost towns quietly populating the beautiful Beaver State. While some were hustling and bustling in their glory days — like Cornucopia, the once-thriving Gold Rush boomtown in Eastern Oregon — others never quite had a heyday.

Tucked between Bend and Brothers along a lonely stretch of highway that cuts through the Oregon Badlands Wilderness, Millican is a tiny, forgotten town that, at its peak population in the early 1900s, was home to just 60 residents. All that stands today is a solitary general store, and the remnants of an old gas station with fuel prices that are frozen in time. Don't expect to fill up as its pumps were ripped out long ago, leaving behind the distant memories of a town that never quite was.

Named after George Millican who settled a ranch on the land in the 1800s, the tiny town was established in 1913 with the founding of the Millican Post Office (one of the smallest post offices in the world, that at its height had around a dozen regular customers). With the construction of U.S. Highway 20 in the 1930s, most of the townspeople moved out in pursuit of a more fruitful lifestyle, dwindling the population to one solitary resident named Billy Rahn, who lived there alone until selling the town to Bill Mellin in 1946.

For 42 years, Mellin ran Millican, until he was killed in 1988. By then, his family had already departed. Perhaps the town itself was cursed. His children perished in plane and car crashes, while his wife succumbed to a fatal heart attack. After Mellin's own untimely death, the town sat empty for 12 years before it was purchased by the Resnick family in 2000, changing hands several times after that. However, no one stayed in Millican for long. In 2017, the whole town was on the market for $1.5 million. Sadly, there were no takers, and Millican's future remains unwritten.

Though some ghost towns get second lives as tourist attractions like Virginia City, the bustling Nevada town with western charm, ghost walks, and a renowned Main Street, Millican hasn't experienced such a renaissance. If you choose to visit the lonely town, don't expect to be greeted by a quirky gift shop or a rusting welcome sign marking its existence. Instead, the only evidence of the town's past are the fading white letters spelling out "Millican Store" that adorn the roof of the dilapidated Millican Store.

Situated about 25 miles southeast of Bend, you can reach Millican via U.S. Highway 20, the road that ultimately led to its demise, in about 30 minutes. If you're flying to the area, Redmond Municipal Airport is the closest hub, which will place you about a 45-minute drive away. People still visit the town from time to time. A 2025 Facebook post includes a snapshot of the town's current state, while the comment section recalls 20-year-old memories of stopping for lunch and having chats with Bill Mellin while he was still the caretaker of the town. 

If you're looking for outdoor adventures in the area, the Oregon Badlands Wilderness is in Millican's backyard. Comprising over 29,000 acres in total, the sprawling natural area outside of Bend is made up of mesmerizing high desert landscapes, stunning geologic features, ancient volcanoes, and diverse hiking trails. About 6 miles northwest of Millican, you'll also find Dry River Canyon, where you can traverse a 4.6-mile out-and-back trail lined with craggy cliffs and old-growth juniper trees. Just beyond that trailhead, you can also explore the Horse Ridge Loop Trail, a challenging 12.7-mile loop that's ideal for mountain biking.