Arts & Culture
This Artist Is the Sole Resident of an Oregon Ghost Town. Heâs Just Been Told to Leave.
John Simpkins has lived and painted out of a schoolhouse in Andrews, Oregon, for a decade. Now heâs looking for a new home.
By
Christen McCurdy
12/18/2020 at 4:11pm
John Simpkins and his dog, Phoebe (now passed), in front of his paintingÂ
Peacekeeper.
Thereâs not much left of Andrews, Oregon. The town, formally named Andrews when the post office opened in 1890 but called Wildhorse by locals, lost key structures to firesâa hotel burned down in 1924 and a saloon in 1996âand the ranchers and sheepherders who frequented the place stopped showing up. The nearest grocery store is in Burns, 130 miles away.