This is part 3 of a series visiting the five smallest cities in Oregon.

Among Oregon’s five smallest cities, No. 3 Shaniko is the most bustling.

About 40 miles northeast of Madras in southern Wasco County, Shaniko had 30 residents as of the 2020 census.

The city — once a shipping hub for sheep herders and wool buyers — was incorporated in 1901. At its peak in 1910, Shaniko boasted a population of about 600 people. When a rival railroad bypassed the town, the boom times ended, but several buildings from those days survive along the town’s main street. Today, Shaniko markets itself as Oregon’s “only living ghost town.”

The old Shaniko City Hall building in Shaniko, Oregon.

Shaniko is the only one of Oregon’s smallest cities with a true business district. It has a hotel , cafe,

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