'Ghost wagon' appears in Oregon lake

A mysterious 19th-century “ghost wagon” has appeared in an Oregon lake. Salem, Ore.-based photographer and Marine Corps veteran Jeffrey Green posted an image of the wagon to Instagram on Jan. 23. In the post, Green explained that, for a couple of weeks in December 2019, the lake had to have its water drastically drawn down for dam maintenance. “I headed up and searched 3 times while the water dropped day-by-day until I found this ‘historic utility wagon’, which had been left behind at the normally underwater site of the original town (site submerged in 1952),” Green wrote in the post. “Needless to say, it was an amazing experience to see it!” Green added that the lake’s water level has returned to its normal winter levels. The wagon, he explained, “is safely 20-25 feet underwater and far from shore.” On Facebook, Green provided more details on the discovery, which was made in Detroit Lake, a reservoir near Salem. Water conditions in the lake have helped preserve the 19th-century utility wagon, he said, noting that “over the decades, the (low oxygen) cold water has done an amazing job of preserving it.”