GoFundMe account started for Elkhorn Saloon

Published 8:25 am Monday, August 21, 2023

The granddaughter of the owner of the Elkhorn Saloon, the popular Sumpter business that was destroyed by fire on Aug. 16, has started a GoFundMe account.

“Any help that is given & raised will be provided to help with clean up and any beginning stages of rebuilding this legacy!” Mackie Phillips wrote on the fundraising website, https://gofund.me/3f9fc4e7.

The fire, which was reported around 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 16, remains under investigation, Kurt Clarke, chief of the Sumpter Fire Department, said on Monday morning, Aug. 21. Clarke said the owner, Richard Epler, said the business was insured.

The saloon was a fixture in the business community in Sumpter, the historic gold-mining town of about 210 residents on the west side of the Elkhorn Mountains about 28 miles west of Baker City.

The Elkhorn was renowned for its burgers, with more than two dozen combinations of toppings.

“Amazing food, cold beer, good company, and a place where memories were made,” Phillips wrote on the GoFundMe site. “Heartbroken to say the least, the Elkhorn saloon is now gone.”

Several longtime Sumpter area residents shared their memories with the Baker City Herald last week, talking about how the Elkhorn Saloon was an iconic eatery, watering hole and gathering place in the town.

Phillips wrote on the GoFundMe site that she’s optimistic that the business has a future despite the devastating fire.

“It’s going to be a long process, but I know we will come out on top,” she wrote. “I am confident that people will come together during this devastating time to help and support the community of Sumpter and support a local small business that was sadly taken away too soon. Let’s help our community in ways that it deserves!”