Ranching in Oregon has a long history, and three ranches were a large part of building its narrative.
Looking back, Native Americans occupied the vast parts of lands spanning across the entire state. In the 1805 Lewis & Clark arrived to what is today Oregon, starting the settlement period in what would be considered fairly inhospitable environment. In 1810-30s fur trading became a common type of business with late 1800s introducing sheep and cattle ranching as a significant part of the growing economy. Forced resettlement of native tribes to reservations opened central and eastern Oregon to be occupied by Euro-American settlers.
There are three notable ranches that helped shape the history of ranching in Oregon.
Baldwin Ranch at Hay Creek
A strong part of central Oregon ranching history begins at Hay Creek Ranch established in 1873 by Dr. David Baldwin as the Baldwin Sheep and Land Company. The 79 mile long sheep ranch was located on the west end of Hay Creek Basin and close to what is now Madras and present-day Jefferson County.
Due to failing health Baldwin sold the ranch in 1883 to Hiram Longcoy and brothers J.P. Van Houten and C.A. Van Houten, C.M. Cartwright and John G. “Jack” Edwards. Edwards eventually bought out his partners, and by 1901 he and his family occupied the ranch.
The company became one of the state’s largest producers of wool and purebred sheep and the ranch included a post office, general store, and school. Edwards rapidly expanded the size of the ranch and its sheep-breeding operations. At its peak the ranch ran 50,000 sheep.
Around 1910 the company ceased operations and Edwards sold the ranch.
Photo credit: Deschutes River Conservancy
Farewell Bend Ranch
Farewell Bend Ranch was established in 1877 at a cost $60 and two horses. Eventually, the ranch would become one of the largest lumbermills in the New West.
In 1880, John Y. Todd, who owned the Farewell Bend Ranch, drove 5,000 head of cattle collected from his ranch to market in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The history of the ranch is not widely known but we understand that he lost much of the 5,000 heard of cattle during the drive which brought him to bankruptcy. John Y. Todd eventually sold his ranch to settle his debts.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Whitehorse Ranch
This historic ranch is located in Harney and Malheur Counties in Southeast, Oregon. In 1869 John S. Devine, established the ranch as Todhunter and Devine Cattle Company. He took up residence at the ranch, and became the first permanent settler in what is now Harney County, Oregon. He quickly became a cattle baron, and frequently rode his white horse which was a symbol of the Whitehorse Ranch. Devine’s ranch was mainly focused on cattle, but he also engaged in breeding some of his race horses at the ranch.
The Whitehorse Ranch was purchased by Paul Stewart in 1945 and later sold to Roy E. “Ted” Naftzger in 1961.
The Whitehorse Ranch has been continuously operated as a cattle ranch since 1869 and today it includes 63,222 acres of deeded property. Before the introduction of the Trout Creek Mountain Working Group agreement in 1992 the ranch ran 3,500 cattle. Today, that number is around 800.
