Harney County Historic Sites
This page is not meant to target areas that are "sensitive." It is meant to guide visitors to local historic points of interest. If you have information, photographs or maps that you would like to share, please contact Jan Information located here was contributed by Trish Neal. Thank you, Trish for letting me harvest your materials.
Harney County, Historic Sites Index (pdf)
National Register Locations and a little history on some of them.
Allison Ranger Station
Named for Jesse Allison who homesteaded there in 1911. US
Forest Service built a ranger station there, called Allison
Guard Station compound consisting of eight rustic buildings
located in the Malheur National Forest in the Ochoco
Mountains of eastern Oregon. It was originally built as a
district ranger station for the Snow Mountain Ranger
District. It was later converted to a summer guard station.
Today, it is an active Forest Service guard station with a
crew of twelve fire fighters on station during the summer
fire season. The ranger station’s oldest building, the
Donnelly Cabin, is currently listed on the National Register
of Historic Places. Most of the other buildings at the
Allison Ranger Station are eligible for historic
designation, but are not yet listed on the national
register.
Double-O Ranch Historic District
One of the historic ranches in Harney County. At one time,
the Double-O Ranch covered over 17,000 acres. The ranch was
owned by Bill Hanley, a well-known cattle baron and Bull
Moose progressive. In 1941, the United States Government
purchased most of the Double O Ranch property and added it
to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The two remaining
Double-O Ranch buildings are now listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Peter French Round Barn
Peter French was a partner with Dr. Hugh James Glenn. The P
Ranch, owned by French is a prominent landmark in Harney
County.
| Frenchglenn Hotel Hotel located at Frenchglenn is still in operation. It is owned by the State of Oregon and operated by Division of State Parks.Frenchglen Hotel is a small slice of peace and quiet in southeastern Oregon at the gateway to the mighty Steens Mountain. Offering rooms for rent, the accommodations are rustic and the food is excellent.You don’t need to drive to the Sierra Nevada or Montana to get that glorious wide-open sky feeling.This historic building has been preserved and is open during the summer season. Come enjoy the history and unique beauty of this timeless piece of Oregon history. Photographer citation: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives |
|
P Ranch
Once owned by Peter French, it is now part of the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge. The remaining ranch structures are
located on the west bank of the Donner und Blitzen River in
the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The ranch was built by
Peter French, a well known 19th-century cattle baron. The P
Ranch became headquarters for the French-Glenn Livestock
Company, which eventually covered over 140,000 acres. After
French was murdered in 1897, the French-Glenn Livestock
Company slowly sold off the P Ranch property. In 1935, the
United States Government purchased the remaining P Ranch
property to add to an adjacent wildlife refuge. The Civilian
Conservation Corps demolished most of the original ranch
buildings in the 1930s, and a fire destroyed the main ranch
house in 1947. The few remaining P Ranch structures are now
listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Riddle Ranch
A livestock ranch located in the Frenchglenn area. The ranch
complex is located on both sides of the Little Blitzen
River. The original ranch buildings were built by brothers
Benjamin, Frederick, and Walter Riddle. The ranch was sold
to Rex Clemens in the 1950 and sold to BLM in 1986. The
ranch is maintained as an open air museum with original
aritfacts displayed where they were used.
Sod House Ranch 1870
Located west of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
Headquarters. The house was built of sod. There was a small
community there, called Sodhouse. It is part of the refuge.
Photographer citation: Gary Halvorson,
Oregon State Archives
The following picture was donated by the Harney County Historical Society & Museum and the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room, with the following information:
“J. Durkheimer has shipped to the R.R. 300,000 pounds of wool and still has to ship 140,000 pounds. He has 60 wagons now on the road to the railroad, and has received already 75,000 pounds of merchandise at his store and warehouse in this place, and the wagons now out will load for him. This shows very well for our county and town when we take in consideration the age of our county and the number of settlers. Mr. Durkheimer has control of about two-thirds of the wool clip of this county.”
By 1895 when the above was published, Julius Durkheimer was a successful merchant operating out of the former McGowan & Stenger store, which in 1884 housed the very first post office of Burns, Oregon.
Neighboring Counties that may have information
Crook (NW), Deschutes (NW), Grant (N), Lake (S), Malheur (E)
