History
The History of Roarings Springs Ranch
Originally, the present-day headquarters, the Catlow Valley, the Steens Mountain and the Catlow Rim were part of the famed “P Ranch”, which was established by a rancher/trapper named Porter. In 1872, John William (“Pete”) French , entered the valley with 1200 head of cattle owned by Dr. Hugh James Glenn. French bought the P Ranch from Porter and became known as the “Cattle King” of the area. Following French’s murder in 1897, The P Ranch was then operated by F.C. Lusk, the attorney and executor for both the French and the late Dr. Glenn estates. At the turn of the century, the FG brand was originated by Lusk and is still used as the mark of ownership at Roaring Springs today.
Timeline of Ownership
1872 | Pete French bought the P Ranch from Porter (encompassing part of what the Ranch manages today)
1874 | John Catlow & Bill Shirk moved into the valley and established Home Creek and Three Mile Ranches
1878 | Thomas Walls owned the actual Roaring Springs Ranch (stables and ranch house were burned down by the Bannack Indian tribe during this time)
1897 | F.C. Lusk, attorney and executor for the French and Glenn estates, operated the P Ranch
1906 | The P Ranch & Diamond Ranch were sold to Henry L. Corbett, Elliott R. Corbett and C.E.S. Wood by F.C. Lusk
1909 | The William D. Hanley Company owned the actual Roaring Springs Ranch around this time
1916 | Louis F. Swift joined the P Ranch partnership and it became the Eastern Oregon Livestock Company
1935 | The Swift Packing Company owned what was left of P Ranch, the Roaring Springs Ranch and surrounding ranches after the government purchased land to create the Malheur Wildlife Refuge
1948 | Gill Cattle Company
1953 | Crummer Cattle Company
1957 | Allied Properties
1966 | Ina Life Insurance Company
1977 | Catlow Steens Corp.
1980 | Victorio Cattle Company
1992 | Rob Sanders Family (present-day owners)
Timeline of Ranch Managers
TBD – 1878 | Thomas Walls (Roaring Springs)
1921 – TBD | Judd Wise (P Ranch)
1922 – 1923 | Cecil Bennett (Home Creek)
1935 – 1953 | Joe Fine
1953 – TBD | Sherman Lewis
1964 – 1968 | Laurence Miller
1980 -1984 | Dick Raney
1992 – 1995 | Hoot Raney
1997 – Present | Stacy Davies
New and Old: Buildings on the Roaring Springs Ranch
Roaring Springs Ranch Headquarters
Huffman Camp
Iven Stephens Homestead
Joe Huff Spring
Koontz Homestead
Lauserica Camp
Starbuck Homestead
Their legacy still stands…
Below, you will find a series of names of individuals who have had an association on the Ranch in years past. Within each name tab, you may find a small paragraph describing what we know of the individual and possibly a photo. Many of these individuals have been revealed through the Harney County Library’s records as well as oral histories. Others’ stories were revealed in written memories collected at the Roaring Springs Ranch History Day back in 2009. If you have any more historical information about individuals on the Ranch to share please email roaringspringsranch@gmail.com.
At one time, Howard homesteaded in the Catlow Valley, close to the Home Creek Ranch (now owned by the Roaring Springs Ranch). He owned about 640 acres of land, later accumulating more. He was also the postmaster over the Blitzen post office back when there was a town there. More information and images about Howard Anderson can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
1962 – Buckaroo Boss’s wife
Elmer Ashe worked at the Ranch the same time Joe Fine did – he was actually Joe Fine’s cousin and the cooked at Roaring Springs Ranch back in the day (according to Norman Ray).
He was a camp tender for Joe Fine’s sheep camp on Steens Mountain for a bit then was the hay crew foreman at Roaring Springs Ranch.
An oral history record from 1985 can be found at this Harney County Library link.
Elmer Ash’s obituary can be found at this Harney County Library link.
**An oral history record with Joe Fine, including Elmer Ash can be found at this Harney County Library link.
Wayne Bailey was hired by Joe Fine in the late 1930s or early 1940s to cook for the hay crew. Back in that day, they didn’t use fuel-powered machines, so they hired around 30 men to work on the hay crew around the various ranches.
Charles Barnes worked at the P Ranch as a hay contractor in the 1940s. According to his daughter, Ferne Barnes Cagle, he also broke horses in Pete French’s Round Barn back in the day. Before Charles married, he drove a freight team from Diamond to Vale, believed to be carrying wool from the sheep camps in the area. See “Noel & Ferne Cagle” in the tabs below for more information.
Charles Beckley was a stone mason and his family came to Harney County in 1910 to homestead around the Frenchglen/Diamond area. Not only did he help his father do a lot of the stonework in Burns, but in 1922, he worked for the Swift company at P Ranch hauling lumber, rock and other materials up and around the ranches over P Hill (including the present-day Roaring Springs Ranch). He also helped build the historic Frenchglen Hotel in the 1920s.
More information about Charles Beckley can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Cecil Bennett moved to the Three Mile Ranch as a ranch foreman under Judd Wise (manager under the Swift Company) in 1921. While there, he oversaw the hay crew where they used teams of horses and hard-working men to manage the fields. Cecil goes into detail describing the haying process in his Oral History (see link below). In his final year at the Ranch, Cecil was promoted to Ranch Superintendent of the Catlow Valley (much of which encompasses the modern-day Ranch) and lived at Home Creek. It is believed that they left in 1923.
More information about Cecil Bennett can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Fred Black worked at the P Ranch when he was young and his father had owned the Roaring Springs Ranch at one point. More information and images about Fred Black can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
In the 60’s, Clog was the cowboss for the Roaring Springs Ranch and he lived at Three Mile. However, after the Crane High School burned in January 1967, Clog Bryson left the Ranch.
(Source: Wilma Miller)
“Noel came in from Arkansas to the 3-C’s camp during the depression […] He was a cat skinner (equipment operator). Then, from 1941 to 1943, he worked for the ranch, running a Cat at Skull Creek. I also did some cooking at the ranch when the cook was sick. I was one year out of high school. That was quite an experience.” ~Fern Cagle, History Days 2009
Ferne Barnes Cagle was born in Burns, OR but moved to Frenchglen when she was in 1st grade. After graduating from Crane High School, she came back to Frenchglen and was a fill-in cook for the Roaring Springs Ranch in the 1940s. At one time, she was cooking for 45 employees of the Roaring Springs Ranch. Ferne’s father, Charles Barnes was a contractor for the P Ranch in the 1940s. In 1946, Ferne married Noel Cagle (having recently returned from overseas as a Marine during WWII), who she had met in years previous from him being hired by Joe Fine for the Roaring Springs Ranch. Shortly after, Noel started working for the Malheur Wildlife Refuge under John Scharff. Noel retired from the Refuge in 1976.
More information and images about Noel & Ferne Cagle can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information and images about Harvey “Red” & Margaret Dunbar can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
This written memory was acquired at the Roaring Springs Ranch History Days in 2009.
Elmer Dunn was hired by Joe Fine in 1939 to do bunching and stacking with the hay…he was also thought to be a good horseman.
Reatha Dunn was the school teacher in Catlow Valley, in the town of Blitzen, in 1929. She boarded at the hotel there in Blitzen and taught around 5-6 children. She was there for a couple of years before moving to teach at The Narrows. While there, she married her husband, Elmer Dunn, who would later become an employee to Joe Fine at the Roaring Springs Ranch. Reatha also cooked for the employees while Elmer Dunn was under Joe Fine’s employ – she was known for her sourdough biscuits.
More information and images about Reatha Dunn can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Dale Eggleston was an aviator in Harney County – both him and his brother. Back in the 1920’s and 1930’s there would be many small airplanes flying to the Catlow Valley to the towns situated there. Eggleston’s brother even helped round up horses in a small airplane around the old town of Blitzen. He also briefly discusses the Roaring Springs runway in his interview below.
More information and images about Dale Eggleston can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Cortez Elliot lived in Home Creek with his wife for a time when Joe Fine managed there (for certain, in 1939). He irrigated, repaired fence, maintained the land and fed cattle.
His wife (name unknown at this time), would help cook for the hay crew in the summer/fall.
Built the original house at Three Mile while Joe Fine and family was here.
As told by Catherine McDonald Fine:
Catherine’s grandfather, Dave Owen, came over to eastern Oregon from Wales in 1912 to herd sheep for the Jenkin’s Ranch. He brought his family over later, including a young daughter named Jenny. She ended up marrying a man named Joe McDonald. After running a grocery store in Crane for awhile, they were approached by Joe Fine and asked to run the Frenchglen Hotel for the P Ranch in 1929. Since the P Ranch (now part of Roaring Springs) had about 30 hired hands and many visitors, the Frenchglen Hotel was built. Joe and Jenny McDonald ran the Frenchglen Hotel for about 20 years.
More information and about the McDonald’s can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information about Ethel Thompson Fine can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Ed Guernsey lived at Three Mile with his wife for a time when Joe Fine managed there (for certain, in 1939). He irrigated, repaired fence, maintained the land and fed cattle.
His wife (name unknown at this time), would help cook for the hay crew in the summer/fall.
More information about Marcus Haines can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information and images about Nellie “Marie” Hardin can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information and images about James O. Harris can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Paul Howard was in charge of maintenance work around the Roaring Springs Ranch while Joe Fine was there. He would often work with individuals around the Ranch to get mandatory maintenance done or simple upkeep of the buildings (like painting).
Wayne worked at the Ranch from age 14 until about 24. The Gill Cattle Company had recently bought the Ranch (in the 1940s maybe). Wayne helped cut hay, cowboy and excavated roads on the Ranch. More information and images about Wayne Johnson can be found at the Harney County Library Website. (This link will take you to an external source).
Jim Kissinger was the truck driver between ranches and town on the Roaring Springs Ranch in the late 1930s and possibly on.
See “1960s Materials” for photos of Red Levett. For now, all that is known about Red is that he was present on the Ranch in 1962.
Raz Lewis lived in the Catlow Valley and was hired to work on the Three Mile and Home Creek Ranches in 1921 by Cecil Bennett, ranch foreman of Three Mile at the time, who said this about him:
” […] he was one of the finest horsemen, with wild horses or mules, that I ever run up against, that I ever seen in my life. He could handle a wild horse better than any man I ever seen in my life. He would walk right in a barn where there was a bunch of hot, wild horses and mules tied up, and walk right in between two wild outlaw horses and slap one on each flank and make them get over and walk right on in between them, and they wouldn’t never kick him.”
Perry Lowe lived at HL with his wife for a time when Joe Fine managed there (for certain, in 1939). He irrigated, repaired fence, maintained the land and fed cattle.
His wife (name unknown at this time), would help cook for the hay crew in the summer/fall.
More information about Taft Miller can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Hoot was the manager at Roaring Springs Ranch from 1992-1995 when the Sanders first bought the Ranch. However, they had been at the Ranch long before he became Ranch Manager. In 1981, Hoot & Debbie lived in a trailer house at Three Mile then bounced to Home Creek and back to Three Mile while they were here. Hoot’s father, Dick, managed the Ranch in the 80’s and Hoot worked along with him.
More information and images about Eldon Sitz can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
Norman Ray was hired in 1939-1940 by Joe Fine to work on the hay crew, along with 30 other men. He was found to be a good hand and they ended up keeping him for a couple of extra months than everyone else because of his good personality and hard work ethic.
Here are a couple of quick stories taken from his life story, “South Dakota to the South Pacific: Memories & Experiences” available at the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room in the Harney County Library:
**One summer, it was too hot to sit on the iron seat of his wagon to haul hay, so he grabbed a few hole-filled grain sacks and made a cushion for the iron seat. The other men laughed at first and said he would get in trouble…but pretty quick, they all followed suit. Turned out, it was pretty ingenuitive.
**In August 1940, the Ranch held a Haymaker’s Ball in Frenchglen for all the crew and community. It sounds like it must have been pretty fun.
**More stories from Norman Ray can be found in his life story mentioned above.
More information and images about Grace Blair Smyth can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information about Marjorie Smyth Shull can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information and images about Esther South can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information about Andrew Shull can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information about Otho McKinnon & Cleo Voshall can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information and images about Katie Jones Wheeler can be found at this Harney County Library Link.
More information about Fred & Pearl Witzel can be found at the Harney County Library Link.
Roaring Springs Ranch History Days - 2009
Newspaper Article from 1964 shows image from Home Creek picnic.
Some images and documents collected from History Days dating back to the 1930s.
Indians and old ranch house maybe
1930s Joe Fine and RSR in 1930s
**In 1976, the Roaring Springs Ranch was being sold by Bruce Owens Realtor for $5,250,000… this document addresses the state of the Ranch during that time period.
History of the Ranch - Reading Materials
This book is filled with written memories from cattleman, David Shirk, who lived and worked in the Catlow Valley from around 1873 until about 1897. He and his family originally lived at and owned the Three Mile Ranch (now part of Roaring Springs Ranch).
Shirk’s memories that are relevant to the Roaring Springs Ranch history begin on page 101 of this book and continue until the end.
Book available at Harney County Library.
This book is a life story of Norman Ray, who worked on the Roaring Springs & P Ranch from 1939 – 1940 under Ranch Manager, Joe Fine. The most applicable pages regarding history of the Ranch, including the names of various individuals who lived and worked at the Ranch can be found on pages 132-150 of the memoir.
This memoir is available to view ONLY at the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room at the Harney County Library.
Mark Fine was the grandson of Joe Fine and generously brought photos and a few personal stories to the Roaring Springs Ranch History Days in 2009. Below, you will find a PDF document link that includes stories such as:
- A pet bobcat named “Rufus”
- The Black Buck
- The Tame Buck, Johnny
- And a few more stories…
Published in 1967, this is a book, available at Harney County Library, that includes a few historical stories about the area as well as about individuals that Ralph Friedman met while in the Catlow Valley area. Some of the stories include:
- A small snippet of Pete French’s history (pg. 64-67)
- A brief snippet about Joe Fine, manager at Roaring Springs Ranch (pg. 87-89)
- A brief interview with Nellie Miller, a homesteader in the Catlow Valley for 36 years (pg. 117-199)
Published in 1978, this book covers historical sites and towns in Harney County, including some that are relevant to Roaring Springs Ranch. In some versions of the book, there is also a hand-drawn map by W.H. Beal of the County. This book can be checked out at the Harney County Library. Here are a few items to take note of regarding the sites that the Roaring Springs Ranch manages today (see “Historic Towns of the Ranch” below for more information on each townsite):
- Diamond Ranch Barn & Cellar (pg. 20-21)
- Beckley Townsite (pg. 53)
- Berdugo Townsite (pg. 53-54)
- Blitzen Townsite (pg. 54)
- Ragtown Site (pg. 77)
Published in 1987, this historical book explores historic Pioneer roads in Eastern Oregon, including some roads that run through Roaring Springs Ranch. This book can be checked out at Harney County Library. Here is some important historical information to take note of included in this historical book:
- Chapter Seventeen, “Roads to Peter French’s Empire” (pg. 99-105) — In this chapter, author Lawrence E. Nielsen, summarizes some early history of Peter French before discussing the roads/sites that went through his ranching empire. Some of these historic roads/sites include the Oregon Central Military Road, Dry Creek, Skull Creek, Whiskey Hill, Long Hollow Summit and other roads traveling to various towns like Andrews, Fields, Diamond and more.
Historic Towns of the Ranch
Site Location: Catlow Valley, approximately 3 miles north of Blitzen townsite
Although nothing remains of the small town, there used to be a general store, post office, school house (eventually moved to the town of Blitzen) and other small homes/outbuildings in Beckley.
According to historians, Royal Jackson and Jennifer Lee (“Harney County: An Historical Inventory”, pg. 53), Charles D. Beckley opened a general store during the year 1911 in that area for the homesteaders in the Valley. In 1912, a post office was added to the town as well as a school (about 10 children were enrolled at one time). It has been reported that during the election year of (probably) 1916, over 500 men came to the town of Beckley to cast their votes. However, the community did not last long as the post office was discontinued on February 23, 1926. The site is now used for modern-day ranch operations; however, the site is still known by the same name: Beckley.
Pictures to be added soon.
Site Location: Catlow Valley, 3 miles south of Beckley townsite, now owned by Roaring Springs Ranch