Owyhee Marginalia

2021-06-01 Blue Canyon Rock Corral

        When I began searching for information about my godmother, Stacia Davis, and her husband Conley, I discovered that while few folks remembered them, more could recall stories about Frank Davis, Conley’s father. Frank was noted primarily for his expertise in rustling livestock, particularly horses. (See “Early Life in the Owyhee,” Ch. 4 ‘Moonshine and Long Ropes.’”) Robert Danner, Glenn Fretwell’s grandfather, was the postmaster in Jordan Valley. To avoid being seen, Frank would come to the Danner place in the middle of the night to collect his mail. According to one story, someone took a pot shot at Frank in the dark as he came out the door with his mail, leaving a hole in his hat!

Glenn Fretwell atop the Corral Wall

        When I arrived in Jordan Valley for my current visit, Glenn told me of stumbling upon a rock corral in Blue Canyon that he thought might have been part of Frank’s operation. Because of their ready availability and their suitability for a rough form of dry stone masonry, basalt stones were commonly used in the construction of the walls and small buildings. In any case, given the dearth of trees, stones were about the only material available to put up walls strong enough to hold horses.w

Corral Wall in front of Basalt Talus Shot from Center of Corral

        The site of the Blue Canyon corral was surely chosen because it made the corral difficult to see until one is upon it. Below the canyon rim, the corral sits in a low spot and is in the shadows at least until midday, even later when the days grow short. It is beside a talus from which the corral was built, making it–like a trompe-l’œil–difficult to distinguish, especially in the dark shadows. Glenn’s previous visit, and additional information from Tim Davis, saved us much time searching for it. The darkness and severe contrast with the bright sky made photography a bit of challenge for one who hadn’t taken much more than few snapshots with an iPhone over the past year.

Glenn Fretwell Above Corral Wall

        Although overgrown with sage brush and tall grass, and missing a gate, this corral was nonetheless easily in the best shape of any rock corral I have seen. It is circular, measuring perhaps 60 feet in diameter. Because of the uneven topography, the wall in places is nearly ten feet high, though one can still look down into it while standing on the adjacent slope. The location of the corral leaves little doubt that it was for concealing stolen animals, though we can only speculate whether it was used by Frank Davis.

McCain Springs Rock Corral and Building

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        On our return trip we passed the ruins of of another stone corral at Lower McCain Springs, named for early rancher Jim McCain. It has pretty much collapsed or has been raided for stone, but the shape is still obvious. Not far way are the ruins of what must have been a small building. Glenn surmised that given the distance from the McCain ranch, which he estimated to be around twenty miles, it must have been shelter for buckaroos tending the cattle.
While examining the building ruins, I noticed that we were being carefully watched by the local caretaker–a curious young badger who didn’t seem particularly bothered by our presence and only dived back in his hole when Glenn came near him.

McCain Ruins Guardian Badger

2020-07-21 Mike Hanley’s Wagons

        A prominent rancher in Jordan Valley, Mike Hanley IV is best known as a local historian.  While many Owyhee ranchers have written anecdotal histories of their families and communities, Mike’s scope has been the I.O.N country, the broad area of the northern Great Basin that covers the tri-state territory of Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, particularly the Owyhee canyonlands.  He has written several books on the topic, the best known being Owyhee Trails, co-written with Ellis Lucia and published in 1973.  It remains in print.

My Granddaughters Lara & Sofie with Mike in his Uncle Bill's Buckboard in front of the old dance hall building

        Less well known is Mike’s work restoring–“repairing” is his preferred term–on old wagons, stage coaches and buggies.  This interest in wagons dates back to boyhood.  Riding with his dad, he would watch the wagon wheels as they came up through the mud.  He was fascinated by the water rising with the turn of the wheel and then falling back and he wondered how that could happen.  As he grew older, he began to collect relics and parts.  Some came from his grandfather, others from friends and acquaintances.  While in high school, on a camping trip to Delamar, he found a stage coach in a collapsed livery barn and made several trips to bring it home in pieces.  Others came from folks who wanted to see them saved.  Only once did he purchase an intact specimen–a military wagon he got for $65.

Studebaker Spring Wagon 

        The first wagon Mike restored was a Studebaker Spring wagon that belonged to pioneer cattleman Ed Stauffer.  These wagons were used by prominent cattlemen throughout the I.O.N.  The oldest wagon in his collection is a Conestoga wagon used by early settler James Gusman in 1858 to haul freight from Virginia to Missouri and then on to Denver.  It was pulled by oxen.  His most recent project is a Henderson Mud Wagon yellow coach of which only the frame has so far been completed.  Mike’s own favorites are the Delamar stage coach and an express spring wagon.

Delmar Stage

        “Repairing” the wagons requires research and the skills of a carpenter, blacksmith, and wheelwright.  These skills Mike learned from his father and grandfather.  Mike also credits neighbor and Jordan Valley rancher Omer Stanford as a mentor who became a close friend despite a forty-three year age difference.  They co-authored Sagebrush and Axle Grease, with stories of wagons and coaches (and a Model T) and descriptions of how they were built and maintained with photographs and illustrations drawn by Mike.  The Model T has been included in Mike's collection "to show what came next."

Model T

        For information on specifications, dimensions, colors and the like, Mike relies on books with diagrams, museums visits, and networking with other restorers to compare notes.  He fashions his own wheels, obtaining hubs, spokes and tires from Amish sources in Ohio and Pennsylvania.  Wagon tires are basically steel bands that are heated, placed on the wheel and cooled to draw them tight.  Mike fabricates his own tires or sometimes uses old tires found locally.

Mike the Wheelwright

        Mike’s wagons have been sought for a wide range of functions and events where a Western theme is desired.  These have included local weddings (among them his and Linda’s), funerals, parades, the Pendleton Roundup, dedication of the Idaho State Penitentiary museum, and re-enactments, most notably the recreation of the Applegate Trail.  But they have also been used as icons of the ranching way of life in making political statements, an example being the spring wagon he drove in the 1994 Sagebrush Rebellion’s “Save the West” rally in Boise, Idaho.

Studebaker Spring Wagon

        Mike has always welcomed the opportunity to share his wagons, their histories and their contribution to the settlement and development of the Upper Great Basin.  His hope is that his collection can find a place in an interpretive center devoted to transportation in the Great Basin before the arrival of the railroad, that is, prior to the 1880’s.  He would like to see such a center in Jordan Valley.  Jordan Valley was a major transportation hub through which the roads from the Snake River Valley to the Great Basin, Nevada and San Francisco and the California seaports passed.  Silver from the Owyhee mines was shipped along this route and contributed to the Union effort in the Civil War.  Until such a center can be realized, Mike welcomes travelers and local residents who are interested in seeing his collection.  Visits are by appointment.  He can be contacted by phone at (541) 586-2216, or by letter 682 Yturri Blvd, Jordan Valley, OR 97910-9500.

Chuck Wagon

6 November 2016

Owyhee Visit to Sheep Ranch Fort

        Back in August when Tim Davis and I visited “Robbers Roost” (see earlier posting), our route along the old I.O.N. highway took us past the Sheep Ranch Fort, a lovely and nearly intact ruin that is said to be the oldest standing structure in Malheur county.  Earlier in May while in Salem for testimony concerning protection for the Owyhee Canyonlands, Tim had met Elias Eiguren, on whose ranch the Sheep Ranch Fort stands.  An eager aficionado of the history of the Owyhee, Tim seized the opportunity to arrange a visit to the ruin and invited me along.

 

Sheep Ranch, 1920

        The building is known locally as “Sheep Ranch” or “Sheep Ranch Fort” and comprises two parts.  The single story section was constructed around 1857 as a way station on the route from Humboldt, Nevada to Ruby City in Idaho and onward to Boise.  A two-story section was added in 1865 with the help of cavalry troops that had been moved into the area to provide security.  The two adjoining parts combine to make a “T”–the single-story section being the stem and the two-story structure forming the arms of the “T”.  Besides being a way station, the building was also intended as protection from hostile Indians.  The thick walls are of grey sandstone quarried nearby and are pierced with gun ports designed to present a minimal opening while allowing two men to fire across one another in different directions.  When Silas Skinner, builder of the Skinner Toll Road between Silver City and the Owyhee River at Rome, and David Shirk were inspecting the road and stayed at the vacant house, and the two of them were able to fend off a party of Indians who attacked them in the night.

 

Gun Port

        Way stations were located about ten to fifteen miles or a day’s travel apart.  Most were spare one-room shelters.  As the only “home station” or overnight stop, between Ft. McDermitt and Silver City, Sheep Station was the exception.  Meals were served and grocery staples and tobacco could be bought.  There are different descriptions of the layout of the front section:  Writer Stacy Peterson says that on the ground floor there were three small sleeping rooms for women, while on the upper floor, accessible by an outside stairway, were the men’s quarters.  But according to local historian Hazel Fretwell-Johnson, an internal stairwell in the center of the house led to the upstairs which had room for men and women on opposite sides.  Her description fits the building’s present configuration, which perhaps reflects an alteration from the original layout.  Wells Fargo had an office at Sheep Ranch and the only telegraph station in Jordan Valley, which proved of critical importance during the Bannock-Paiute uprising of 1878.

 

Sheep Ranch, Front View

        The Sheep Ranch name is misleading and derives not from its original purpose but from an 1864 incident when two men were trailing a band of 500 sheep from Humboldt, Nevada northward to Silver City.  Near the fort, Indians killed one of the men and took the sheep.  The survivor made his way to the fort and reported the incident to the cavalry stationed there.  They followed the trail, found the sheep near the river, and brought them back but did not encounter raiding party.

 

Sheep Ranch, Rear View

A staircase once led to the 2^nd floor door

        By the end of the century, the property had become an eleven hundred acre ranch owned by J.P. Merrill and John Milky.  In 1914, with money borrowed from their uncle José Navarro, Pascual Eiguren and Manuel Navarro bought the Sheep Ranch.  A few years later, Pascual bought his cousin out, and his family occupied the old building until 1959, when they moved into new houses across the road.  It was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  The Sheep Ranch Fort still stands on the Eiguren ranch, and though it has deteriorated, the family plans to preserve it, though not necessarily render it habitable again.  

NB:  Because the Sheep Ranch Fort is on private property, permission is required to visit it.

References (For full citations see “Resources: History, Culture, Geography and Geology”)

An Illustrated History of Baker, Malheur and Grant Counties.

Hazel R. Fretwell-Johnson, In Times Past.

Mike Hanley, with Ellis Lucia, Owyhee Trails: The West's Forgotten Corner.

Stacy Peterson, “Silas Skinner’s Owyhee Toll road,” Idaho Yesterdays, Spring 1966.