Far from the Portland Crowd - but Still Shot Dead

A couple years ago I drove to the far desert in Southeastern Oregon, and as I have mentioned in a previous post I stayed in the very small town of Frenchglen. Across from the old hotel was this collapsed home.

At the time of the town's establishment, Portland was already a major city and port on the west coast. The gold rush has ended, but there was still much money to be made farming and ranching around the Portland area, shipping these goods out of Portland down to San Francisco or up to Seattle.

But apparently, with the aid of railroad development, some intrepid individuals found their way to the high desert to seek their fortune.

From this source:

"Frenchglen was named after Pete French and Dr. Hugh Glenn who was Pete French's father-in-law. The "P" Ranch was established in 1872 as the headquarters for French-Glenn Livestock Co. Pete French owned 150,000 acres at the base of the Steens Mountain, in what is now known as the Frenchglen Valley. He was unarmed when allegedly shot and killed by Ed Oliver on December 26, 1897 over a fencing dispute."

The Burning Bush of Eastern Oregon

A few days ago I posted a picture from the Oregon Coast. This evening I thought I would display a photo taken from a trip a while back to The Steens in southeastern Oregon. While I shot this with a small Canon P&S, 11 wild horses stood 50 yards behind me. I am sure they were critiquing as well.

We stayed at the hotel in Frenchglen. A small outpost about 30 minutes from the Steens mountains. I have lived in Oregon almost my entire life, and yet it took me 30 years to make it to the far desert of Oregon. It is a quiet and serene place, and I recommend everyone go there at least once.