[Heritage] Oregon Heritage News 2007-09-17

Mon Sep 17 14:13:47 PDT 2007

In this issue:
1.  Sesquicentennial farm, ranch program announced
2.  Cemetery, depot added to National Register
3.  Historic trails council to meet in The Dalles
4.  Collections specialist sought in Benton County

SESQUICENTENNIAL FARM, RANCH PROGRAM ANNOUNCED

As Oregon begins to plan for its 150th birthday as a state in 2009,
another sesquicentennial program is underway.

The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program will celebrate its 50th year of
activity by recognizing active farms and ranches throughout the state
that have sustained family ownership of the same land for 150 years or
more.  This Sesquicentennial Award program will present its first round
of awards at a special recognition event on Feb. 14, 2008, in the state
capitol building in Salem.

Of the 1,076 recognized Century Farms and Ranches in Oregon, there are
over 400 that were established prior to Dec. 31, 1859, the year Oregon
became a state.  It is estimated that a percentage of those early farms
and ranches are no longer in the same family ownership, having been sold
out of the family during the last 50 years since the Century Farm &
Ranch Program was established.

Many of those that do remain have deep roots in Oregon agriculture
thanks to the Oregon Donation Land Law of 1850.  That federal
legislation validated legal title to land already claimed by white
settlers in Oregon Territory and served as an inducement to encourage
additional immigration to Oregon by offering substantial acreage of free
land.  William Robbins, in his book "Landscapes of Promise: The Oregon
Story 1800-1940", states that before the act expired in 1855, an
estimated 25,000 to 30,000 immigrants, mostly of Euro-American descent,
entered the territory.  Many of those new immigrants had a farming
background, so most of the early Donation Land Claims (or DLCs) were
staked out in the fertile Willamette, Umpqua and Rogue valleys.  In the
later 1850s, as most of the river valley bottomlands were already
claimed, settlers began to seek out unclaimed land in the coastal
lowland valleys or into the higher-elevation interior valleys, and
finally to eastern Oregon.

Eligible family farmers and ranchers throughout Oregon are encouraged
to apply for the inaugural year of the Sesquicentennial Award by
submitting a completed application by the Nov. 1 deadline.  If
applicants are not yet designated as a Century Farm or Century Ranch, an
application for that status also needs to be completed.

The eligibility criteria for the Sesquicentennial Award, along with the
application guidelines and official form, are available by contacting
Glenn Mason, Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program coordinator at (503)
297-5892 or orcentury at juno.com. It will also be posted on the Oregon
Department of Agriculture*s website at: http://oregon.gov/ODA.

The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program is administered through the
Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF) in Salem and is
supported in part by a partnership of the Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon
State Parks & Recreation Department, Oregon Department of Agriculture,
and the Oregon Historical Society, along with additional funding from
the Wheat Growers Association, the Hazelnut Marketing Board, other
agri-businesses, various Oregon county farm bureaus, and many
individuals.

CEMETERY, DEPOT ADDED TO NATIONAL REGISTER

The Lone Fir Cemetery in Portland and the Southern Pacific Passenger
Depot in Eugene have been added to the National Register of Historic
Places.

Platted in 1855 by Colburn Barrell, Lone Fir Cemetery, 2115 SE Morrison
St., was recently listed for its association with the settlement and
growth of Portland. The cemetery became one of the primary burial
grounds for the first settlers of Portland and it is the oldest
continuously operating cemetery in the immediate Portland area. During
its operation people from different social, economic, and ethnic
backgrounds were buried at the site. 

Constructed in 1908, the Southern Pacific Passenger Depot is associated
with the early development of Eugene as a major rail shipping and
distribution center, and is a well-preserved example of a railroad
structure in Eugene.  The Southern Pacific Passenger Depot, and its
associated historic office/bunkhouse, were built with features derived
from a number of architectural styles, including the Arts and
Crafts/Craftsman movement.  The building is more stylized and
substantial in its construction than other depots in smaller towns, and
demonstrates the importance of Eugene as a major hub on the Southern
Pacific line and its position as the Lane County seat.  The building is
one of only five remaining masonry depots built along the original
Southern Pacific main line to California.

The governor-appointed State Advisory Committee on Historic
Preservation recommends nominations to the National Park Service, which
maintains the National Register under the authority of the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The complete National Register
nomination can be found at:
http://www.oregonheritage.org/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/nrhp_recent_nominations.shtml

HISTORIC TRAILS COUNCIL TO MEET IN THE DALLES

The Oregon Historic Trails Advisory Council will meet at 9 a.m. Sept.
23 at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles. The preliminary
agenda includes a strategic plan draft, a Santiam Wagon Road update,
wind farms and other items.

The Governor established the Oregon Historic Trails Advisory Council
(OHTAC) to oversee and provide advice on Oregon's 16 historic trails.
Its goals include collecting and sharing information on locating and
marking trails; encouraging local communities and agencies to develop
directional and interpretive signs, brochures and maps, and helping them
find the resources to protect and share these corridors of history.

For more information, contact Ross Curtis, a cultural resource
specialist for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, at
ross.curtis at state.or.us or 503-986-0579.

COLLECTIONS SPECIALIST SOUGHT IN BENTON COUNTY

The Benton County Historical Society and Museum is seeking to hire a
collections specialist for the next two years to assist with the
relocation of the museum's collections into a new collections storage
facility under construction in Philomath. A minimum of two years museum
experience is required. A copy of the job description is posted at
www.bentoncountymuseum.org. Applications should include a resume and
cover letter, and should be sent to the Benton County Historical
Society, PO Box 35, Philomath, OR 97370. Resumes must be received no
later than Oct. 1.
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Oregon Heritage News is a service of the Oregon Heritage Commission,
which can be contacted at heritage.info at state.or.us 