The Area

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"Proud of the Past, Poised for the Future"

The Area

Wagons Ho!

In the early years of the Oregon Trail there were three wagon trains that came through this area, which later became Harney County.

These people were wanting a shorter route to the central and southern areas of the Willamette Valley in Western Oregon.

Leaders of these wagon trains were Stephen Meek (1845), Elijah Elliott (1853) and William Macy (1854).

Today Harney County, located in Eastern Oregon's high desert, continues the pioneer spirit that so embodied those sturdy pioneers of days gone by.

Carriage

Father Vincent Egan's Carriage, circa 1880

Quotes

"My story begins in the fall of 1874 when Harney County was yet unsettled. The Harney Valley was truly a beautiful country with the wild grass waving seven or eight feet high all over the prairie and only the winding, willow-bordered Silvies, and the hills and mountains rising in the distance to break the lonely monotony."

Alma Dell Campbell, Reprinted in The Burns Times-Herald, January 31, 1960 Teller Window

First National Bank Tellers Window, circa 1895

"Elkanah, 3 1/2 year old son of Elisha and Paulina Packwood, died near Harney Lake; was buried near the lake; next morning, the wagons were driven over the grave, erasing all traces of its existence."

Unknown Author, 1853 Kitchen

Jessie's Pioneer Kitchen.


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