Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2019)
Wednesday, May 15, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon HISTORY: Sisters started tiny and has grown mightily Continued from page 3 attendees on a trip through the earlier days in Sisters, talking about the fire look- out tree, Sorenson9s Motor Court and service station, his father9s grocery store in the building that now houses the Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store, and the fires of 1923 and 1924 that leveled a good share of Cascade Avenue businesses. He has a note- book full of historic photos of buildings no longer standing or repurposed for different uses. He will tell the true sto- ries behind the false Western fronts. Alex Smith came to Sisters in 1900 and bought some land. He sold part of that land to his brother Robert. A year later, the two brothers had six city blocks platted as the original town site. The area lay within the boundary of Cascade Avenue on the south, Adams Avenue on the north, Elm Street on the west, and Larch Street on the east. They dedicated public easements for the streets and alleys. All of the city lots were the same size: 40 feet wide by 114 feet deep. All blocks measured 240 feet square and were bisected east and west by 12-foot-wide alleys, which still exist today in most blocks. The streets were a generous 80 feet wide. The Davidson Addition was added to the south of town, including Hood, Washington, and Jefferson avenues (all named after peaks in the Cascade Range). About two decades after the original platting, in 1919 a part of the original John Smith homestead was donated, in two additions, by the McCaffreys 4 Benjamin 29 PHOTO PROVIDED Peter J. Leithauser, great-grandfather of Floyd Leithauser, in front of his barber shop in 1911 Sisters. and Frank and their wives; and John and Myrtle Dennis. The addition contained six blocks west of the original town site and two blocks east of it. In the early 1970s, the city limits east of town were extended to include the Edge O9 the Pines addition, which included sites for mobile homes as well as houses. Since then, the city has expanded to include the light industrial area and the airport north of town. Other expan- sion included the land to the northwest out on McKinney Butte Road, including the middle and high schools and many of the churches. To the east, expansion included the Timber Creek neighborhood off East Cascade Avenue. The Sokol family9s development of Pine Meadow Village to the west joined the city in the early 2000s. Like many early small towns in Oregon, by 1904, according to an article in a Salem publication, Sisters was able to support <two good stores, a hotel, a black- smith shop, a saloon, a real estate office, a livery barn, and a splendid school house costing $1,800, and a short distance from town a fine lumber mill. The largest store in town, owned by Smith and Wilt, carried $5,000 in stock: groceries, hardware, harnesses, stationery, and drugs.= A stage arrived from Prineville every afternoon. The town had a jail but the story goes that it never held a prisoner. Leithauser will pick up the story there, painting word pictures of the buildings, businesses, and people of ear- lier Sisters. CUSTOM HOMES • RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS Serving the Sisters Area Since 1976 CCB # 159020 CCB # 16891 Strictly Quality John P. Pierce • 541-549-9764 jpierce@bendbroadband.com New Name New Location (formerly y Howells Realty Group) 414 W. Washington Ave., Sisters PHOTO PROVIDED Floyd Leithauser, pictured here in the 2018 Sisters Rodeo Parade, will lead a history tour of Cascade Avenue on Saturday, May 18. Land & Homes Real Estate 2 NEW listings! 813 S Sparkling Water Ct. Jonathan Hicks Broker Build your dream home on this .31-acre lot at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in city limits of Sisters. $209,000. MLS#201807186 GLAZ Z E ME EAD ADOW OW 3 80 • $ 78 780, 0,00 0, 00 00 • ml mlss 20 019 9 02 0294 94 46 Cust Cu s om h om st ome e on o t he h 1 5t 5thh te e e of t he Glaz Gl a e Me az Mead a d ow G ol adow olff Co Cour urse se 865-335-6104 Price Reduced! EAS ASS ST T M EA E DOW 188 • $ 89 895,,00 0000 • ml mls s 20 2019 1903 0365 6577 Id d ea eal l ho h me e for lar arge ge f am amilily y ga gath ther erin ings gs w itithh gourm met m e t ki kitc tche henn an and ma mast ster er b ed edro room om o n ma main in l ev evel el — Serving all of Central Oregon — Sandy Goodsell Principal Broker ABR, CDPE, CIAS, GRI, SRES 541-480-0183 LICENSED BROKERS IN THE STATE OF OREGON www.goodsellandhicks.com “Realtor Ross is our new best friend. He helped us fi nd our new home in Sisters, and we worked well together — both when we were in town and from a distance. What we liked best about working with Ross is how well he listened to our needs and what we were looking for in a home. He always remembered what we had previously told him and was always fl exible with his time.” — Dale S. & Robin G. Ross Kennedy Principal Broker Luxury Home Specialist 541-408-1343 Serving Black Butte Ranch & The Greater Sisters Area 16948 Ponderosa Cascade Drive 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2,960 sq. ft. situated on level fully fenced 1.47 acres. Large 30x40 heated shop and attached 2-car garage $745,000. MLS#201903356 Sheila Jones Broker 503.949.0551 sheilajones.sisters@gmail.com Exclusive Onsite Realtor for the Ranch Don Bowler, President and Broker 971-244-3012 Gary Yoder, Managing Principal Broker 541-420-6708 Ross Kennedy, Principal Broker 541-408-1343 Carol Dye, Broker 541-480-0923 | Joe Dye, Broker 541-595-2604 Shana Vialovos, Broker 541-728-8354 Open daily, 9 to 5, by the Lodge Pool Complex 541-595-3838 Black Butte Ranch • 541-549-5555 in Sisters see all our listings at blackbutterealtygroup.com