community
january11
2011
11
Keasey Century Farm continued from page 10
provide fire protection.
The property has two older stands of native
trees, one that is about twenty acres and one that is
almost thirty acres. Those stands were harvested in
the 1940’s and 50’s, and have naturally regenerated.
They have been commercially thinned and salvage-
logged over the years, leaving what Nelson describes
as beautiful stands that are over sixty years old. Nelson
would like to see these last remaining stands of native
timber conserved and, hopefully, sustainably harvested
as needed.
There are only a handful of old growth trees
still surviving on the property, including a massive
200-plus foot cedar Nelson showed me that he guesses
is at least 500 years old. Massive stumps nearby give
visitors an idea of the magnitude and the amount of
timber that grew here at one time.
The future of the Keasey family corporation
and the farm property, though not in jeopardy, is
somewhat questionable. Because so few family
members still reside in Vernonia and actively participate
in the operation and maintenance in the farm, Ralph
and Caroline Keasey wonder who will look after the
property after they are gone. Dennis Nelson is now
in his fifties, and although he once worked as a timber
cutter, he considers it a young man’s job and wonders
how long he will be able to actively manage the
property himself. He hopes his three daughters might
develop an interest in the property and choose to be
actively involved in its management someday.
The Keasey family are one of the pioneering
A natural wetland provides scenic beauty and wildlife habitat.
families of the Vernonia region, a family that still lives,
and the property was reverted back to timber. “They of an outdoor paradise, with historic relics and logging works and plays, not just in the area, but on the property
planted almost all the old cow pastures-- all the cleared history on site, as well as wildlife and beautiful natural their ancestors developed. Their family story is one of
perseverance and dedication, and about caring for their
ground that had been laboriously cleared by previous features.
A huge old barn sits behind the original farm land.
generations of Keaseys,” says Nelson.
Around 1980, the family corporation had to house. According to Nelson, the barn
make a large payment on a piece of property that they had to be moved when the railroad
had purchased and added to the farm, and the property line was constructed. Today, it still
was mostly clear cut and the timber sold at that time to stands, along with the farmhouse, as a
make the payment. “Right now, most of the property testament to the historic nature of the
is plantation growth that is about thirty years old,” farm.
The property is about a mile in
explains Nelson. Ralph Keasey, along with most of his
siblings, and some nieces and nephews, replanted those length, running along Rock Creek, so
there is well over a mile of creek frontage
as Rock Creek meanders through the
Keasey farm. Salmon, steelhead and
trout run upstream through the property,
with gravel spawning beds visible along
the waterfront. Deer, elk, cougar, bear
and other wildlife roam the landscape.
Nelson, who has been involved with
the Izaak Walton League and the Upper
Nehalem Watershed Council for many
years, has done numerous riparian
restoration projects on the property over
the years, planting and maintaining new
trees along the banks, often battling
local beaver to keep the trees alive.
The property has a few springs
on-site, including the historically
relevant “Cold Spring” that provided
water for travelers on the road and
area residents over the years, and still
provides good quality water year-
round. The property also has numerous
wetlands, including an area that was
dammed by the railroad grade, creating
a large pond that is used by ducks and
other waterfowl.
And, of course, that Oregon-
American rail passage, which runs
east to west through the property, is
trees.
Dennis Nelson, who married Dick and Marge maintained by the family to provide
Wysong’s daughter, Schann, is maintaining the old access to some of the more remote
farmhouse and watching over the property as caretaker. areas. “Mostly, we use it as a hiking
Nelson recently gave me a tour of the 390-acre property. trail, but we can drive it if we need to
Nelson says he has actively helped manage the log,” says Nelson. Nelson says there
property for a number of years and usually participates are also a number of logging roads that
in small thinning projects that take place regularly were built the last time the property
to provide income. A number of years ago, Nelson was logged in the 1980’s, which he
Current caretaker Dennis Nelson stands near one of the last
took the OSU Extension Service Master Woodland deliberately keeps clear for hiking and
remaining
old growth cedars on the property. Nelson estimates the
Manager course, the same course Ralph Keasey took future logging projects, as well as to
Ralph Keasey, it wasn’t until the railroad came through
in the 1920’s, providing transportation to the local
sawmills, that harvesting timber became economical.
Dennis Nelson is currently the acting caretaker
of the property. According to Nelson and Ralph Keasey,
farming and raising cattle just wasn’t economical
before him. As part of their coursework, Nelson and
Keasey both created documents that give a legal and
historical description of the property, helping create
a documented history of the land and the family that
owns it.
A walk around the Keasey property is a tour
tree is at least 500 years old.
