LEARNING
Fanning out
East of Redmond, Powell Butte
— an unincorporated community
halfway between Redmond and
Prineville — was becoming a
thriving agricultural center in the
early 1900s.
In 1907 Powell Butte’s handful
of residents built a school for the
area’s seven schoolchildren. Early
residents raised sheep for wool.
When water reached the area in
1908, agriculture boomed. While
the potato no longer is king, Powell
Butte continues to lure residents
who enjoy rural life.
Five miles to the north of
Redmond, Terrebonne began
its existence as Hillman — a
combination of the names of
James Hill and E.H. Harriman,
two railroad magnates who raced
to lay track into Central Oregon.
The name was later changed to
Terrebonne, French for “good
earth.”
For about 15 years, Terrebonne
had a thriving commercial district
(including five saloons in 1914)
but in the mid-1920s, as improved
roads and better vehicles made
travel easier, business migrated to
Redmond. However, in recent years,
Terrebonne has seen a resurgence
and is home to restaurants, banks, a
supermarket and hardware store.
To the west of Terrebonne, a
community grew on what was once
a cattle ranch. Seattle developer
Bill McPherson purchased the
former working cattle ranch in 1971
to develop a recreational home
community. Since then, Crooked
River Ranch has evolved into a
permanent community of about
5,000 residents. In addition to the
nearly 10,000 one- to 5-acre lots, the
ranch has a golf course and small
commercial district. The original
ranch site was purchased by a Texas
oilman in 1910, and his former main
ranch house now hosts the Crooked
River Ranch Senior Center.
Deschutes County Historical Society
Above, a historical photo of Redmond, looking north on Sixth Street, circa 1911.
Redmond Historical Commission
1908 freight wagon prepares to take load from downtown Redmond to Silver Lake,
delivering a boiler to a saw mill.
Spokesman file photo
The power plant at
Cline Falls, along
the Deschutes River,
offered Redmonds
its first electricity in
the early days of its
founding.
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