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A Crook County Historical Moment
| Sheep and Cattle War |
In the year 1898 the Cascade
Forest Reserve was created and
during the first two years of its
existence this Reserve was closed to
grazing. Sheep owners who had
formerly used the Cascade Mountains
for summer range were forced to look
elsewhere for summer range for their
flocks. This resulted in a great influx of
outside sheep to the Blue Mountains.
Local sheep owners who had occupied
the range for years had respected the
rights of the cattlemen by staying off
range that was grazed by cattle.
Cattlemen who had used the foothill
range were slow to take radical
measures to protect their rights, but the
overcrowding of the sheep into
traditional cattle grazing areas resulted
in a decrease in forage supply.
Forest Reserve was created and
during the first two years of its
existence this Reserve was closed to
grazing. Sheep owners who had
formerly used the Cascade Mountains
for summer range were forced to look
elsewhere for summer range for their
flocks. This resulted in a great influx of
outside sheep to the Blue Mountains.
Local sheep owners who had occupied
the range for years had respected the
rights of the cattlemen by staying off
range that was grazed by cattle.
Cattlemen who had used the foothill
range were slow to take radical
measures to protect their rights, but the
overcrowding of the sheep into
traditional cattle grazing areas resulted
in a decrease in forage supply.
Near the turn of the century cattlemen began to organize into groups known as Sheep Shooters to drive
sheep owners back from the range that they called cow range. Their plan of action was to establish a
“deadline” across which sheep men were not allowed to herd their sheep. Trees were marked by cutting
a saddle blanket blaze fore and aft along a line that ran through timbered country. Notices printed in red
ink on cloth posters were tacked on the sheep side of the line.
A typical notice would be similar to the following:
Warning to Sheep Men–You are hereby ordered to keep your sheep on the north side of plainly marked
line or you will suffer the consequences. Signed Inland Sheep Shooters
Several mass killings of sheep occurred in Central Oregon as a result of the growing tension between
sheep and cattle operators. The largest slaughter of sheep occurred near Benjamin Lake on the High
Desert in 1903. Sheep were herded off a rimrock and those that survived where shot with the result that
nearly 2400 sheep were killed.
The major conflicts came to a close when the Blue Mountain Forest Reserve was established
by the Department of Agriculture in 1906. The Reserve would soon become the Deschutes and Ochoco
National Forests. The government established grazing allotments by 1907 on the new Reserve which
controlled the number of livestock that could be grazed and the location of animal grazing.
sheep owners back from the range that they called cow range. Their plan of action was to establish a
“deadline” across which sheep men were not allowed to herd their sheep. Trees were marked by cutting
a saddle blanket blaze fore and aft along a line that ran through timbered country. Notices printed in red
ink on cloth posters were tacked on the sheep side of the line.
A typical notice would be similar to the following:
Warning to Sheep Men–You are hereby ordered to keep your sheep on the north side of plainly marked
line or you will suffer the consequences. Signed Inland Sheep Shooters
Several mass killings of sheep occurred in Central Oregon as a result of the growing tension between
sheep and cattle operators. The largest slaughter of sheep occurred near Benjamin Lake on the High
Desert in 1903. Sheep were herded off a rimrock and those that survived where shot with the result that
nearly 2400 sheep were killed.
The major conflicts came to a close when the Blue Mountain Forest Reserve was established
by the Department of Agriculture in 1906. The Reserve would soon become the Deschutes and Ochoco
National Forests. The government established grazing allotments by 1907 on the new Reserve which
controlled the number of livestock that could be grazed and the location of animal grazing.
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A.R. Bowman Memorial Museum
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See the drop
down menu at
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page for more
local stories
of Prineville's
colorful past.
down menu at
the top of the
page for more
local stories
of Prineville's
colorful past.
Use the drop down menu for more local stories of Prineville's colorful past.