Cant Ranch Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, National Park Service
Biscombe J. 2009. Cant Ranch Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 400016. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/CLI Database
The Cant Ranch Historic District (Cant Ranch) is located in the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon. The monument was established in 1974 with the purpose to “preserve, protect, and interpret the extensive tertiary fossils found in the geologic formations of these areas.” The Cant Ranch Historic District, as established in the 1984 National Register nomination, is a 200-acre vernacular landscape that documents early 20th century ranching operations in the John Day River Valley. The ranch is located along the John Day River which flows through the Columbia Plateau physiographic region which covers most of eastern Oregon. Access to the ranch is along the John Day Highway (Highway 19) which runs through Butler Basin. The basin is defined on the south by Picture Gorge, a steep narrow basalt canyon cut by the John Day River, and the geologic formation called Goose Rock to the north. Within the basin, the river has carved a flat valley that varies in width from about four hundred to eighteen-hundred-feet, and is approximately three and one-half miles long. The river corridor is bounded on the east and west by ridges composed of basalt and multicolored ash beds. Agricultural fields, actively used since the turn of the century, stretch along both sides of the John Day River the entire length of the valley. The Cant Ranch complex is situated on the west side of the river, about two miles north of Picture Gorge. Southeast of the ranch complex, Sheep Rock, the most prominent feature in the corridor, rises to an elevation of 3360-feet. The ranch is locally significant under Criterion A as an intact example of a successful, early 20th century ranch within the John Day area. Cant Ranch has three historic periods represented within the district including the Officer Homestead era (1890-1909), Cant Sheep Ranch era (1910-1946), and the Cant Cattle Ranch era (1946-1975). While both the ranch complex and the agricultural fields contain landscape resources from all three historic periods, the majority of structures and features relate to the sheep ranch era, 1910-1946. The period of significance established in the Cant Ranch Historic District National Register nomination is 1910-1975. The character of the historic district is evident in the following landscape characteristics: spatial organization, natural systems and features, circulation, and buildings and structures. Based on the evaluation of these characteristics, the cultural landscape at Cant Ranch exhibits key patterns, relationships, and features that convey the historical significance of the district.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Biscombe, Jason
- Date of Issue
- 2009-05-05
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- JODA , PWR
- Keywords
- Agricultural Field, Agriculture, animal husbandry, Barn, Cattle Frontier, domestic, Farmer's Frontier, Government, Historic Vernacular Landscape, Interpretive Trail, James Cant Sr., John Day River Valley, Landscape, Leisure-Passive, Livestock, Officer Homestead, outbuilding, Pedestrian-Related, ranches, Ranching Communities, residential, Road-Related, Sheep Rock Unit, Single Family Dwelling, Single Family House, Transportation
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 400016: Cant Ranch Historic District