Brothers is on the Central Oregon Highway, US-20, between Bend and Burns, in the southeastern part of the county. Brothers post office was established in September 1913, with Patrick H. Coffey first postmaster. Phil Brogan of Bend told the compiler there were several fraternal family groups that settled in the area, of whom the various Stenkamp brothers comprised one of the more notable. He thought the community was named for the many homesteading brothers and not in contradistinction to Sisters, the community northwest of Bend. However, an article by Charles Hutchinson in the Prineville Central Oregonian, February 26, 1970, pg. 6, gives a different origin. Sumner Houston, born in the Bear Creek area and the son of early homesteader Charley Houston, was working at the Frank Percival ranch east of Pine Mountain. A name was needed for a sheep camp, and Houston noted three nearby similar hills with the Three Sisters looming in the background. He suggested the name Three Brothers Sheep Camp. The hills became known as the Three Brothers, and the name, in abbreviated form, was attached to the post office when it was founded some years later.