Drewsey,
Oregon
Drewsey Oregon 97904
HISTORY
In
1883, Gabriel “Gabe” Rush, erected a building
on the North Fork of the Malheur River at the foot of the
Blue Mountains southwest of Castle Rock. Abner Robbins and
E. E. Perrington started a general store inside this first
structure. The men filed for land for a town site and applied
for a post office. It was then that the town of Drewsey
officially came into existence.
Prior to that time, the area had been a favorite camping spot
for the Paiute, who fished for salmon in the river,
hunted deer, and foraged for bitter-root, biscuit root, wild
carrots, wild onions and other foods.
In
1872, a federal executive order designated the region, drained
by the three forks of
the Malheur River – about
2,285 square miles – as the Malheur Reservation
for “all the roving groups in eastern and
southeastern Oregon, which can be basically forced to settle there.” the
white-men’s Indian agency headquarters was located south
of Castle Rock on the eastern boundary. The Paiutes were encouraged
to become farmers and to learn under the agent’s supervision,
the ways of “English speaking people,” as the Native American
people describe the cultural differences. Military and freight
roads from Harney City and Canyon City served the area.
The
reservation included about 12,000 acres that were considered
tillable. During the Bannock
Indian War of 1878 the Paiutes
scattered to reservations in Idaho, Nevada and California. The Native American prisoners held at Camp Harney, and their families,
were taken to Yakima, Washington as punishment for joining
the Bannocks’ uprising as they rampaged through Harney
Valley.
Settlers
began to eye the reservation lands. As early as 1882, people
were acquiring “squatters’ rights” to
the land around Drewsey. In 1883, with the exception of Camp
Harney, the last of the Malheur Native American lands were restored
to the public domain. The “squatters” and other
newcomers were able to file claims on the land. From that time
on, Drewsey grew quite rapidly for several years, becoming
a typical “cow town”. The Pacific Livestock Company
acquired considerable holdings in the area and became the principal
employer. With an abundance of crops and livestock being raised,
two lumber mills in operation, and various smaller enterprises
beginning, the town continued to grow and prosper through the
1920’s.
Failure
of the railroad to come through Drewsey from Juntura, bypass
of the Central Oregon Highway, the Depression, and the
demise of the Pacific Livestock Company, all contributed to
the decline of Drewsey. Drewsey has gone the way of many of
the earlier towns. Today there is a combined garage, store
and post office, and a tavern and restaurant. About a dozen
occupied homes remain.
Drewsey
continues to serve as the local gathering place for surrounding
areas. The school is still operating, the two churches
have services each week, and the gymnasium is used for school
activities, meetings, and other community activities. Fishermen
are plentiful during the summer, although the catch today is
trout. Salmon can no longer reach the Malheur River because
of dams and other changes in the river system of northeastern
Oregon. Fall brings an influx of hunters into the area.