Praying for Those in Authority: Crook County

Crook County, Oregon

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9

We are moving south from Wheeler into Crook County, which, while still part of the North Central Region of Oregon, is also the state's geographical center. The county was named after General George Crook, a U.S. Army officer, and was formed in 1882. It includes the foothills to the Blue Mountains and was an area hard to reach for settlers until the 1860s when the Santiam Pass was found and developed. Cattle ranchers were the first settlers in the area. Later in the 19^th century, farming was developed, and logging in the Ochoco Mountains. The first mention of a sawmill in county history was of the Swartz mill on Mill Creek around 1867. The current population of the county is 24,738.

Prineville is the county seat, and pretty much always has been. The location was settled early in the county’s history, established by Monroe Hodges on his section of land in 1870. He named it after an even earlier settler and merchant, Frances Barney Prine, who established a store, blacksmith shop, saloon, and hotel in 1868 (All, as I understand, in one small building).

Crook County, Oregon 

Prineville is situated on the Crooked River at the mouth of Ochoco Creek. The current population is around 10,000.  

The first settlers in Crook County were cattlemen and had their choice of range for their cattle. In the 1880-90s sheepherders began coming in, and while they co-existed for a few years, eventually, as the herds grew, the cattlemen began to resent the sheep herds. Sheep tend to eat everything in an area and graze the grass down to the roots, leaving a barren landscape for the cattle. Other complaints were raised, including that cattle would not graze where sheep had been due to the smell, and that sheep would muddy and foul the water source, making it unfit for cattle.

Eventually, vigilante groups called Sheepshooters, were formed by cattlemen. The first group originated in Grant County and then Crook County organized the second such group in the Central Oregon region. They attempted to set aside areas that were sheep-free, partitioning off public land, and they also attacked sheep camps, beating up the shepherds and shooting or bludgeoning the sheep to death. 1904 around Prineville saw a climax of the Cattle and Sheep Wars when as many as 10,000 sheep were killed in that area as well as some deaths of shepherds. In 1907 the federal government stepped in and gave all livestock growers allotments and the violence finally stopped.

Modern times see a continuation of agriculture and forestry as the main economic supply but with the addition of tourism, recreation, and computer server farms built by companies such as Apple and Facebook.

Crook County government is also under the County Court system with Seth Crawford the County Judge and Jerry Brummer and Brian Barney the Commissioners.

The Chief Election Official, the County Clerk, is Cheryl Seely.

The Crook County Sheriff is John Gautney who oversees 55 full-time law enforcement and support personnel. Budget increases have recently allowed them to add new patrol vehicles and hire new staff. This summer is seeing the water levels at Ochoco Reservoir and Prineville Lake at full capacity for the first time in several years. The mission statement for the County Sheriff’s Office is, “We work in partnership with our citizens to preserve life, protect property, hold offenders accountable, and conserve the peace.”