Oregon Country revisited

As William Sullivan rode toward a huge, crescent-shaped mass of rock rising above the desert floor of Central Oregon, he said to a companion wrangler:

"Them walls must be 400 foot high. She looks like a big ol' rock fort! Bet there's been a lot of battles here. Don't know what others call her, but I'm namin' 'er Fort Rock. That's what she looks like, and that's what she'll be. That there's Fort Rock."

The name stuck, though Sullivan made the same mistake more than a century ago that many modern-day visitors do when they drive by or visit Fort Rock. Sullivan's mistake was thinking the basalt formation, just off Oregon Hwy 31 about 35 miles southeast of La Pine, had been a battle ground. The late Rube Long, high desert stockman and humorist who once owned much of the land around Fort Rock, said:

"Heck, I've lived 'round here since the sun was little and moon didn't exist, and it never was used very much for a fort. Oh, maybe an occasional skirmish, but never a regular thing."

Though the volcanic remnant was not a fortification as often believed, Fort Rock has figured strongly in Central Oregon's history with discovery of evidence that the region has been inhabited for thousands of years. Dr. L.S. Cressman, noted University of Oregon archeologist who directed excavation of Fort Rock Cave and other digs near the formation, claimed:

"This is one of the most important archeological finds ever made. The record of Fort Rock shows the longest continuous occupation in the Western United States. It has been documented that man was there 13,000 years ago and lived there until historic times"

Many artifacts found in the caves near Fort Rock are similar to those discovered in the area ranging from Southeastern Washington to San Diego and into the Snake River region of Idaho. But, one distinctive item has been found at Fort Rock. It is the unique footwear, now known as Sagebrush Sandals, made by the area's inhabitants 9,000 years ago.

Fort Rock, now an Oregon State Monument, continues to attract curious humans, as it has for centuries. But Reub Long, who donated the land for the monument, had even a greater dream for the formation:

"Fort Rock would make a perfect football stadium. It's over a third of a mile across, and you could put tiers of seats on three sides, with the playing field in the middle. That would leave the opening for parking. Ya' know, most universities go a long time before they build a football stadium. Here I've got a stadium built and just need a university to use it!"

Reub Long did not get the university in his lifetime, and it is doubtful that the great crescent ever will echo with the cheers of screaming fans or blaring bands. But, Fort Rock will continue to be a place of remarkable interest and maybe even shelter to man, just as it was to the sagebrush sandal makers those thousands of years ago.

Author's note: These Oregon Country historical vignettes were originally written for the radio program "Stories of Pacific Powerland." The facts upon which the tales are based are true, though some characters have been created for presentation in a narrative style.