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Listed on the national register of historic places, the Shirk Ranch is an excellent example of a Wild West cattle ranch out the high desert east of Adel, Oregon. Homesteaded in 1881, it was purchased by David Shirk in 1883 & operated until 1914. Before settling here, Shirk had come to the area from Indiana & had made land claims in the nearby Catlow Valley, defending their ranch from Native Americans during the 1878 Bannock War. He also was tried for murder after killing a man who was part of Peter French's nearby ranch which he was in competition w/ for grazing and water.
Long after Shirk operated this ranch, the land was then acquired as annexed land by the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in 1942 (at least indicated on maps, however BLM does the upkeep). There has been some restoration efforts of the remaining buildings still standing however there is also much neglect & lack of inventory of the property. Some of the structures have already long collapsed while others are ready to. Here is a view inside the downstairs of the main house. If kept up, it looks like it could be a cozy place to live although there is a ton of bird crap flung against the walls. The magazines on the table are somewhat dated, but not that old. The brick walls were added recently & are fake plastic, I guess that's your tax dollars at work. There were two eras of building, the original main house was built in 1883 but only the fireplace remains today. This newer building was built in 1910. The oldest part of this blacksmith shop is from the 1880s era. There are other buildings including the water tower & second bunkhouse, a more recenty constructed animal feed lot, plus an area of leftover farming equipment & a rusted vehicle. Up the hill is a separate gravestone of two men who were shot in 1887, rumor of their murders stems from a runaway bank robber in the area.
More info here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_L._Shirk_Ranch
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
