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The Riddle Ranch is a pioneer ranch complex in Harney County in eastern Oregon, United States. The ranch is located on both sides of the Little Blitzen River on public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The original ranch buildings were constructed by three brothers, Benjamin, Frederick, and Walter Riddle. In the 1950s, the ranch was sold to Rex Clemens. The Bureau of Land Management bought the ranch in 1986. Today, the ranch is maintained as an open-air museum with original artifact displayed where they were used. Visitors can explore the ranch buildings, hike, or fish; however, camping is not permitted. There are a number of Native American archeological sites on the ranch property. These sites are not open to the public. The Riddle Ranch is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. == History == Native Americans inhabited the Steens Mountain area around the Riddle Ranch for 10,000 years prior to the arrival of European explorers in the early 19th century. The first recorded exploration of the area was by fur traders between 1826 and 1829. Peter Skene Ogden also explored the area a few years later. In 1845, Steven Meeks led a wagon train through the area, mistaking the snow-covered Steens for the Cascade Mountains.〔("Appendix P" ), ''Steens Mountain Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Plan'', Burns District Office, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Hines, Oregon, August 2005.〕 In 1860, the United States Army sent Major Enoch Steen to protect settlers in the area and determine the feasibility of building a road from the Willamette Valley to southeastern Oregon. His party named many topographic features including Steens Mountain. In 1864, Captain George B. Curry led a unit of the 1st Oregon Cavalry through the area. The cavalrymen crossed a river on the west slope of Steens during a violent thunder storm. Curry named the river Donder und Blitzen, which in German means thunder and lightning. Over time, it became known as the Donner und Blitzen River.〔 Settlers brought cattle into the area in 1872. When the Riddle brothers arrived around 1900, there were 100,000 cattle and sheep grazing the open range in valleys surrounding Steens. The three brothers, Walter, Frederick, and Benjamin, settled along the Little Blitzen River, and began raising cattle. The Riddle's increase their land holding on both sides of the river to , eventually gaining control of all the water in the area. Without access to water, the nearby open range land was useless to other ranchers.〔〔("Riddle Brothers Ranch" ), Burns District Office, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Hines, Oregon, 2 May 2009.〕 The Riddle brothers lived on their ranch for fifty years. However, none of brothers ever married. In the late 1950s, the Riddle brothers sold their ranch to Rex Clemens. Clemens continued to raise livestock on the property for nearly thirty years. In 1986, the Bureau of Land Management purchased the property from Clemens. Since then, the Bureau of Land Management's Burns District has maintained the ranch as a historic site.〔〔("Mortar Riddle: Uncovering the Past on Steens Mountain, Oregon" ), ''Virtual Tour'', Adventures in the Past Featured Adventure Site, Cultural and Fossil Resources, Recreation, and Environmental Education Groups, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., 2 May 2009.〕 In 1991, the Riddle Ranch was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.〔〔("Riddle Ranch" ), National Register of Historic Places, ''www.nationalregisterofhistoricalplaces.com'', 2 May 2009.〕 In 2003, Bureau of Land Management archaeologists identified the first of 48 prehistoric sites on the Riddle property. These archeological sites are collectively known as the ''Mortar Riddle Site''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Riddle Ranch」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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