Charles Boyd Homestead Group facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Charles Boyd Homestead
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Boyd Homestead at its new location
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| Location | Deschutes County, Oregon, USA |
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| Nearest city | Bend, Oregon |
| Built | 1905–1909 |
| Architectural style | Rustic |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003724 |
| Added to NRHP | 1982 |
The Charles Boyd Homestead is a historic group of three buildings. They were once part of a pioneer ranch complex. You can find them in Deschutes County, Oregon, near Bend. Charles Boyd built these ranch buildings between 1905 and 1909.
These three buildings are special. They are the only ranch buildings left from the early days of settlement in the Bend area. The Boyd Homestead is so important it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's a protected historic site.
Contents
The Story of Charles Boyd's Ranch
Charles Boyd's Early Life
Charles Boyd was born in Ontario, Canada in 1863. In the 1870s, he moved with his family to Michigan. Later, in 1883, he moved to Philipsburg, Montana. There, he married Anna Wyman.
Charles and his brother, William, started a cattle business. Charles even served as the mayor of Philipsburg.
Moving to Oregon and Building a Ranch
In 1904, Charles Boyd moved west to Central Oregon. He settled along the Deschutes River near Bend. He bought a 6-acre (24,000 m²) piece of land. It was on the east side of the river, next to the Swalley Canal.
In 1905, his family joined him. He then built a house on his new property.
Growing the Cattle Business
Over the next few years, Boyd made his ranch much bigger. He built a very successful cattle and meat business. Eventually, Boyd owned 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land. Much of this land was bought under a special law called the Carey Desert Land Act of 1894. This law helped people get land to develop in dry areas.
His property had wide pastures for his cattle. It also had hay fields to grow food for them in winter. Boyd butchered his own meat and sold it locally. He became the biggest meat supplier in the Bend area. He even had contracts to provide beef for railroad and canal workers. He also supplied meat to the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company's busy logging camps. Boyd also owned a butcher shop in downtown Bend.
Changes and Relocation
During the early years of the Great Depression, Boyd lost many of his big contracts. This happened because Bend's sawmills cut back on production. Charles Boyd passed away in 1933. However, his family continued to live in the main ranch house until 1958.
In 1978, the historic Boyd ranch land was sold to developers. This happened as the city of Bend grew northward. In 1979, the Boyd family moved the three remaining homestead buildings. They moved them about a quarter mile from their original spot.
The buildings are now on Rivermill Avenue. This new site is on a quarter-acre piece of land. This land was actually part of Boyd's original 600-acre ranch. The buildings are now placed among old pine trees, next to the Swalley Canal. This helps keep the old ranch feel.
Why the Homestead is Historic
The three surviving Boyd ranch buildings are special. They show great original design, craftsmanship, and materials. They are also the only ranch buildings left from the very first days of settlement in the Bend area.
Because they are so important to Bend's history, the Charles Boyd Homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This happened on August 31, 1982. Today, the Charles Boyd Homestead is a private museum.
The Ranch Buildings
Boyd's original ranch was huge, covering 600 acres (2.4 km²). It had many buildings, including a main house, a bunk house, an ice house, a barn, and a hay shed. It also had a power house, corrals, feedlots, and a slaughterhouse. Plus, there were pastures and hay fields.
However, only the main house, bunk house, and ice house are still standing today. Charles Boyd built the main ranch house in 1905. The bunk house was built soon after. The ice house was added to the ranch in 1909. These three buildings now make up the Charles Boyd Homestead historic site. It is just north of the Bend city limits.
- The Boyd ranch house is a two-story building. It is shaped like a rectangle and measures 26 by 32 feet (7.9 by 9.8 m). The main door is on the south side. It is made of wood with a gable roof and a brick chimney. The outside was originally covered with batten board siding. This was covered with shingles in 1914. The house was first built on posts and sills. But when it moved in 1979, it was placed on a concrete slab.
The first floor has a living room and a bedroom from the original house. A kitchen, a bathroom, and a side porch were added in 1914. The inside walls are covered with painted paper. The floors are made of Fir wood planks. The windows and doors are simple, without fancy trim. There are two bedrooms upstairs. Both rooms have tongue and groove wood panels on the walls. In the 1930s, a front porch was added near the kitchen. In the 1950s, the kitchen was updated. The main window in the living room was made bigger. The original cooking stove, piano, and many other Boyd family items are still in the house.
- The bunk house is a single-story rectangular building. It has a gable roof. It is located near the southwest corner of the main house. Its entrance faces east. The bunk house measures 14 by 18 feet (4.3 by 5.5 m). It has only two windows, one on the west side and one on the south side. The outside walls are made of shiplap siding. The inside walls are rough pine. Like the main house, it was placed on a concrete slab when it moved in 1979.
- The ice house is located east of the main house. It is a rectangular building measuring 16 by 24 feet (4.9 by 7.3 m). It is as tall as a two-story building and has no windows. It has a wood frame with shiplap siding on the outside. The roof is made of wood shingles. The inside walls are rough boards with sawdust for insulation. This building was first used to store large blocks of ice. The ice was needed to keep meat cold. In winter, Boyd would cut ice blocks from Swalley Pond. He would pack them in sawdust. The sawdust insulation kept the ice frozen until it was needed in the summer.
There are two sets of large double-doors on the south side. These were put in during the 1940s. That's when the building was changed into a garage. It was used as a garage until 1978. Like the other two buildings, the ice house was placed on a concrete slab when it moved in 1979.
