Roba Ranch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Roba Ranch
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Historic buildings on Roba Ranch, 2013
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 Location in Oregon
Location in the United States
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| Location | Crook County, Oregon |
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| Nearest city | Paulina, Oregon |
| Built | ca. 1888 to 1910 |
| Architect | George Roba Sr. and Joseph Roba |
| Architectural style | Rustic Victorian |
| NRHP reference No. | 07001159 |
| Added to NRHP | 2007 |
The Roba Ranch is a historic pioneer ranch located near Paulina in Crook County, Oregon. It's named after George and Mary Roba, who were sheep ranchers. They bought the property in 1892. Most of the important ranch buildings were built by the Roba family between 1892 and 1910. Today, the ranch covers about 1,480 acres (600 km2) and is privately owned. The Roba Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 because of its history.
Contents
A Look Back: Early History
Native American people lived in Central Oregon for thousands of years. They used the high desert for food, finding animals, birds, and plants. Before European settlers arrived in the mid-1800s, the Northern Paiute and Sahaptin speaking peoples used the land around what is now Roba Ranch.
European-American settlers began arriving in Crook County in the 1860s. The first town, Prineville, Oregon, started in 1868. It had a store, a saloon, and a blacksmith shop. Even though there wasn't much rain for farming, the open grasslands were perfect for raising cattle and sheep. Ranchers let their animals graze freely on public lands. By 1890, there were many sheep and cattle in Central Oregon.
The Roba Family Story
George Roba was born in Czechoslovakia in 1862. He moved to the United States in 1882 and worked as a miner in Pennsylvania. There, he met and married Maria (“Mary”) Sojka in 1886. George heard about free land grants in Oregon and moved there in 1888. His family stayed in Pennsylvania while he found work.
George became a sheepherder near Paulina, Oregon. He herded sheep through the Paulina Valley. By 1889, he had saved enough money and started his own small sheep herd. He then sent for his family to join him.
In 1892, George bought a ranch near Paulina Creek. The previous owner had already built a small house and a barn. This meant George could start his sheep ranch right away. By 1895, his ranch was doing well with 1,400 sheep, plus some cattle and horses.
Ranching Challenges: The Range War
From 1896 to 1905, there was a "range war" in eastern Oregon. This was a conflict between cattle ranchers and sheep herders. In the Paulina area, a group of cattlemen called the Crook County Sheep Shooter Association tried to stop sheep from grazing on public land. During this time, many sheep were killed. The conflict ended in 1906 when the U.S. Government started giving out permits to control grazing on public lands.
George Roba mostly stayed out of the conflict, even though he had over 2,000 sheep. However, in 1899, one of his sheep camps was burned. To avoid losing more sheep, George began selling his herd. He made a good profit because livestock prices were high. He used this money to buy a store in Paulina and also started raising cattle.
In 1910, George and his sons, Joseph and George Jr., built a new ranch house. They used stone from a quarry on their own property. George and Mary lived on the ranch until Mary passed away in 1933. When George died in 1939, their daughter, Ruby Rose, inherited the ranch.
Later, in the 1950s, a utility room was added to the house. In the 1980s, new buildings like a barn and machine shop were built. In 2004, the ranch was sold to Doug and Sue Stocks.
Today, four original ranch buildings and one other historic structure remain. This makes Roba Ranch one of the few pioneer-era sheep ranches still standing in Central Oregon. Because it shows what a family-run ranch was like in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Roba Ranch was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
The Ranch Environment
The Roba Ranch covers about 1,480 acres (600 km2). It's mostly grasslands surrounded by rocky cliffs and gentle hills. These hills are covered with Western juniper and Ponderosa pine trees. Two streams, Paulina Creek and Roba Creek, flow through the property all year. They are shallow and less than 30 feet (9.1 m) wide. The historic ranch area is about 3,830 feet (1,167 m) above sea level.
Plants and Animals
The undeveloped parts of the ranch have many native plants. You'll find sagebrush and desert grasses. Common shrubs and wild flowers include bitterbrush, bitterroot, larkspur, and Indian Paintbrush. Western juniper and Ponderosa pine trees grow on the higher slopes.
The ranch is home to many different animals. You might see mule deer, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, American badgers, jackrabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks. Birds that live here include sage grouse, mountain quail, mountain chickadees, pygmy nuthatch, great horned owls, hawks, and golden eagles.
Historic Structures
There are four historic buildings and one other historic structure on the property. These buildings are located on a 5.6-acre (2.3 ha) area within the larger ranch. The historic ranch complex includes the main house, a barn, a pump house, a privy (outhouse), and corrals. All the original structures, except the first barn, were built by the Roba family. They used logs, lumber, hand-cut shingles, bricks, and local stone.
- The ranch house was built in 1910. It's a 1½-story building in a rustic Victorian style. The first floor is made of stone, and the upper part and roof are wood. It has a tall roof with two brick chimneys and six windows that stick out from the roof (called dormers). The front porch runs along the whole building. There's also a balcony above the porch. The house has many Victorian details, like decorative wood shingles and fancy trim. Inside, the first floor has a living room, kitchen, dining room, and bathroom. An addition built in the 1950s has a sun porch, mud-room, and another small bathroom. Upstairs, there are four bedrooms and a bathroom.
- The original barn, built around 1888–1889, is the oldest building on the ranch. It's about 52 feet (16 m) by 26 feet (7.9 m). It has a log frame and a gable roof, which was once covered with wood shingles but now has metal. The sides are made of vertical wooden boards. Inside, it's an open space with a dirt floor. There are built-in chicken coops and a storage area.
- The pump house was built around 1900 next to Roba Creek. It's a small wooden building, about 5 feet (1.5 m) by 10 feet (3.0 m). It has a wood frame, a wooden floor, vertical wooden siding, and a shingled roof.
- The privy (outhouse) is in the corral area, near the barn. It was built around 1900. It's a simple 4-foot (1.2 m) by 4-foot (1.2 m) wooden building with a gable roof and a door facing south.
- The historic corrals and fences are on a hill north of the ranch house and barn. These wooden fences and cattle chutes were built in the late 1890s. The fence posts are made from juniper logs. The fences have four wooden cross-rails. Large rock piles filled with logs help support the fence lines.
The ranch also has three newer buildings built in the 1980s: a storage building for vehicles and equipment, a machine shop, and a new barn.
Location
The Roba Ranch is in a remote part of Central Oregon, in eastern Crook County. It's off Oregon Route 380. The closest town is Paulina, Oregon, about 10 miles (16 km) south of the ranch. The city of Prineville, which is the county seat, is about 64 miles (103 km) west of the ranch.
