Jack Vaughan Farm / Vaughan Ranch
Submitted by Jack & Katie Johns
2008 Sesquicentennial Award
Family
“Soil conservation is important
for us and future generations. Water is the life blood
of a farm or ranch and you must use and improve methods
of irrigation.”
William Hatchette Vaughan came to
Oregon in an 1843 Oregon wagon train. In the spring of
1844 he raised his wagon over the bluff at Oregon City
where the elevator is and after a short time in Oregon
City went to Molalla and staked out a land grant that
was the first land claim signed by the President of the
United States. It is now the old farm in Oregon. Jack
Vaughan, my granddad and William’s grandson, came to Fox
in 1899 and started his place in 1904, which is our 2nd
Century Farm.
In 1847, William married Susan Mary
Officer and they built a big house. He had a sawmill
and sawed his own lumber. What he couldn’t make he
bartered for and didn’t spend any money. It is a
historical home today. He was known as Uncle Billy and
was seen going through town with his hounds to hunt. He
made friends with the Molalla Indians and he was a
negotiator for the Indians and settlers.
Jack Vaughan ran wild horses and
sold them to the army. He did a lot of freighting
horses; hauled supplies from Hepner. He raised oats and
thrashed them and hauled them to road crews building
roads for their horses. Today, we raise cattle and hay
for cattle.
Our community is our agricultural
education and [provides] many social events. Rural
eastern Oregon is the step child of western Oregon.
Volunteering in rural Oregon is how things get done. I
served on the school board, was a 4-H leader, fair board
chairman, Chairman of the Oregon Beef Council, Oregon
State Fair Committee, and am a charter member of the
Grant County Sheriff’s Posse.
I was in 4-H for 10 years and won
the trip to Washington, D.C. Our girls were in 4-H and
went to county and state fairs. It teaches you to become
a speaker, learn about your project and make many
friends all over the state. Our grandson was in F.F.A.
What are some changes? [Earlier]
most of the work was done with horses and now it is
tractors and self-propelled machinery. Soil
conservation is important for us and future generations.
Water is the life blood of a farm or ranch and you must
use and improve methods of irrigation. New improved
seed came out that does better than most of the old ones
and herbicides change. You must keep up.
[Other changes are] that Jack
started out with Derm Cattle and switched to Polled
Herford, which we used until 10 years ago and started
crossing with Angus. [In the future there will be]
improved genetics so they gain faster and are more
tender.
What makes me passionate about
Oregon? Agriculture is important to Oregon’s economy.
But, the environmentalists are trying to take it away
from us. Agriculture crops are the last thing to go up
[in the economy]. It is very hard now with diesel and
corn prices so high. But it will get better and it is a
very good life. |
