page_title: Sod House Ranch
section_title: Peter French
hierarchical_section_title: Sod House Ranch / Peter French
context_page_description: The Sod House Ranch is an historic ranch in Harney County in southeastern Oregon, United States. The remaining ranch structures are located south of Malheur Lake in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The ranch was built by Peter French, a well known 19th-century cattle baron. The Sod House Ranch became the headquarters for the northern operating division of the French-Glenn Livestock Company, which eventually covered over 140,000 acres. After French was murdered in 1897, the French-Glenn Livestock Company slowly sold off its ranch property. In 1935, the United States Government purchased the Sod House Ranch property to add to an adjacent wildlife refuge. The eight remaining Sod House Ranch buildings are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
context_section_description: Peter French was born in Missouri in 1849. His family immigrated to California in 1850. As a young man, French worked for Doctor Hugh J. Glenn, who owned large tracts of land in the Sacramento Valley. In 1872, Glenn decided to expand his operation into Oregon. Glenn picked 23-year-old Peter French to lead the venture. French was sent north with six vaqueros and 1,200 head of cattle.
  In the Blitzen Valley, French met a prospector named Porter, who had not found much gold and was eager to move on. French bought Porter's small herd of cattle along with his "P" cattle brand and rights to the west slope of Steens Mountain where Porter had prospected. French settled along the Donner und Blitzen River, over the next several years draining and fencing thousands of acres of wetlands along the river. That land became the P Ranch, named for Porter's "P" brand. French acquired the 43,000 acres (170 km²) Sod House Ranch from A. H. Robie in 1877 along with Robie's property in the Diamond and Blitzen valleys. By the 1880s, the ranch was earning a good income for Glenn. Cattle were raised in the lush valley pastures. In the fall, French drove his cattle 200 miles (300 km) to the railhead at Winnemucca, Nevada.
  In 1883, French married Glenn's daughter Ella. Glenn was murdered three weeks later by a former employee. French continued to manage the Oregon operation for the Glenn family, selling more cattle to help pay the family's debts. In 1894, Glenn's heirs decided to incorporate the French-Glenn partnership into the French-Glenn Livestock Company, making French the company president.
  Over the years, French expanded the company's holdings until the ranch extended from the foothills of Steens Mountain 40 miles (64 km) along both sides of the Donner und Blitzen River to Malheur Lake, including the Sod House Ranch property running along the south shore of the lake. It also covered all of neighboring Happy and Diamond valleys plus a large part of the Catlow Valley to the south. Eventually, the French-Glenn Livestock Company owned over 140,000 acres (570 km²) of the Harney Basin. Some records indicate the ranch may have covered as much as 200,000 acres (810 km²). The company built 500 miles (800 km) of barbed wire fence to protect 30,000 to 45,000 head of cattle plus 3,000 horses and mules. In addition to the main P Ranch headquarters, the operation had four other divisions; the Happy Valley Division, the Diamond Division, the Catlow Valley Division, and Sod House Division. The Sod House Ranch served as French's sub-headquarters at the northern end the property near the mouth of the Donner und Blitzen River and along the south shore of Malheur Lake.
  French was not popular with new homesteaders in the area because he owned or controlled most of the water in the southern Harney Basin. His fences also made it difficult for some homesteaders to access their property. On December 26, 1897, French was shot dead near the Sod House Ranch by a settler who had been unsuccessful in getting a road easement across French's property.
  F. C. Lusk, secretary of the French-Glenn Livestock Company prior to French's death, became executor of French's estate and took over as ranch manager. Lusk gradually sold off ranch assets to pay off company debts. In 1906, much of the French-Glenn property including the Sod House Ranch was sold to Henry L. Corbett and his partner C.E.S. Wood. In 1916, the property was acquired by the Eastern Oregon Live Stock Company. In the 1920s, the part of the property known as the Barton Lake Ranch was bought by John Jenkins. This property includes the well-known Pete French Round Barn. In 1935, the United States Government bought the remaining property to expand the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
caption: Peter French bought the ranch in 1877
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