Some Antelope & Area History

SOME ANTELOPE FACTS & AREA HISTORY The TOWN OF ANTELOPE, OREGON Histories of this area abound… they have similar threads and stories but some emphasize one aspect over another. The Oregon Encyclopedia asserts that the little town of Antelope and the (Big) Muddy Ranch are “closely intertwined,” but such a statement leaves one with the impression that Antelope doesn’t have a real history of it’s own. Though many of the local ranches have had a close, generations-long relationship with the town, Antelope has always been it’s own community and is a Pronghorn Antelope functioning town which as of the 2000 census listed 59 residents – a figure which was somehow inflated as it has only around 39 permanent residents and a few vacation homeowners who visit from time to time. Interaction between local area ranchers and the town will undoubtedly remain close as it’s the only functioning community for many miles around. The city limits encompass about a square mile but the urban- growth boundary is much less. The current (2013) commercial focal point is the historic Antelope Café which is much busier during the summer months and fall hunting seasons than during the winter. When traveling Highway 97, which bisects Oregon in a north – south direction, visit Shaniko, a functioning “ghost town” & tourist-stop, then take the short 8-mile scenic detour south to Antelope. Stop at the Café and say “HI” to any locals you find there; we’d love to see you, too. Although many central Oregon communities have undergone rapid changes at times, none has been more profoundly affected by changing events than the tiny town of Antelope. It began as a sheep herding and ranching community on the supply route between The Dalles and the gold fields around Canyon City. Typical late 1800s building The failure of the railroad to extend this far caused a near found around Antelope sudden death of the town’s growth. Years later, the invasion by the followers of the cult established by the Rajneesh literally pushed out every single resident, and resulted in a complete restructuring of the community including the permanent closing of the only functioning school in the area – a building now owned by the City and used as a multi-function Community Center, City Hall, and Fire Department training facility. The Muddy Ranch Established in the late nineteenth century by the Prineville Land and Livestock Company, with headquarters on Muddy Creek, the ranch in its heyday in the early 1900s supported large herds of sheep and cattle. Each year, ranch hands trailed the herds to summer range the ranch owned on Summit Prairie in the Ochocos; the herds then wintered-over on the Muddy. When the Summit Prairie range was sold in the 1950s, the Muddy's livestock operation View overlooking Antelope valley from the diminished, as the always-sparse forage on the home north, about 4 miles south of Shaniko. ranch was quickly over-grazed. Joseph Sherar apparently named Muddy Creek in 1862 when he was packing supplies to the John Day mines. He must have come upon the creek during spring runoff or after a cloudburst; ordinarily its flow is minimal, and in summer it often seems to dry up during the day, only to resume flowing at night. Long-time owners of the Muddy Ranch included Leo Hahn and his son Dick, and Reub Evans. As with other big Oregon ranches, in the hard times of the 1960s and 1970s, the ranch was perpetually for sale. In 1991, Dennis R. Washington's firm, Washington Construction, of Montana (or a subsidiary), bought the ranch for $3.65 million. In the 1990s, Washington attempted to run the ranch for profit and also tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the State of Oregon to turn the land into a state park. Since 1999 the property has been operating as a Young Life Christian camp, Washington Family Ranch (formerly WildHorse Canyon Camp), supported in part by the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation. One reason many people associate the Muddy Ranch with Antelope is because of the 1981- 1985 invasion of the area by the Rajneeshees, a quasi-religious community established by the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his cult, who purchased the ranch for $5.75 million in 1981. (It was never “The Big Muddy” to locals; the redundant adjective seems to have entered popular usage with the Rajneeshees). They established a large commune on the Muddy’s 64,000 acres and began a systematic effort to take over the local government, beginning with the town of Antelope. By 1984 the cultists had, through coercion, bribery, and some outright threats, taken over the town, driving out most of the original residents. On Sept. 18, 1984, by a vote of 57 to 22, the charter was amended to change the name from Antelope to Rajneesh. This received considerable publicity throughout the state because feelings about the Bhagwan and his followers were sharply divided. The Bhagwan, as he was popularly known, was born Mohan Chandra Rajneesh on Dec. 11, 1931, in Kuchwada, India. After a career of study and teaching, he founded a cult in India and in 1981 moved, with a number of followers to Montclair, New Jersey. When the facilities there were not to his liking, he purchased the 64,000 acre Muddy Ranch near the John Day river, where his followers immediately began constructing the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh large commune; it was incorporated in 1982 as Rajneeshpuram. Friction developed at once between the red-clad disciples and Wasco County residents. In 1983, Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmeyer filed suit to invalidate the city. Meanwhile, the commune had grown to over Oregon Public Broadcast documentary shows Rajneesh controlled Antelope City Council with only non-Rajneesh member John Silvetooth-Stewart, center 4000 people and expanded to take over the town of Antelope – the cult took over everything – Antelope, the town council, store, school, all but the post office by simply moving into town and out-voting the fifty or so natives. The town was renamed Rajneesh; the store/cafe became Zorba the Buddha. Most of the non-Rajneesh residents left as a result. In an effort to garner sympathy for their heavy-handed control of the town, in 1983, the “Rajneesh Times” newspaper headlined threats made against the only non-Rajneesh member of the Antelope City Council, John Silvertooth-Stewart. The reported threats were made, according to John Silvertooth-Stewart, because of his perceived cooperation with the cultists who by then completely controlled the City Council. In 1984, members of the commune introduced Salmonella organisms into salad bars at restaurants in The Dalles and 750 people were taken sick. In October of that year, busloads of homeless people were brought to the commune from various parts of the United States and registered to vote, apparently in an attempt to take over the county government. This was thwarted and subsequent investigation brought matters to a head in 1985. On Sept. 13, 1985, Anand Sheela, the Bhagwan's general factotum, resigned and fled to Germany where she was later arrested on a variety of charges ranging from theft to attempted murder. The Bhagwan was also being pursued by the U.S. Immigration authorities and on Oct. 27, 1985, while attempting to flee, was intercepted at Charlotte, North Carolina on his way to Bermuda. In due course he was deported to India where he settled on his original commune at Pune, where he died on Jan. 19, 1990. In 1988, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, the mortgage holder, filed to repossess the ranch property and title passed to them in 1989. For more information on this bizarre bit of Oregon history, see an Oregonian series of articles in July 1985 and the Oregonian, Jan. 20, 1990, pp. A1, 16 and 17. On Nov. 6, 1985, the remaining residents, both original and Rajneeshee, voted 34 to 0 to restore the original name. The Post Office Department, relying on the efficiency of Zip Code, 97001, had never changed the name from Antelope. Howard Maupin Howard Maupin established the town of Antelope in 1863, (he died in 1887) and the town of Maupin, about 35 miles to the north, is named in his honor. Antelope was initially about one and a half miles northeast of the present town, as a stage station on The Dalles-Canyon City Road. When the road was re- routed in 1881, the town moved along with it, and today lies along Hwy 218, which is its official MAIN ST. Antelope grew rapidly as the traffic of freight wagons carrying wool out of the region increased, in and around 1900, when homesteaders arrived. By 1911, the town's brief boom began to decline with the coming of railroads to central Oregon and the decline of sheep raising. Brief note about the town of and the man, Maupin: Howard Maupin’s grave in the Maupin Cemetery, which is located Maupin bears the name of one of the most celebrated of on the Friend family ranch in north Oregon pioneers. Beside being applied to the post Jefferson County, Oregon, is on private land and has two different office, the name is also used for several geographic local names. features in the central part of the state including two Maupin Buttes. Howard Maupin was born in Clay Co., Kentucky in 1815, and when he was about 15 years old moved to Missouri. He came to Oregon in 1863 and after spending a short time in the Willamette Valley, went to central Oregon. He first settled in Antelope Valley. Maupin established a stopping place for travelers and in 1871 was the first postmaster of the town of Antelope.

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