This presentation is an illustrated progra m on the development of early transportation of Central Oregon. The region was mostly isolated as only a few wagon roads entered into the interior o f Oregon until the 1880s. Most roads were relatively primitive and travel was adventuresome. First were freight and stage lines that challenged frei ghters and stage passengers over rough and sometimes harsh circumstances i n inclement weather. Often Central Oregon would become isolated when weath er made any travel nearly impossible.
\nOne of the largest stage lin es in the United States was established by George "Mac" Cornett that had l inks with most of the communities in the region. Freighters were the life blood of developing communities bringing important supplies needed by pion eer residents.
\nEarly automobile travel did not come to the region until 1905 and often roads made travel very difficult. Gradually the autom obile began to replace the horse and wagons and road systems began to impr ove but it was still a high adventure to travel the isolated back roads of the region.
\nThrough use of old photographs\, the audience will be able to see how early travelers braved the pioneer roads and methods of t ransportation. Over 100 vintage photos help reveal the hardships of early travel in the region.
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Presenter Biography:<
br />Steve grew up and attended schools in Crook County\, Oregon. He gradu
ated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science degree in hi
story and education in 1972. His early career was in fire management with
the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
Through the years Steve served as president of the Crook County Historical Society on two separate occasions and has been involved with local history. His inter est in how local places received their names became a passion of pursuit a nd he spent over ten years researching three volumes on Central Oregon Pla ce Names\, with the first volume on Crook County published in 2001 and vol ume two on Jefferson in 2008 and the final volume on Deschutes County in 2 015.
\nSteve also has re-photographed historical photos of Central O regon from private collections\, museums\, and other sources accumulating over 5000 historical photos. Additionally\, he presents historical program s to local schools and organizations\, develops\, coordinates and writes t our guide books for local historical tours and writes a weekly article for the \;Central Oregonian \;and \;Madras Pioneer \;newspapers on Central Oregon Historical Highlights. In 2001 Stev e received national recognition from the National Association for State an d Local History for his efforts in promoting local history. In 2015 he was honored by the Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) with a medal for Na tional Historical Preservation. He also is a member of the Western Writers of America.
\nAfter retirement from the Bureau of Land Management S teve became the Assistant Director of the Bowman Museum in Prineville in 2 002 and served as Bowman Museum Historian for 20 years. He retired from th e museum in April 2022. Current completed projects include publications of the photographic history of Prineville\, Madras and Crook County. He has also compiled historical articles he writes for local newspapers into thre e book volumes\, \;Islands in Time\, Pillars in Time \, \;and \;Monuments in Time. He is the editor of the Cro ok County Historical Society newsletter and of the annual history journal& nbsp\;Crook County Chronicles. Although retired he continues to v olunteer as historian on a regular basis at the Bowman Museum. He has a ne w book that was recently been published titled \;Prineville Past a nd Present \;and and is a photo history of early sites in Prinevi lle and contemporary photos showing what is there now.
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