Oregon's Sisters Country

292pp. Paperback. 1996, First edition.Includes the history and geology of Sisters and its vicinity, Camp Sherman, Metolius Valley and Black Butte Ranch. Over 250 photos, some in color.

From Part I
Imagine a geographical region that consists of glacier-clad peaks, extensive lava flows, colorful alpine meadows, pristine mountain streams, forested foothills and ridges, and plains that are dotted with junipers and sagebrush - all in an area of approximately 900 square miles. Within this area that at most 9,000 people call home, are hundreds of miles of hiking trails, innumerable lakes, one of the most famous fly-fishing streams in the West, an easily accessible winter sports area, forested trails for mountain biking, and a first-class resort that includes two golf courses. Welcome to Oregon's Sisters Country. ... Despite the overall sparse population, Oregon's Sisters Country is not without its history. Indians trekked through the region in their quest for food and for obsidian as material to fashion tools. Wagon roads, following Indian trails, traversed parts of the Sisters Country. In the early to mid-nineteenth century, explorers such as Peter Skene Ogden, Captain John C. Fremont, and Lieutenant Henry Larcom Abbot explored and described parts of the region. Later in the nineteenth century, pioneers crossed the Cascades and settled parts of Central Oregon. In time, the McKenzie and Santiam Passes became the "front doors" to the Sisters Country, as people from the more densely populated Willamette Valley traversed the mountains and established homesteads. The history of the Sisters Country must include discussion of the economic development of the region's resources.