Osborn Springs

Osborn Springs
Location	CRNG, OCHOCO NF
Tree Count	3
Species	3 apple
Varieties	2 identified

The Osborn Springs orchard contains 3 documented heritage fruit trees.

History

Homestead Origins

The Osborn Springs site is named after George Henry Osborn (1852-1940), one of the earliest settlers in the Haystack area of what is now Jefferson County, Oregon.

George Osborn was born in DeKalb County, Missouri. His family moved to Kansas when he was a boy, and in 1872 he came west to California by emigrant train, eventually drifting north to the Goose Lake area of Oregon where he worked on his uncle's ranch. While visiting the Willamette Valley near Sheridan, he met Martha Ellen Rogers, and they married on November 7, 1877.

Martha's father, Green Clark Rogers, had established a homestead at the Cove on the Crooked River. George and Martha Osborn followed in October 1879, crossing the Cascade Mountains in 15 days. They lived in the Grizzly area until February 1880, then moved to the Cove.

Discovery of the Springs

In 1880, George Osborn discovered an abundant spring near Haystack Butte and filed a homestead claim at The Dalles land office. The Osborns built a home at the site and raised 10 children on their homestead.

The location of the spring made this an ideal homestead site in the semi-arid high desert of Central Oregon. Like other homesteaders in the area, the Osborns likely planted an orchard to provide fruit for their large family.

Connection to the McCoin Family

The Osborn family was closely connected to the McCoin family, whose nearby orchard is one of the largest surviving heritage orchards on the Crooked River National Grassland. Sarah Frances Osborn (1855-1888), whose maiden name was Osborn, married Julius Spate McCoin. Historical records indicate that the McCoins "stayed on a homestead owned by Sarah's older brother" in the Haystack community before establishing their own homestead on Gray Butte in 1886. This older brother was likely George Henry Osborn or another member of the extended Osborn family.

The Osborn and McCoin families were thus among the pioneering families who settled the Gray Butte and Haystack area in the early 1880s.

Abandonment and Later History

George and Martha Osborn operated their ranch until 1920, when they turned over operations to their son and moved to the Portland area. The original Osborn homestead site near Haystack Butte was sold to the Resettlement Administration in the 1930s, after the death of their son Robert. Like other homesteads in the area, the buildings were demolished as part of the federal program that consolidated failed homesteads into what became the Crooked River National Grassland.

George Osborn died in Portland in 1940, and Martha in 1944. Their names have been preserved on several geographic features in the area, including Osborn Springs.

2024 Survey and Preservation

During the summer of 2024, Forest Service personnel conducted a comprehensive survey of all known homestead-era orchards on the Crooked River National Grassland. The survey assessed tree conditions, documented surviving trees, and collected GPS coordinates for spatial mapping.

The Osborn Springs site was found to contain 3 surviving apple trees, all in good condition. DNA samples were collected from the trees to determine their varieties as part of ongoing efforts to document and preserve these heritage fruit trees.

Trees Identified

• Tree 111 - Monmouth Pippin (tentative), 35 feet tall, good condition
• Tree 112 - Unique variety (DNA shows possible relationships to Drap d'Or de Bretagna, Twenty Ounce, Red Astrachan, Jefferis, and Boiken), 35 feet tall, good condition
• Tree 113 - Stark, 35 feet tall, good condition, fruit observed developing in 2024

All three trees have been selected for preservation at the Clarno Apple Arboretum in 2025.

Sources: "Osborn was an early Cove and Haystack area settler," Madras Pioneer; "Family pioneers in areas of the Cove, Haystack," Madras Pioneer; Find a Grave records; CRNG Fruit Orchard Survey 2024 Summary; DNA analysis results from USDA-ARS-AFRS

Primary Sources

The following historical documents are available:

• Legacy orchard map (2001)

Orchard Map

Condition	Count
Good	3
Fair	0
Poor	0
Dead	0
Total	3

Trees

• Tree #111- Monmouth Pippin(good)
• Tree #112- Unique Trees(good)
• Tree #113- Stark(good)

Varieties

• Monmouth Pippin
• Stark

Historical Documents

• Duane Ecker Field Notes (2001)

See also: Document Archive

Maps

File:Osborn Spring Map GoogEarth.pdf