Basque History on Steens Mountain - Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Marker Name: Basque History on Steens Mountain
Marker Text: Basque people come from a small region straddling the Pyrenees Mountains in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. Their language is unique in the world and thought to be at least 5000 years old. Their culture is possibly the oldest in Europe. Basque people came to the New World with Columbus in 1492 and are said to have made up at least half of his crew. The first wave of Basque immigrants to the western United States came in 1848 during the California Gold Rush. Many stayed on after the Gold Rush to run flocks of sheep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
In the late 1800’s Basque people moved into southeastern Oregon, many as sheepherders and ranch hands. Beginning in the spring, after lambing, the sheep would move off their winter pastures and work their way up the Steens as the snow melted and the grass began to grow. The herders would tend their flocks along with the help of trained dogs. A solitary life, many sheepherders did not see another human soul except when the camp tender periodically delivered food supplies. At the end of summer the flocks were herded down the mountain to various shipping points, where many of the lambs were sent to market.

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