Harry Heising

copyright Guy Swanson

Harry Heising, his brother Dorsey and their mother arrived in Shaniko some time in Septerber of 1902.   The boys' father, Dan Heising, had preceded them joined them at the Prineville Hotel.   Traveling on to Bend Dan built the home where they lived for three years before moving on to Tumalo to establish a farm based on the Homestead Act.

One day Dan took his son up to the headwaters of the Metolius for a day of fishing.  When he discovered that the Bamford place was for sale, he immediately sold the Tumalo farm and bought the acerage along the river.  Dan then opened the first fishing lodge in the area that would be called Camp Sherman.

Harry began his serious work-life at ten years old, driving a freight wagon from Bend to the railhead at Shaniko. “In June of 1908 we went fishing on the Metolius and my father saw a place he liked.”   Lee Cover was ready to sell his land and Dan bought it to open the first resort on the Metolius.    He owned it until 1930.

This was how Camp Sherman got it's name. Back about 1912 wheat farmers from Sherman County started to vacations there, following a route marked by license plates nailed to fenceposts.

Harry started a a family with Vesta Heising in 1917 and helped build the log schoolhouse in Camp Sherman where his son, Dick Heising, attended first grade.

Nick lambert, who arrived in either 1882 or 1887 lived at the west end of Big Canyon.  Over the next 30 years he built his herd to a sizable number and his holdings to 4500 acres.

By that time Harry was one of the three biggest ranchers in the area and, in the spring of 1930, bought the River Ranch from Nick.  He added to it until he owned 6,000 acres. This was on the point between the Metolius and Deschutes rivers and he named it the Three Rivers Ranch.

Around 1920 Harry moved his family to old Allingham place at the base of what is now Indian Island.

In 1951 Heising sold the Three Rivers Ranch, which was by then 11,000 acres.   Bob Monical was another rancher who lived in Big Canyon and they both left for Canada to start another ranch.

Harry Heiding passed away at one hundred years old in Portland.

(source: Jefferson County Remerbrances)