Focus on the Farm – Bill Hanley “Feelin’ Fine!”
By Pamela Sasseen, Hanley Farm Volunteer
“As a boy in the early 1870’s, William Hanley, known today as ‘the sage of Harney County,’ struck out for himself from his father’s ranch…Just a boy…’Riding the range and raising cattle, listening in the stillness as I rode along – that’s been life, mostly, as I have lived it.’ ” So begins Anne Shannon Monroe’s 1930 account of Bill Hanley’s autobiographical memoir, Feelin’ Fine!
William Hanley
William “Bill” Hanley must have had much of his father’s, Michael Hanley’s, pioneering spirit in him. He and his brother, John, left the Hanley home in 1879 (Bill would’ve been 18 years old at the time), hoping, as their father had advised them, “…to find a good valley with water, and to hold on to it.” Bill and John purchased land near Burns, Oregon, and were later joined by their younger brother, Ed. When John sold his holdings and returned to the Rogue Valley, and Ed “…headed north to Alaska during the Yukon gold rush,” Bill remained. In 1903 he purchased the Double-O Ranch, near Harney Lake, which he turned into one of Harney County’s largest cattle ranches. In 1913, the New York Times reported that “…Hanley’s cattle operation covered 200,000 acres.”
The Double-O was one of five ranches that Hanley operated. The Bell-A Ranch, encompassing 6,700 acres East of Burns, was considered to be one of the “…finest in the Western United States.” While Bill and his wife, Clara, entertained many a guest at their Bell-A ranch, it was the rustic Double-O ranch (with over 17,000 acres) where Bill took his guests to enjoy the outdoors. Bill was a strong advocate of wildlife conservation, and the Double-O Ranch was a conservationist’s dream, housing deer, antelope, beaver, and countless bird species. In fact, it’s said that “…some geese were so sure of being fed at the ranch, that they made their appetites known by attacking the cookhouse with their wings until grain was put out for them.” To promote his land interests and encourage the development of Harney County, he established the Harney Valley Improvement Company.
Beautiful Hanley Farm
Bill, an advocate of progressive government, and a member of the Bull Moose progressive party, was their candidate for a United States Senate seat from Oregon; he finished third in the five-person race. He also ran, unsuccessfully, for the Governor of Oregon. Known as the Sage of Harney County, and as a “…progressive thinker and homespun philosopher…” he died in 1935, while visiting the Pendleton Round-Up to celebrate ‘Bill Hanley Day.’ ”
I haven’t read all of his “Feelin’Fine!” But, being a reader who generally starts at the back of a book (hey, there are lots of readers who do this!), I was intrigued by his final words, “…Well, each life is only a little spot in time. And there is no death. Nothing can be lost – it only changes…It’s just another season. The winter has passed, the water has run, the grass is coming…Feelin’ fine!’ ”
So, I’m going to curl up in my warm jammies in front of the fire, and read the rest of the book. Bill Hanley sounds like he would have been an exciting guy to know! Guess I’ll get know him better as I finish his book.
Mysteries in Our Backyard!
The Rogue Valley Genealogical Society (RVGS), Southern Oregon Historical Society (SOHS) and Jackson County Heritage Association (JCHA) thank you all for your participation in “Mysteries in Our Backyard!”. It’s been great fun!
May 19, 9:30am to 11:00am
Join us and our guest speaker, Dennis Powers, noted author of several fiction and non-fiction books, which includes The Raging Sea, an account of the 1964 Alaskan earthquake that triggered the devastating tsunami that hit the Southern Oregon and Northern California coastlines. Share the answers, and the interesting finds, you’ve discovered in your quest to uncover the answers to the Mysteries in our Backyard!
Medford Library, Adams Room
205 S. Central Avenue, Medford
RVGS 541-512-2340; SOHS 541-858-1724
For more information about Hanley Farm or upcoming events, call us at 541-773-2675; e-mail us at hanleyfarm@sohs.org; visit us on-line at www.sohs.org/properties/hanley-farm; or check out our Hanley Farm Facebook page!
Hanley Farm, owned and operated by the Southern Oregon Historical Society, is located at 1053 Hanley Road, between Jacksonville and Central Point.