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http://www.omniture.com --> Email Story to a Friend June 26, 2006 History of the Givan Ranch By JENNIFER STRANGE for the Mail Tribune The Givan Ranch dates to 1879, when Iowans Lindsay and Martha Givan and their family moved West and settled into a log home on 306 acres of conifer-covered farmland that fronted the Rogue River northeast of Eagle Point. The Givans' son, George Alexander, married Katherine Johanna Young in 1890. Katherine was the daughter of Nicholas and Wilhemena S. Young, who are known for having opened the first trading post in Jackson County. The Youngs had moved here from San Francisco, where Nicholas owned a pack train that hauled freight to Jacksonville. George and Katherine lived on Long Mountain Road for 13 years before they relocated to Givan Ranch. Father and son cleared an estimated 200 acres of oak and pine trees, using nothing but their hands, some crude equipment and horses. They built a small barn in 1903. Then they planted a "general farm." "Of course in them days they planted corn, they planted oats, barley ... those were the main ones," their grandson Charles Givan told local historians during taped conversations in 1975 and 1976, when he was 84 and 85 years old. Most of the grains were fed to the hogs and cattle, but sometimes they would be given or sold to neighbors for seed or taken to the Eagle Creek mill to be turned into flour. While the men were in the fields, Katherine tended a large vegetable garden, which fed her growing family. To house the couple and their four children, a main house was built about 1920. The only daughter, Fay, eventually left the farm, attended college, married and moved to Idaho. But the three boys, Charles, Dewey and Tommy, never married, choosing instead to work the ranch with their father. In those days, school was held only during non-farming season. Charles and his siblings walked the three miles to Eagle Point grade school and high school. "They only had three months a year sometimes," his son said. "When they had more money, they'd have three months in the spring and three months in the fall." It took the family 20 years to extend their irrigation ditch from near where Dodge Bridge crosses the Rogue River to their ranch. While clearing the land, the boys found Indian artifacts such as arrowheads, mortars and pestles. They were likely from the Klamath Indians, who would still come to the river during the fall salmon spawning season for their food when he was a boy, Charles Givan said. The three brothers continued to farm the land until one by one, they passed away until only Charles was left. Having no heirs, he decided to sell the property to the Jackson County Parks Department in 1977, making it clear that he wanted Givan Ranch to be turned into a park. The county took control of the property upon Givan's death in 1986. Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations --> online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Entertainment Guide --> Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Casino Reviews