Last updated: January 22, 2022
Place
Impact of Time
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Cant Ranch Historic District
Significance:
John Day Fossil Beds preserves both scientific and cultural resources.
Silent testimony to the impact of time, the shearing shed was built after a road through Picture Gorge made it possible to move wool out of this canyon. During the early years, in April, bands of sheep were trailed around Picture Gorge to a ranch near Dayville to be sheared. By 1946, falling wool prices together with the difficulty of locating skilled sheep herders led to many ranchers switching to cattle.
By 1965, the Cants were producing about six hundred head of cattle annually and only a small flock of sheep were left. Jim Cant Jr. and his wife Freda operated the ranch until 1975 when the National Park Service purchased the ranch house and 878 acres to be incorporated into John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Descendents of the Cants continue to ranch the 6,000 acres surrounding the National Monument land.
Sheep and cattle have been replaced by sweeping lawns, trails and visitors. Dust and the tangy odors of livestock no longer hang in the air. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the turn of the century ranch house is home to a cultural history museum open select summer days and serves as headquarters for John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
Paleontologists and geologists have visited this area for more than 150 years to collect fossils and study the geology. Recognition of the area's significance led to President Gerald Ford authorizing the new monument on October 26, 1974. Three state parks formed the core of the new monument unique for the diversity of fossils and the nearly continuous record of rocks over a broad span of time. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument was formally established in 1975 consisting of three widely separated areas: the Clarno Unit, Painted Hills Unit, and Sheep Rock Unit.
Serving a mission of protection, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument preserves and provides for the scientific and public understanding of the paleontological resources of the John Day region, as well as the natural, scenic, and cultural resources within the boundaries of the National Monument.
By 1965, the Cants were producing about six hundred head of cattle annually and only a small flock of sheep were left. Jim Cant Jr. and his wife Freda operated the ranch until 1975 when the National Park Service purchased the ranch house and 878 acres to be incorporated into John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Descendents of the Cants continue to ranch the 6,000 acres surrounding the National Monument land.
Sheep and cattle have been replaced by sweeping lawns, trails and visitors. Dust and the tangy odors of livestock no longer hang in the air. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the turn of the century ranch house is home to a cultural history museum open select summer days and serves as headquarters for John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
Paleontologists and geologists have visited this area for more than 150 years to collect fossils and study the geology. Recognition of the area's significance led to President Gerald Ford authorizing the new monument on October 26, 1974. Three state parks formed the core of the new monument unique for the diversity of fossils and the nearly continuous record of rocks over a broad span of time. John Day Fossil Beds National Monument was formally established in 1975 consisting of three widely separated areas: the Clarno Unit, Painted Hills Unit, and Sheep Rock Unit.
Serving a mission of protection, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument preserves and provides for the scientific and public understanding of the paleontological resources of the John Day region, as well as the natural, scenic, and cultural resources within the boundaries of the National Monument.