Wheat Harvesting, Sherman County, c. 1895
An Introduction
To the Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program
The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program was founded in 1958 to recognize the state's agricultural heritage and to honor farm and ranch families that have century-long connections to the land. The Oregon Historical Society founded the program as a prelude to Oregon's statehood centennial celebration in 1959; the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon State Fair Commission were founding co-sponsors. “Agriculture is Oregon’s oldest basic industry,” OHS Director Thomas Vaughn and ODA Director Robert Steward explained in 1958. “The approach of the state’s 100th anniversary is a fitting time to start paying tribute to those who have stayed with the soil generation after generation.”
Over A Century
Of Toiling and Tilling in Oregon
From the Archives
The Century Farm & Ranch Program Database
The database is managed by Oregon State Libraries and the Institute for Natural Resources and is free and open to the public. The site is searchable and contains information gathered from the applications that have been submitted and approved for designation as Century or Sesquicentennial farms and ranches. Digitized records may be viewed at Oregon Digital, a collaborative digital project created by Oregon State University and University of Oregon Libraries.
