A ranch in distant Wheeler County, Oregon, larger than Bend and owned for a century by the well-known Steiwer family of legislators, bankers, and cattlemen, is up for sale.
The more than 37-square-mile Steiwer Ranch, currently known as the Stanley Ranch, is being offered for $34,950,000.
According to selling agent Ryland Moore of Live Water Properties, this is only the second time in over 120 years that one of the most varied ranches in the Western United States has been up for sale.
According to Moore, the ranch is for someone who wants everything, including a large party saloon, a helicopter hangar, and a livestock enterprise. According to him, horseback riders who explore the property’s equestrian trails can go for days without setting foot on the same spot twice.
Niche buyers have already expressed interest in Moore: According to Moore, who cited businessmen like Ted Turner and others on the Top 100 Landowners report, ultra-affluent families are dedicated to reclaiming ranches to their original borders as a labor of love and a legacy project that incorporates conservation measures.
Moore told The Oregonian/OregonLive, “It’s pretty unique that you can find this large landscape-scale piece of land in one transaction at this low price per acre.”
According to Moore, the new Stanley Ranch owner has authority over nearly a whole watershed, including various biomes that are home to a wide range of plant and animal species, as well as the headwaters and springs that lead to the John Day River. This is it, he continued, a well-managed piece of land, not a checkerboard of different sites, when you talk about broad, unbroken landscape-scale holdings.
Since the 34,000-acre ranch was last sold in 1999, the current owner has sold off almost 10,000 acres and made improvements to the 24,020 contiguous acres that are up for sale, including conservation and soil and water restoration initiatives.
According to Moore’s real estate description, the Stanley Ranch is a genuine Western gem that offers a remarkable fusion of history, scenic beauty, amazing recreation, and a variety of geological land features.
Most importantly, ancient rock art and pictographs carved into concealed cave walls and along basalt cliffs have been conserved on the private property. While such sites are frequent from the Dalles to the Tri Cities and south to Bend, archeologist James Keyser, who studied the art, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the two art rock sites on the Steiwer Ranch are clean and undamaged, and they are among the largest known.
In addition to the potential revenue from a 3,800-acre cattle grazing lease on federally controlled Bureau of Land Management land along the John Day River, the farm can sustain up to 600 mother cows annually and has roughly 250 acres of irrigation with water rights that date back to the 1880s, Moore said.
With elevations ranging from 1,100 to 3,900 feet and 26 miles of rivers and streams, Moore refers to the property’s “richly diverse landscape scale,” meaning that wildlife habitats flourish among the many terrains.
Additionally, the site is being promoted as a hunting and fishing haven.
The ranch, which is two hours’ drive from downtown Bend, features a 2,800-square-foot main house, an 800-square-foot bunkhouse, and many spike camp cottages.
Highlights for entertainment include a theater, a 3,600-square-foot bar, and an oxygenated pond near a gazebo where guests may swim, fish, or just unwind by the fire, according to Moore.
Ranch equipment and furniture are included in the transaction.
According to Moore, outbuildings include a ranch museum, well-maintained stores and barns for hay, toys, equipment, and an indoor horse racing arena.
To expand the holdings to 32,710 contiguous acres, more miles along the John Day River, a riverfront home, and other residences, two nearby properties, the 5,430-acre R&C Ranch ($4,950,000) and the 3,246-acre Seven Springs Ranch on Butte Creek ($2.4 million), which are owned by people other than the Stanley Ranch seller, can also be purchased.
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Janet Eastman writes on trends and design. You can follow her on X@janeteastman and contact her at 503-294-4072 and [email protected].
