Founding of Bend

Founding of Bend. . Covered wagons poured into the Willamette Valley for over a quarter of a century before Euro-American settlers arrived here in great numbers. Alexander M. Drake, who arrived at the spot in 1900, was one of the first to realize the high prospects of Central Oregon. At the time only 21 people lived in the area. , Drake, and investor from Michigan, purchased the Staats Ranch, and platted the future town of Bend within a year. , Real estate continued to boom with speculation of a railroad connected and the establishment of several large lumber mills. Investors from as far away as Dayton, Ohio began buying property sight unseen. During a ten day period in 1909, the Hunter and Start Realty Company sold 50 lots to one person. A year latter, over $80,000 in real estate transactions occurred in one month ($1.7 million in 2016 dollars). , Upon completion of an irrigation system in 1904, development in the area in 1904, development in the area occurred rapidly. By 1905. the City of Bend was incorporated with a population of abut 250 people and over 80 buildings valued at $75,000. Electricity lit the city in 1910, setting the stage for the Bend we know today. , "And before us is a river, in the midst of a natural park, with snow capped mountains shining in almost constant sunlight, with air like wine, three thousand six hundred feet above sea level is Bend. Surrounding them, the wheat lands of Minnesota. Before us, the pine lands of Michigan and the power of Niagara. On all sides of us, the scenery of Switzerland. In the center of this setting a town, having the altitude of Colorado, the cool summers of Seattle, and a winter climate unlike any other in the world - almost snowless, with clear cool nights and sunny days too warm for furs. Just think of being able to say these things truthfully about any town. It seems as if we were about to enter an immense city instead of a village of six hundred people." -- The Bend Book, 1911