Early history Native Americans used the Catlow Valley for thousands of years before the first European explorers arrived. The valley has a number of
petroglyph sites. Some of these petroglyphs may be up to 12,000 years old. When he first excavated Catlow Cave in 1934, archaeologist
Luther S. Cressman found evidence of Native American habitation dating back to the
Paleo-Indian period (8,000 to 12,000 years ago) as well as artifacts from the
Early Archaic period (6,000 to 8,000 years ago). Cressman identified four rock fire pits and other housekeeping features within Catlow Cave. Later excavations found
stone tools,
baskets, woven mats,
sandals, rope, and fragments of leather. The Skull Creek dunes are another archaeological site that provides evidence of early Native American habitation in the Catlow Valley. That site documents at least 8,000 years of occupation. Prior to the arrival of white settlers, the Catlow Valley area was occupied by the
Northern Paiute people. In 1864, Lieutenant Colonel
Charles S. Drew of the
1st Oregon Cavalry passed just south of the Catlow Valley while on a long-range reconnaissance patrol for the
United States Army. Drew named Beatys Butte in honor of Sergeant A. M. Beaty, one of the
noncommissioned officers in his party. In 1865, the United States Army decided that it needed a fort in southeastern Oregon to facilitate the interdiction of Indian raiding parties passing through the area. In 1866, a detachment from
Fort Boise was sent to establish the fort. The soldiers arrived on the east side of Warner Valley in late summer. Unable to cross the valley's long chain of lakes and marshes, the soldiers built a winter camp on the east slope of Hart Mountain, overlooking the Catlow Valley. This outpost was called
Camp Warner (later known as Old Camp Warner). The camp was sited poorly, and the men had a very difficult winter. In February 1867, General
George Crook visited the outpost. Citing the camp's poor location, Crook ordered that the post be moved to the west side of the Warner Valley. When the new camp was finished in July 1867, Old Camp Warner was abandoned. Today, all that remains of Old Camp Warner is two military graves. In 1865, the
United States Congress authorized the construction of the
Oregon Central Military Wagon Road from
Eugene, Oregon, to Fort Boise in
Idaho. Congress allowed the construction company to claim three sections of land for every mile of road built. As a result, road surveyors laid out a route designed to pass through as much well-watered land as possible. The route of the military road came through the Warner Valley, passed south of Hart Mountain through what is today the
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, and then east through the Catlow Valley. However, the road was little more than a trail, and it was rarely used. Cattle ranchers began using the Catlow Valley in the latter part of the 19th century. The first to arrive was
Peter French in 1872, locating one of his five ranches in the valley. Another cattle rancher, John Catlow, followed in 1874. Catlow never owned land in the valley, but he grazed cattle there in the mid-1870s.
David Shirk, one of Catlow's foremen, named the valley after his boss. Shirk was soon joined by his brother, William. In 1876, the two Shirk brothers established a ranch in the Catlow Valley, near water sources around Home and Threemile creeks. This put the Shirk brothers at odds with French, who already controlled much the valley's water. In 1889, David Shirk killed one of French's ranch hands in a dispute over water rights. While a jury decided it was self-defense, the Shirk brothers moved their main ranch to a location south of Beatys Butte to minimize future conflict with French and his employees.
20th century In the early 1900s, a surge of dry-land farmers arrived in the Catlow Valley. They were drawn by the prospect of free land offered by the
federal government's Homestead Act. People's interest in the area was increased by newspaper articles promising that a railroad would soon be built through the valley. By 1916, there were over 700 settlers living in the Catlow Valley. To support these settlers, small unincorporated communities were established across the valley. These sites included Beckley, Delaine, Catlow, Berdugeo, Sageview, Tiara, and
Blitzen. Most of these sites were little more than a
general store with an attached
post office. Beckley was founded in 1911 as a single store. A post office was added the following year. The Beckley post office remained open for 14 years, closing in 1926. Delaine was located at the west edge of the valley on a lower slope of Hart Mountain, in
Lake County. Its post office was opened in 1912, then closed exactly one year later. The Catlow post office was opened in 1914 and remained open until 1923. Sageview was located on the west side of the valley. A post office was the only building at the site. The post office was opened in 1916 and closed in 1918. The Tiara post office was open from May 1916 to January 1917. The largest and oldest community in the Catlow Valley was
Blitzen. Its post office was opened in 1916. However, there were only three families left in Blitzen in 1924. By 1928, there were fewer than 100 people living in the entire valley. The Blitzen post office continued to operate as a small rural delivery site until it was closed in 1943. Today, there is no evidence of habitation at any of these sites except at the
ghost town of Blitzen, where there are still a few deteriorated buildings at the town site. == Human activity ==