Owyhee Mystery Homestead

Sunday February 19 2012

Far down a dirt back road off a gravel back road at the foot of the Owyhee mountains, hidden back in a fold of hills on a sometimes-dry, sometimes-flowing creek, lie the remains of an old… something. You wouldn't know anything is there back off the road but for the Lombardy poplars, (also known as 'Mormon poplars', as the fast growing species was popular with Mormon settlers) which are almost always markers of old homesteads out here in the Owyhee desert.

I've heard it called a stage stop; but after finding nothing referring to a stage stop in that area, and after a lot of snooping on maps and the internet and in books, I suspect it might have been an old homestead belonging to Tommy Doyle, "an early day horseman who lived in the vicinity," according to Helen Netteton's "Sketches of Owyhee County" book. Doyle Mountain is nearby, which must be named for him.

There's a "Thomas Doyle, rancher," listed in the "1898 Directory of residents and businesses" of Owyhee County. His name is not found in any Owyhee Avalanche newspapers between 1865 and 1905… perhaps that means he was too busy ranching and horsing around (literally) to be involved in any scandals or great deeds or anything in between.

But "early day horseman" sounds intriguing. I've been unable to find anything else so far on this Tommy Doyle. Now I'm on a mission.

Owyhee: Castle Creek Canyon Trail

Monday August 31 2009

Another gorgeous day of exploring the Owyhee desert on horseback, with Jose getting to escort two of his ladies up Castle Creek Canyon.

Starting in the Owyhee Mountain foothills, we rode along an old road beside the creek - possibly originally built by miners 150 years ago, or at least in the 1950's by homesteaders on the creek. We know it's at least as early as the 1950's, because we rode by an old rusted-out 1950's Buick, overgrown with weeds and sagebrush.


There are remnants of a couple of mines, and several homestead sites, some with wooden cabins or parts of them still standing, some with stone ruins.




The leftover irrigation canals are still evident, all of them likely dug with a fresno scraper (invented 1883, a blade that scooped up the soil and deposited it on the side as it went along) and mule. There is still a live orchard (plums, apples), an old berry patch, a cemetery, and a few scattered poplar trees, which were popular among homesteaders.

It really made you think of those people who chose to eke out a living here in the middle of nowhere. It was an easy 7-mile ride for us up the canyon - after we hauled 11 miles to get to our starting point - and we hauled from Oreana, which really still is in the middle of nowhere. Back in the old days you wouldn't ride to the nearest town every day for a latte, and you wouldn't drive your wagon every week to the nearest town for a bag of groceries or a newspaper.


We found it quite beautiful - another hidden surprise in the high desert - a trail for recreation now. Wonder what the people who lived here a hundred years ago thought of it?


More photos of our Castle Creek Canyon ride at www.endurance.net/merri