The first post office in Bend was established in 1886 and located in a cabin owned by a man named John Sisemore, who was the first postmaster. Over the next few decades, the post office relocated a number of times. The city grew as well and it became clear by 1915 that a new, larger post office building was needed. Progress on the building was delayed initially by World War I and then it took until 1932 for the project to finally get underway (the Great Depression pushed it back further). The post office was erected as a result of the Public Building Act of 1926, which led to the construction of many public buildings around the country. The post office was completed in June 1933 and it operated until 1983. Today, it is the home of the Bend Chamber of Commerce.

The Old Post Office building was erected in 1933 and served the community for 53 years. 

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Old Post Office

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Built in 1933, the Old U.S. Post Office in downtown Bend is significant for its architecture, its association with the Publics Building Program (a Great Depression-era jobs program), and its decades-long use as as a post office. In terms of design, the building is a good example of Classical architecture adapted for modern terms. It was also the first building in the city erected with reinforced concrete. Notable features include terra cotta decorations, fluted Doric pilasters (columns), and the words "United States Post Office" in gold leaf. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. 

Old U.S. Post Office

This short drive connects historic landmarks in two central Oregon communities, starting with the New Redmond Hotel and other landmarks in Redmond and concluding with the Des Chutes Historical Museum and High Desert Museum just south of Bend.

The congregation that occupied the church was established in 1906. Church services were initially held in one of the parishioner's homes and then in a hall on the second floor of a food store. Over the next several years, the congregation grew and used a number of other location to hold services. Finally, the church bought property where the church building now stands in 1910. Construction got underway in July 1911 and the church was completed the next year. In 1929 the congregation merged with First Methodist Church, which was struggling financially. In the coming years, the congregation grew as did Redmond's population. By 1939 there were 67 members; in 1942 there were 118. The church was modernized the next year and an educational wing and fellowship hall was built built in 1950. The congregation moved to a new building in 1979 and the old church was vacant for the next seven years. A new congregation, the Faith Family Fellowship, occupied it for three years. In 1992, it became home to dance school, which operated until 2003. It was later used a wedding and event venue before becoming the restaurant in 2017.

Built in 1912, the First Presbyterian Church of Redmond holds significance as the oldest church building in Redmond and the second oldest in Deschutes County. It is also significant for its Gothic Revival architecture. Notable features include multi-gabled roofs, pointed Gothic arch windows, a steeple with a belfry (which appears to house the original bell), and Queen Anne-style elements such as exposed rafters, and decorative woodwork. The old church is now home to a restaurant. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. 

First Presbyterian Church of Redmond

William and Fanny Wilson arrived in Redmond in 1905. Both people were from Alaska where they equipped and financed gold prospectors. It is unclear why they settled here in Redmond, but they soon became prominent proponents of the city and it is believed that they even supported Redmond financially during the Great Depression. Construction of their hotel began in August 1927 and was completed in July the next year. The hotel hosted a large grand opening banquet with 350 guests who could take tours of the rooms. The hotel became an important gathering place for the community and contributed to the city's economic stability for many years. It was called the New Redmond Hotel, because it replaced the first hotel of the same name, which was constructed in 1906 and burned down in a fire in 1927.The Redmond Hotel became a hot spot for travelers passing through Central Oregon. The hotel has had no other purposes besides being a hotel. However, it served temporary purposes like being a temporary home building for the Chamber of Commerce and a bus station since it was located on Highway 97. It is an example that is still alive in Oregon today and one of the few historical places of Georgian architecture. Because of the importance to Redmond history, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.The New Redmond Hotel operated for several decades until 2004. It appears it remained unused until the current owners bought it in 2017. After two years of renovation, the SCP Hotel Redmond opened in December 2019. SCP stands for "soul, community, and planet," which reflects the new owner's philosophy of promoting social and personal wellness and environmental sustainability. Despite being under a different name, the hotel is still an important landmark in the town’s history.

Built in 1928, the historic New Redmond Hotel building is one of Redmond's most recognized landmarks. It was built by William and Fanny Wilson, who were both originally from Alaska. Hugh Redmond is believed to be the one to have designed the building, which is a good example of a toned down version of the Georgian architectural style. The three-story building features a red-brick facade; a main entrance with a large round arch, windows (one under the arch and two on each side) with elliptical motifs; and a curvilinear parapet at the top of the wall above the entrance. A few businesses occupy the first floor of this hotel. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

New Redmond Hotel

Milton Odem was born in 1906 in Oklahoma but spent most of his childhood in Idaho. He got married in 1923 and then, it appears, moved with his new wife, Flossie (it's also spelled as Fossie), to Redmond that year. They bought the Highway Theater, which was housed in the Atkinson Building (next to the historic New Redmond Hotel building) around this time and eventually changed its name to The Mayfair. They opened another theater called The Odem in 1937, which is now a restaurant called the Odem Theater Pub. The Odem was designed in the Streamline Moderne style and Odem liked it so much that he chose the style for his house, which as noted above, was erected in 1937. The Odems added another theater in 1952 called the Odem-Medo Drive Inn. They sold the theaters in 1959 but Odem did co-establish a used car dealership.In addition to his business interests, Odem was also involved in the community. He served as a member of the Redmond Airport Commission and also served on the City Council and the Redmond City Planning Commission. He was a member of the Redmond Kiwanis Club, the local American Legion post, and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army signal corps in New Guinea. In his later years, Odem was the director of the Bank of Central Oregon and a board member of the Central Oregon Electric Cooperative. He died in 1963 two days after he was badly injured when a horse he was riding rolled on top of him.

The Milton Odem House is one of the most unique homes in Redmond, and historically significant for its Streamlined Moderne architecture, which is typically used for commercial buildings and is rare in central Oregon. The home was built by its namesake and local theater operator, Milton Odem, in 1937. The house features typical elements of the Streamline Modern style such as stucco walls, a flat roof, horizontal lines, and a curved overhanging eave on the northeast and north side. It remains a private home today and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Milton Odem House

Ramus Petersen was born in Denmark in 1883 and immigrated to America in 1901 when he was 18 (one of his brothers came as well). He enrolled in the Nysted Folk School, a Danish-American school that was located in Nebraska. Four years later, Petersen acquired a homestead (where the rock garden is now) and started farming. He became successful, raising various types of crops and livestock, and expanded his property to three times its initial size to 256 acres. His stature in the community grew as well. He co-founded a community hall and local grange was a member of several boards. Petersen started collecting rocks and building the garden in 1935. In the coming years he also began to sell off his land and only had twelve acres by the early 1940s. Almost immediately people began to visit the garden; in 1938, over 7,000 people visited. He built the museum building in 1941, which houses the geodes, semi-precious stones, minerals and other specimens Petersen collected, including a 500-pound quartz crystal from Arkansas. Petersen expanded the garden until he passed away in 1952. His grandchildren have continued to operate the garden but in recent years it has fallen on hard times and is in need of repair.

Petersen Rock Garden is a historic roadside tourist attraction and museum between Redmond and Deschutes. It is named after its creator, Rasmus Petersen (1883-1952), who was farmer, master craftsman, and a native of Denmark. The site consists of several sculptures, replica buildings, and bridges made out of rocks, shells, glass, obsidian and petrified wood that Petersen started building when he was 52 (he also collected minerals, fossils, geodes, crystals, and semi-precious stones). These structures are fine examples of art and landscape architecture, combining European, American, and vernacular folk art traditions. For this reason the garden was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. Highlights of the site include a replica Statue of Liberty and a U.S. Capitol building. 

Petersen Rock Garden

Charles Boyd was born in Ontario, Canada in 1863. He arrived in Michigan in the 1870s and then made his way to Philipsburg, Montana in 1883, where he started a meat-supply business with his brother, William. Ten years later he married his wife Anna, with whom he had five children. Boyd became a respected citizen and served two terms as mayor. Seeking new business opportunities, he left Philipsburg in 1904 and settled at a location along the Deschutes River close to rapids. Over time, he developed the ranch. He built a partial dam and powerhouse, the corrals, feedlots, slaughterhouse, ice house (he cut large blocks of ice from Swalley Pond or ice caves in the area), barn, and hay shed. As noted above, Boyd supplied meat throughout the area. He earned a good reputation by maintaining the temperature of the meat, which he accomplished by transporting it at night. In this way, Boyd provided a critical service, especially to the logging camps which were very important to the economy and a large source of his income.Boyd's success ended when the Great Depression began. The demand for lumber decreased significantly, which meant that the area logging camps near Bend stopped contracting with him. Competition from chain stores contributed to the decline of the business as well. Boyd passed away in 1933. The ranch stayed in the family until 1978. Where the three buildings are now was part of the original ranch and close to where the Swalley Pond was located (it was eventually filled in).

The Charles Boyd Homestead consists of three historic structures—a ranch house, bunk house, and ice house—that are the only ranch buildings in Bend still standing from the early 1900s. Pioneer cattle rancher Charles Boyd built them between 1905 and 1909 on a 600-acre property that once had a slaughterhouse, corrals, and feedlots. The property encompasses much of what is now north Bend. Boyd provided meat to a butcher shop he owned in Bend as well as to construction crews, logging camps, and railroads. His meat-supply business was the largest in central Oregon for 25 years. The three present structures are listed together on the National Register of Historic Places and were eventually moved to this location in 1979. Today they are home to a home and garden business.  

Charles Boyd Homestead

Hugh O'Kane was born in 1857 in County Antrim, Ireland and had a colorful life. As a boy he stowed away on a ship to America, arriving in New York City where he started selling newspapers and shining shoes. He managed to earn enough money to enroll in night school. His teacher was also a tailor and soon began teaching O'Kane him the trade. Apparently, at some point in the coming years, the tailoring company he worked for sent him on a business trip to London and Paris.In the 1870s O'Kane traveled west on the Northern Pacific Railroad, lured by the prospect of finding gold. He didn't mine for gold, it appears, right away. Instead, he was in charge of the supplies for U.S. Army during the Sioux Indian Wars (the most famous confrontation of the war was the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876). After the war he took up mining in the Black Hills where he struck it rich but apparently lost all of it while gambling in Denver, Colorado. In 1881 he started working for Tom Cannon, the world champion Greco-Roman wrestler at the time. A few years later he became the manager of two sprinters and toured with them in Australia (it seems he may have traveled to South Africa at some point as well). Around this time he married his wife, Helen. In 1895 he built a hotel in Grangeville, Idaho that served as the headquarters for his horse-managing business, which was very successful. It wasn't until 1903 that O'Kane (and Helen) moved to Bend where he built another hotel, the Bend Hotel. It became successful as well but unfortunately it burned down in a fire in 1915. As a result, he decided to build the O'Kane Building on the same location, completing it in 1916. The first floor had space for businesses and a theater, and offices and the O'Kane's apartment were located on the second floor. Eventually he and Helen moved to Portland, Oregon where he died on February 16, 1930.

Built in 1916, the O'Kane Building is a historic commercial building located in the heart of downtown Bend. It is named after its builder, Hugh O'Kane, who was a prominent local businessman and a native of Ireland. Designed in the Chicago Mercantile style, the building was the largest and finest modern commercial structure in Bend. It was also fire resistant and served as the first location of the Deschutes County Court. As for design, interesting features of the building include stained glass windows with the "Bend" emblem in the center, decorative green tile, and a plaster garland above the main entrance that featuring grapes, wheat, leaves, rosettes, and a large letter "K". Businesses continue to occupy the building today. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places 1986.

O'Kane Building

As noted above, Smith built the store in 1909. This was several years after he came to in Bend in 1902 to help survey the new town, which was founded a year earlier by A.M. Drake. He bought a nearby timber claim and worked as a carpenter for Drake. The next year, Smith opened his hardware store on the other side of Wall Street. It is unclear why he built the new store building in 1909. He sold items that locals needed such as household items, including butter churns, farm equipment, and fishing and hunting supplies. Later, he sold gasoline as residents began using cars. Smith closed the store in either 1929 or 1930.Smith was involved in the community in various capacities ways. He served as a volunteer fire fighter, election board chairman, local chairman of the Democratic Party, and Bailiff for the County Court. Smith also hosted community and civic meetings at the store, helped local farmers and businessmen in times of need, and oversaw the construction of the first board sidewalks on Wall Street.

The historic N. P. Smith Pioneer Hardware Store is the only wood-frame building in Bend from the early 1900s still standing. Local businessman Nichols P. Smith built it in 1909. His hardware store was located on the first floor and he and his family lived on the second floor. The building has been in continuous use ever since and was added to the National Register of Historic places in 1984.

N.P. Smith Pioneer Hardware Store

The Des Chutes Historical Museum is a museum of local history that is located in the historic Reid School. Opened in 1980 and operated by the Deschutes County Historical Society, the museum's exhibits focus on the area's prehistory, Native American tribes, explorers, pioneers, the logging industry, transportation, and the United States Forest Service. Historic items and antiques are displayed to show home and school life in different periods.


The history library is open to the public and a small bookstore features works on Central Oregon history.

Des Chutes Historical Museum

The High Desert Museum opened in 1982 and remains one of the state's most popular tourist destinations. Its collection contains around 29,000 items from a large area encompassing the Great Basin, Plateau, and Pacific Northwest regions. These items include art, Native American artifacts, western and contemporary art, photographs, rare books, clothing, paintings, sculptures, and drawings. The collection features many highlights. One is an authentic stagecoach used by several prominent historical figures including General Ulysses S. Grant, the Prince of Wales (who became King Edward VII), and Prince Alexander of Russia. Other highlights include prehistoric and historic Native American artifacts as well as contemporary works of art, objects and archives of the U.S. Forest Service, Chinese objects, frontier medicine artifacts, Edward Curtis photographs, Native American basketry, objects related to Basque culture and history, and period clothing, furniture and firearms.

The High Desert Museum is dedicated to promoting the natural and cultural history of Oregon's High Desert region, an area that covers much of the southeastern part of the state. The museum features permanent indoor and outdoor exhibits, some of which include live animals, and changing exhibits. Inside, visitors will learn about the Native American peoples who have lived in the region, the pioneers who traveled west in the 1800s, and the ecosystems found within the High Desert. Outside, the museum features a recreated family ranch, an otter exhibit, an authentic 1904 sawmill, an authentic U.S. Forest Service ranger station, an exhibit describing how forests change, and a birds of prey exhibit with raptors, falcons and other birds. The museum also offers educational hands-on programming and living history demonstrations. 



Redmond to Bend, Oregon, Driving Tour

Old U.S. Post Office

Introduction

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Backstory and Context

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