Pine Meadow Ranch

Jacob Quiberg and John Smith each filed homestead claims on 160 acres in the eastern half of Section 8 in 1891 and 1892, respectively. Rights to divert water 3.2 cubic feet per second from Squaw (now Whychus) Creek to irrigate these properties were obtained in the following years. The diversion point was 2 miles upstream from the ranch. Irrigation greatly enhanced the land's productivity.

Ross Hammond purchased the northeast quarter of Section 8 in 1934 and added the southeast quarter in 1950. He and his son Bill added many improvements. The soil was rocky and each spring rocks were hand- picked from the fields and moved to form fence rows. He sold it to Ben Rolfe, who operated it for a few years before selling what was then called Pine Meadow Ranch to Dorro Sokol in 1971. Dorro had grown up on the 17,000-acre Oxbow Ranch near Prairie City, Oregon, and was undaunted by the prospect of managing 320 acres as a single mother. Dorro acquired an adjoining 50-acre parcel from the Forest Service by buying land she knew the agency was interested in and trading it for the parcel she desired.

The north half of the ranch was historically an irrigated pasture, while the south half was farmed, mainly producing peppermint. Peppermint enjoyed a strong market driven by mint oil exports to Japan. The crop was harvested and received initial processing on the ranch before shipment to a Willamette Valley facility for distillation and export. In addition, after each fall harvest, the soil was turned by hand to expose peppermint roots, which were harvested and sold for processing into plant starts. When the peppermint market declined, Dorro grew hay on the south half for winter cattle feed, while more than 100 cow-calf pairs seasonally grazed the north half. Irrigation involved using 17 large wheel lines until a center pivot system was adopted. In the 1990s most of the ranch's northern half was developed into the Pine Meadow Village residential subdivision. The remaining ranch was leased to Prineville rancher Bob Hershey.

Dorro's daughter Cris Converse initiated a major water conservation project with the Deschutes River Conservancy and the Deschutes Land Trust in the 2010s. It relocated the diversion point to the ranch and replaced unlined ditch with pipes. In 2017 the ranch was sold to Frank and Kathy Deggendorfer, who conveyed it to the Roundhouse Foundation, which continues the cattle operation while hosting artists in residence and occasional cultural events.