Varco Ranch

In 1897 Thomas and Viola Arnold moved to Plainview, six miles southeast of Sisters, and grew barley and other crops in Section 2. In 1904, their in-law Charles Gist began farming the property and raised cattle. A few years later he established and managed the Gist Post Office, and around 1920 moved to Sisters and started the Gist Hotel.

E.E. Varco and Lara Bishop married in 1915 and had four sons and a daughter. In 1924 they purchased the old Gist property. In 1926 they filed a homestead claim on 80 additional acres in Section 1. In 1927, they bought 40 acres in Section 2. In 1929 they received 80 acres in Section 1 from Lara's father. In 1931 they bought 280 acres in Section 1. In 1947 they homesteaded 120 acres in Section 2, bringing their total acreage to 680. The farm was surrounded on three sides by low hills with magnificent views of the Three Sisters and Broken Top. The soil was fertile and loamy with little lava rock and had a long growing season. The farm featured cultivated acreage and an apple orchard. Their white house, the former Gist home, had three rooms, an attic, and two long porches. The family cooked outdoors until a kitchen stove was added and the chimney was repaired. Blanket-covered windows were eventually replaced by glass panes. The barn was typical for the era in that it was built with wood sidings and shake shingles.

The ranch was colloquially called "Out-O-Site Ranch" because of its hard-to-find access road. For a time, the Varcos contested for water rights with their upstream neighbor, whose diversions emptied the ditch and required water to be hauled to the ranch. They eventually received water deliveries from Plainview Ditch, which needed to be cleaned of debris each spring. Crops included apples, Alsike clover, potatoes, peas, rye, and other grains. Harvesting was a big job that required bringing in a thresher, huller, and additional hands. In 1932 son Charles Varco's 4H Club bull won Grand Champion at the county fair. In 1996 the ranch was sold for development of the Ponderosa Cascade Community.