Wiehl Farm

In 1895, Samuel Wiehl filed for water rights from Whychus Creek to irrigate part of the 160-acre parcel in Section 28 he had homesteaded on Three Creek Road, and built a ditch to deliver the water. In 1909, permanent water rights were granted to support clover pastures, orchards, and gardens, making them among the oldest water rights in Sisters Country.

Upon Samuel's death in 1927, the homestead was sold to George Cyrus, who soon sold all but 2.5 acres to Samuel Orrie (S.O.) Johnson. In 1933, S.O. partnered with Bert Peterson to operate a sawmill on the property that Bert had moved from Klamath Falls. Their lumber helped build the town of Sisters.

In 1940, S.O. sold the east half of the Wiehl homestead to the U.S. Forest Service. The remaining acreage was sold to the Roy Runco family in 1962. Roy, a teacher at Sisters High, and his wife Carolyn, raised four children on the property. The Runcos also bought Cyrus's remaining 2.5 acres. They still live there in their 1932 home, raising alfalfa and tending their 120-year-old orchard.

S.O. Johnson was active in the timber and lumber industries. He had gained sawmilling experience at his father's businesses and also while serving in France in World War I as a major in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1934, his son, Samuel Spencer (S.S.) graduated in forestry and returned to Sisters Country to be his father's agent, buying and selling land and timber. S.S. purchased his father's central Oregon holdings in the late 1940s. He and his wife Becky later moved to Redmond, which was more central to their business operations.

The Johnsons also owned the land surrounding the headwaters of the Metolius River. S.O. had purchased it in 1924, hoping it would serve as a rail terminal for shipping lumber to Bend. Plans to build the terminal and a sawmill there never came to fruition. S.S. and Becky owned the property until they donated it to the Forest Service in 1965.

After S.O. died in 1952, S.S. continued to grow their timberland and sawmill businesses. S.S. served 14 years in the Oregon legislature and 6 years as the mayor of Redmond. He and Becky established a charitable foundation in 1948 that continues to fund projects that foster respect for nature, history, and education. S.S. and Becky died in 1984 and 2006, respectively.