History: Barnes Butte

Barnes Butte

Roughly the size and shape of Pilot Butte, Barnes Butte is located in Crook County and named for Elisha Franklin Barnes, Prineville’s first mayor and an early settler of the Ochoco Valley near the mouth of Ochoco Creek. He came to the area in 1867 and helped establish the townsite of Prineville. With his wife, Susanna, and son George, he built a home that is still standing today at 139 S. Beaver Street in Prineville, Oregon.

Located on the north side of Prineville, Barnes Butte is a rhyolite dome of volcanic rock and part of the Crooked River Caldera.

In 1958, the butte became part of the Crooked River Project; a diversion dam constructed 26 miles above the city of Prineville with a diversion canal built from the dam, across Ochoco creek to the pumping plant located at the base of Barnes Butte.

January 26, 2021, the city of Prineville approved and adopted a concept plan for the development of Barnes Butte Recreation Area, “Echo of the Butte”.

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