Historic Hood River
Mt. Hood Ranch
9-12-2013
Notes
Well here’s a bit of valley history I’ve never heard about before. The Mt. Hood Ranch was part of the Oregon Silver Fox and Fur Farms. The caption identifies them as:
Breeders of supreme quality registered silver-black foxes direct from W.K. Rogers, owner of the original pioneer Dalton and Tuplin ranches of Prince Edward Island. Nationally known as the oldest and best strains in existence. Also mink and martin. Dale M. Haskin, Owner and manager, Mt. Hood Ranch (100 pens).
They also had a ranch near Newberg.
l.e.
Interesting. And where is the Mt. Hood Ranch?
I remember when people were raising Nutria for their fur. Then, when the bottom dropped out of fur prices they turned the nutria loose. The hills and creek bottoms were full of them.
spinsur
Kinda looks like the May/Frankton/Summitview area, looking north toward the east shoulder of Underwood Mountain? Take a look at Google Earth, street view.
Norma Jubitz Simpson
I can remember back in the 40s when Mr. Calvin’s raised animals for fur. I think they were mink. He was located down the hill from Frankton school. My mother always bought her annual flowers from him.
charlott
I think the name of the flower people were Caulkins., Norma, as we used to go with Dad to get all his flats of flowers…..I l had a friend in Parkdale that lived on what was once a fur farm. There were still cages around on the property. Don’t know what they actually raised there.
Buzz
Fur bearing animals raised in captivity for breeding purposes has not proven, for the most part, to be very successful financially. In addition to wide price fluctuations, these farms have had serious health problems, much the same as many fish farms struggle with–too many wild animals in too small an environment=too much animal waste and fast spreading diseases.
charlott
Dale Haskin was interested in the fur industry before he actually got into the business. His father and mother were Frank and Lucy (Foss). Her father had both chinchillas and silver foxes that he raised here in Hood River. His grandfather Foss, after serving in the Civil War came to Hood River and know that the Foss family at one time had property down by Panorama Point.
Dale was very musically inclined and formed a comb with his brother and his first wife, Maude played for dances in the Portland-Vancouver area.
Later after his divorce he married a Mary James and they were the ones that has the fox farms. They had them in Hood River, Cascade Locks, one down at Dundee and one in Milbrae. California. Probably the one in Dundee came about, as when a child his mother died and he was sent to live with his grandmother there.
He married the third time to Josephine Peters.
Dedilee
Fox and mink farms were fairly common, I can think of three still operating in the late 50s-early 60s in the area. One just above Hanels Mill still had mink in the late 60s. As the fashion industry moved away from fur the farms went out of business.
Scott Cook
Fabulous! I piece of HR history I had never heard anything at all about. Thanks for the info everybody!
longshot
I think Spinsur is correct in that the view is toward Underwood Mt., you can see the old road going down to the Broughton landing coming down the hill. You can also see a power line running across the top of the picture which would lead me to believe that the photo was taken from a good distance to the south with a telephoto lens.
Larry
Dale Haskin was my grandfather.
Thank you for sharing this info as I have been looking into my family history.
Should you know of any please feel free to email me at:
Knighthawkprotection@comcast.net
Thank you.
Larry K.
Sharon
Fur farms were taken over by Mary Vilate (Jensen) after their divorce. She married Charles Jackson (my grandfather). They continued until early 60’s I believe. They contributed the land known as Jackson Park.
Jeffrey Bryant
Hood River Glacier, 1924-09-04, image 12 – Haskins Launches A Fox Farm Here.
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1924-09-04/ed-1/seq-12/
Jeffrey Bryant
More details on the Mt. Hood Ranch, located on the Columbia River Highway opposite the Columbia Gorge Hotel.
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1924-09-11/ed-1/seq-7/