Sisters: A town with a pioneering heritage
By John Hayes

The town of Sisters derives its name from the three prominent Cascade peaks that grace the southwestern skyline, collectively known as the Three Sisters.

The town was officially christened when the post office at Camp Polk closed in the 1880s. Area residents were invited to submit names for the new facility. Local farmer Jacob Quiberg submitted the name Three Sisters. The postal service dropped the “Three” and the handful of wood frame buildings at the junction of the Santiam and McKenzie roads became known as Sisters.

For many years the area’s economic dynamo was the logging industry. Sawmills large and small prospered in the rich forest land surrounding the town.

Other endeavors contributing to the vitality of Sisters included cattle ranching and farming. New businesses continued to open their doors to serve the needs of the ever-growing number of settlers. The future of the little town at the foot of the Cascades looked bright indeed. But two fires in the 1920s threatened to reduce the blossoming community to little more than ashes and fond memories.

In May of 1923 local store owner Frank Leithauser noticed smoke coming from an untended garage near the center of town. Flames spread quickly and there were few people in town to combat the flames because most were attending a track meet in Redmond. The blaze could be seen for miles and it was initially believed that it was a forest fire.

In September of 1924 Sisters was again set upon by fire. Mrs. C.L. Gist lit a fire in the kitchen stove of the Gist Hotel preparing to fix dinner for her guests. She went to the garden behind the hotel to pick strawberries. When she returned, the entire kitchen was ablaze. A defective flue was the apparent culprit. Total loss was estimated at $25,000.

Sisters had its ups and downs in subsequent years. Although hardship was common during the Great Depression, the forest provided game to eat and clean water to drink.

The closing of the last local mill in 1963 and economic downturns of the ’70s and ’80s posed formidable challenges.

Eventually, the Sisters Country re-invented itself as a tourist destination. RVs have replaced logging trucks and camera-toting visitors are now a common sight.

The Sisters community keeps an affectionate eye on its history as it confidently navigates the future. Aiding the endeavor are physical representations of the community’s colorful past that have weathered the vagaries of time.

Hardy Allen and his wife Daisy moved to Sisters in 1905 and opened a blacksmith shop soon thereafter. They built a house in 1908 that was considered one of the finest in the area. When the demand for blacksmiths decreased as a result of the growing popularity of the automobile, Mr. Allen transformed his shop into a garage in 1920.

He continued, however, to accommodate his longtime customers who were in need of blacksmithing services. One of his more unusual jobs was construction of the door of the town jail. The bars were made from spokes of old iron buggy wheels. Hardy Allen died in November of 1954 at the age of 80. The Hardy Allen House at 401 E. Main Ave. is now home to Three Sisters Floral.

In April of 1912, Spanish- American War veteran John Dennis began construction of a hotel near the center of town. It was to be a 64-by-38-foot, two-story structure with a large basement.

The Hotel Sisters would probably have been destroyed in the fires of 1923 and 1924 had it not been for quick thinking by innovative individuals. The townspeople soaked blankets, mattresses and sheets and draped them over the threatened building. During its history, The Hotel Sisters has functioned as a place of lodging, a drug store, antique shop, and is now, home to Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill and Saloon at 190 E. Cascade Ave.

The Leithauser General Store was built in the mid-1920s by the Leithauser family. The structure served as a general store until 1950, when a new store was built two lots to the west. Since then, the building has been utilized as a barber shop, variety store, yarn mill and now Sisters Bakery at 251 E. Cascade Ave.

The Sisters Drug Store once occupied the present Grand Palace Hotel at 101 E. Cascade Ave. The original structure on the site was destroyed in the fire of 1923. An existing one-story building, owned by Grace Cyrus Aitken, was moved to this location. A second floor was eventually added. This building served as the Aitken residence and the family drug store, which also included a soda fountain, the post office and small library. The downstairs is now the home of Sisters Olive and Nut Co.

The Sisters Library was built in 1939 with donations from area residents and businesses. Lumber was donated by local mills. Members of the Sisters Civic Club volunteered as librarians to keep the doors open for three days and evenings per week. In 1949 an existing office from a local mill was attached to the library to provide additional shelf space. The structure was retired as a library in 1990. The Maida Bailey Old Library Building at 151 N. Spruce St. was dedicated to longtime Sisters area resident and community activist Maida Bailey in 2006.

The Old Sisters High School was built by the Public Works Administration, one of many New Deal programs of the Great Depression. The building served as the high school until 1967.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006 and now serves as the school district's administrative offices.

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