February 14th, 2023

Regarded as a fine collection of items, the Claire McGill Luce Western History Room housed within the Harney County Library contains a collection of ‘Harney County’ archived and curated by our staff. Whether you are reading for your own interest or research this room is dedicated to preserving local history.

Here's a recommended reading list:

Feelin’ Fine!   Bill Hanley's Book Put Together by Anne Shannon Monroe.
Garden City 1931. 8o. Illustrations by William L. Finley. Original cloth. 'Feelin Fine' has long been out of print It has always been a favorite to pass along to someone interested in the subject of Harney County. Bill Hanley was widely known, and greatly admired.

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Harney County by Karen Nitz
Archivist at the Claire Mcgill Luce Western History Room housed within the Harney County Library, combines a lifelong interest in photography and local history to portray early life in one of the West’s final frontiers. She has selected images from the combined collections of the Western History Room, the Harney County Library, the Harney County Historical Society, and private collections throughout the county to illustrate the trials and triumphs of life in the high desert. This book is available for checkout and you can also purchase it online or in the library.

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Harney County, Oregon and its Range Land by George Brimlow
This colorful action-packed history runs from Indian times and the first explorations by white men through the period of settlement and Indian wars, the decades of the cattle kings, and into the modern scene of industry and change.

Harney County: an Historical Inventory by Royal G. Jackson 
This historical mosaic is replete with people, places, and events which have been the primary shapers of the Harney County story. Among these are such notable names as Peter Skene Ogden, John Devine, Sarah Winnemucca, Chief Egan, Peter French, Bill Hanley, Henry Miller, George Smyth, George McGowan, Charles Voegtly , Nathan Brown and others. Harney County Place names reflect the vitality and descriptive powers of hardy settlers adapting to a diverse and demanding environment.

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Footloose and Ahorseback: Memories of a Buckaroo on Steens Mountain, Oregon by Johnie “Cactus” Smyth
 Cactus Smyth lived in Andrews, Oregon at the base of the Steens Mountains. He has written stories of his life in the surrounding area.

Also check out our Special Collection Scrapbook of Mary Neal Kueny: Woman Buckaroo of Harney County

A collection of photographs of the life and times of a true buckaroo woman, Mary Neal Kueny, ranch owner in the Wild Horse Valley on the edge of the Alvord Desert, a true pioneer of the west. She once wrote “It will be nice to know that my name will be in a book to read many years after I have galloped over the mountain.” Over 200 photographs available in this scrapbook.  For more information visit our online digital collections database at: https://harneycountylibrary.catalogaccess.com/search. Select photos of this scrapbook are currently on display at the Harney County Library.

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