1906 Map of Mitchell Butte

About this map

Vale and the confluence of the Malheur River and Bully Creek anchor the northern landscape of this early twentieth-century survey along the Oregon-Idaho border. The mapping by Gilbert Young and S. T. Penick reveals an intricate network of irrigation vital to the region's agricultural development, including the Farmers Ditch, Vine's Ditch, and the Gillerman and Richter Canal. This infrastructure transformed the arid Big Sage Flats near Nyssa and Owyhee, facilitating early settlement. To the south, the terrain becomes increasingly complex, dominated by Grassy Mountain and the deep incision of the Owyhee River at Hole in the Ground. Family holdings such as Isaacs Ranch and Prices Ranch are visible along Sucker Creek, while landmarks like Graveyard Point and Mitchell Butte provided navigational waypoints for travelers in this remote corner of Malheur County.