James Cant Ranch Historic District
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James Cant Ranch Historic District
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James Cant Ranch complex
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| Location | John Day Fossil Beds National Monument |
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| Nearest city | Dayville, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 44°33′21″N 119°38′43″W / 44.5556988°N 119.6452630°WCoordinates: 44°33′21″N 119°38′43″W / 44.5556988°N 119.6452630°W |
| Area | Approx. 200 acres (81 ha) |
| Built | 1915–1918 |
| Architect | Radford Architectural Company |
| Architectural style | Common wood frame |
| NRHP Reference # | 84003000 |
| Added to NRHP | June 21, 1984 |
The James Cant Ranch is a pioneer ranch complex in Grant County in eastern Oregon, United States. The ranch is located on both sides of the John Day River in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The ranch was originally homesteaded by Floyd Officer in 1890. Officer sold the property to James Cant in 1910. Cant increased the size of the property and built a modern ranch complex on the west bank of the river. The National Park Service bought the ranch from the Cant family in 1975, and incorporated the property into the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The National Park Service used the main house as a visitor center until 2003. Today, the Cant Ranch complex is preserved as an interpretive site showing visitors an early 20th-century livestock ranch. The James Cant Ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Native Americans used the area around the John Day River for thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers. While boundaries were never clearly defined, the site that is now the Cant Ranch was used for seasonal hunting and fishing camps by Warm Springs and Umatilla bands, both Sahaptin speaking Columbia Plateau peoples. By the nineteenth century, Northern Paiutes had migrated north from the Great Basin and were also using portions of the upper John Day watershed.
As a result of the arid climate, only a few trappers and prospectors traveled through the area before 1862 when gold was discovered in Canyon Creek, tributary of the John Day River. The discovery of gold drew a large number of miners to the area. This led to the founding of a number of mining towns in northeastern Oregon. The largest of these towns was Canyon City. A wagon road, formalized in 1869 as The Dalles Military Road between Fort Dalles on the Columbia River and Canyon City, encouraged additional growth.
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