The town of Sisters derives its name from the three prominent peaks that grace the southwestern skyline: Faith, Hope and Charity, collectively known as the Three Sisters. A very old story suggests that the mountains were named in the 1840's by members of a Methodist mission based in Salem.

The town was officially christened when the post office at Camp Polk, some three miles to the north, closed in the 1880's and was moved to the John Smith store. Local residents were invited to submit names for the new facility. Jacob Quiberg suggested "Three Sisters". Postal authorities dropped the "Three" and the handful of wood frame buildings standing at the junction of the McKenzie and Santiam 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 adding to the economic 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 1920's threatened to reduce this 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. The garage housed equipment that was being used for work on the McKenzie Highway. Flames spread quickly, igniting at least ten of the town's wood frame structures in less than twenty minutes. There were fewer than ten men in town to fight the blaze because everyone else was in nearby Redmond to attend a track meet. After an intense battle, the flames were finally knocked down.

In September of 1924 the town was again set upon by fire. Mrs. C.L. Gist lit a fire in the kitchen stove of the Gist hotel preparatory to fixing 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.

Although half of the town subsequently burned, the townspeople considered themselves lucky. Had the Hotel Sisters and the Sorensen service station across the street caught fire, it was widely believed that the entire town would have been destroyed. Total loss was estimated at $25,000.

Sisters had its ups and downs in subsequent years. In the 1980's the city weathered a deep economic crisis to emerge as a tourist destination and home to light industrial companies. And Sisters continues to change, with new developments at its outskirts and new residents moving into the area. But change as it may, the little town in the shadow of the Cascades remains a community that recalls its heritage as it looks to the future.

Beginning in the late 19th century, bands of sheep were herded through town en route to summer grazing land in the Cascades. It was claimed that people could tell the sheep had been in town even two weeks after they left.

Sisters used to have three hotels: The Sisters Hotel, next to the present site of Leavitt's Western Wear, The Commercial Hotel (later re-named the Gist Hotel), which stood at the northeast corner of Cascade and Fir, and the present Hotel Sisters.

The Palace (Cascade and Elm) was originally at Cascade and Ash, but was moved to its present location after the fire of 1923.

Perit Huntington, for whom the road near the elementary school was named, was the son of J.W.P. Huntington, a Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Oregon in the mid-19th century. He was also a descendent of Samuel Huntington, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Sisters area clover farmers gained international recognition in 1936 when they had the highest per acre yield in the nation.

The Sisters airport was built in 1935 by George Wakefield and off-duty Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps members who were interested in aviation. The original runway was composed of dirt and gravel.

During the Great Depression the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed a section of sidewalk in Sisters. Their engravings can still be seen at the southwest corner of Spruce and Cascade and the southeast corner of Elm and Cascade.

The original Sisters rodeo grounds were at the present site of Hoyt's Lumber.

The first Sisters Fair was held in a field north of the present elementary school in October of 1914. This event became the model for the annual Deschutes County Fair.

As recently as the 1920's, warm springs Indians camped behind the present site of the Ski Inn. From there, they would travel to the McKenzie Pass to pick huckleberries. It is believed that this campsite was used for that purpose for generations.

The first town jail was built on the present site of the Church of Christ complex on Main Ave. The bars were made from spokes of old iron buggy wheels. It was listed in Ripley's Believe It Or Not for being the only known jail that never housed a prisoner.

The first school district in what is now Deschutes County was the Sisters School District, organized in 1882. Its original name was Crook County District #9.

John Hayes writes newspaper and magazine articles about the people and places of the Pacific Northwest. He recently completed a collection of essays entitled "Cascade Chronicles: Timeless Wanderings."