Drewsey is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Harney County Harney County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,495, making it the sixth-least populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Burns. Established in 1889, the county is named in ho ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Drewsey is along the

main stem In hydrology, a mainstem (or trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries". Water enters the mainstem from the river's drainage basin, the land area through which the mainstem and its tributaries flow.. A ...

of the

Malheur River The Malheur River (local pronunciation: "MAL-hyure") is a tributary of the Snake River in eastern Oregon in the United States. It drains a Great Basin Desert, high desert area, between the Harney Basin and the Blue Mountains (Oregon), Blue Moun ...

, about east of

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

, off

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

. It has the ZIP Code of 97904.

History

The region around Drewsey was frequented by

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...

tribes long before white

settler A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...

s arrived. They caught

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

in the river and its tributaries and hunted and foraged on the land. Subsequent clashes between the two cultures led to creation of the

Malheur Indian Reservation The Malheur Indian Reservation was an American Indian reservation established for the Northern Paiute in eastern Oregon and northern Nevada from 1872 to 1879. The federal government discontinued the reservation after the Bannock War of 1878, ...

, which included the Drewsey area, in 1872. There the Paiutes and others were expected to learn about white culture and to become farmers. After further clashes, the Indians were re-located from the Malheur region to reservations elsewhere in the West. By the early 1880s, settlers began establishing themselves in and around Drewsey. Abner Robbins opened a store here in 1883 and named the place "Gouge Eye" to commemorate a local dispute. When Robbins applied for a post office, postal authorities did not accept the original name, so he changed it to "Drusy". When the office was established in 1884, however, it was registered under the name "Drewsey". Drewsey grew rapidly in the late 19th century, depending on farming and ranching for its economic base. The Pacific Livestock Company, two lumbers mills, and other businesses thrived here through the 1920s. However, bypassed by the nearest east−west railway as well as the main highway, Drewsey lost population during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and after. In the 21st century, Drewsey consists of a small number of homes, a combined garage and store with a post office, a tavern and restaurant, two churches, and an elementary school.

Geography

Climate

Drewsey has a

steppe climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

Csb).

Time zones

Although Drewsey is officially in the Pacific Time Zone, some residents choose to unofficially observe the

Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The clo ...

due to close proximity to

Malheur County Malheur County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,571. Its county seat is Vale, and its largest city is Ontario. The county was named after the Malheur River, which runs thr ...

. Despite this, Pacific Time is strictly adhered to by businesses and the

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...

Education

Drewsey Elementary School is in Drewsey. It serves children in kindergarten through grade 8. Pine Creek Elementary School also has a Drewsy address. In 1969 Pine Creek Elementary had 8 students. High school students are zoned to

Crane Union High School Crane Union High School is a public high school in Crane, Oregon, United States. It is a boarding school that serves students from a large geographic area. Its district is known as the Harney County Union High School District 1J, and covers much ...

, of Harney County Union High School District 1J.
Text list
/ref> Harney County is not in a community college district but has a "contract out of district" (COD) with

Treasure Valley Community College Treasure Valley Community College is a public community college in Ontario, Oregon, at the western edge of the Treasure Valley. Its service area is sections of Malheur and Baker counties. Additionally Harney County and the city of Burns have ...

. TVCC operates the Burns Outreach Center in Burns.

Infrastructure

Transportation

In the 21st century, Drewsey is a stop on the Eastern

Public Oregon Intercity Transit The POINT Intercity Bus Service is a four-route, intercity bus service of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). The service is administered by ODOT's Public Transportation Division as part of its intercity grant program. The POINT servic ...

(POINT) bus line between Bend and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. It makes one stop per day in each direction. Two roads for cars and trucks lead to the community. Drewsey Road links Drewsey to Route 20, to the south. Drewsey Market Road connects to rural locations to the west along the Malheur River.

References

External links

Historic images of Drewsey from Salem Public Library
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Harney County, Oregon Populated places established in 1883 1884 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1884 Unincorporated communities in Oregon