Frenchglen, Oregon


Frenchglen is an unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon, United States. It is south of Burns on Oregon Route 205.
Frenchglen is near Steens Mountain and Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and is home to the historic Frenchglen Hotel, an Oregon State Heritage Site built in 1917. In addition to the hotel, which includes a restaurant, the town has a K-8 school divided into two classes, a general store with gas pumps, and a county roads department base.

History

The community is named after the French-Glenn Livestock Company, founded by Hugh J. Glenn and later joined by his son-in-law, Peter French. French-Glenn built its headquarters there in 1872. The post office took the name Frenchglen after it was moved there.

Education

The zoned K-8 school is Frenchglen Elementary School. The school began operations in 1927. An individual named Walt Riddle bought all of the school building bonds to make the existence of a school a certainty. In the 1980-1981 school year there were two students, until one moved away, meaning that towards the end of the school year the school had one student. That year, a single position was for superintendent and principal and teacher. According to Thomas J. Walsh, a freelance journalist, someone told him that the enrollment was six in 1994, and this had increased to 11 in 1995. Historically, the school housed teachers in the Frenchglen Hotel.
High school students are assigned to Crane Union High School, in Crane, Oregon, a part of Harney County Union High School District 1J.
Harney County is not in a community college district but has a "contract out of district" with Treasure Valley Community College. TVCC operates the Burns Outreach Center in Burns.

Healthcare

In 1989, Nellie Nix of The Bulletin described the catchment area of Harney District Hospital in Burns as being Harney County. In 2005 Matthew Preusch of The Oregonian, citing the lack of doctors and long distances between the southern part of the county and the hospital, described the southern part of Harney County, which includes Frenchglen, as "the most medically underserved area of all."