Large California Cattle Partnership Expanded into Central and Eastern Oregon
James Hardin was born in Kentucky in 1830. He came west with his family by ox team in 1853 and settled in Sonoma County, California. He soon started raising cattle and expanded his operations over the next 40 years. Before the transcontinental railroad was completed he had crossed the plains six times with herds of cattle. He opened a general mercantile store in Petaluma, California in 1859. In 1861 he formed a partnership with Amos Riley and opened several more stores in adjacent counties. Riley was born in Maryland in 1826. He helped supply capital for the expanding business operations.
Hardin began expanding his cattle operations and Hardin and Riley became partners in the cattle operation in 1870. They sold their mercantile businesses in 1880 and shifted to exclusively raising cattle. Hardin had moved to Nevada in 1872 and centered his cattle operations around Quinn River Valley. He was soon running over 30,000 head of cattle and became known as the “Cattle King of Humboldt’.
Hardin established the OO Ranch on the northwest side of Harney Lake in Harney County, Oregon in 1875. In 1878 the Bannock Indian uprising led to most of the ranch buildings being burned but Hardin and Riley continued to expand their operations for the next 15 years. Their operations expanded into Silver Creek in Harney County and into the Twelvemile Table area of Crook County. A post office was established on Twelvemile and named Hardin. Another post office was established along Silver Creek and named Riley.
Hardin and Riley were one of the larger cattle operations in the country. Other large operations such as Glenn and French, John Devine, and Miller and Lux also expanded into Eastern Oregon. Hardin sold his Oregon holdings and cattle to his partner Amos Riley in 1892 and Riley became the sole owner. Riley was never active in the actual cattle operations but did occasionally visit his holdings in Oregon. Riley continued operations with management of ranches by Ike Foster until 1903 when he sold the OO Ranch to William Hanley and operations for Riley closed in Oregon. James Hardin died in 1905 and Amos Riley died in 1908.