(Prineville is a beautiful slice of Central Oregon paradise | Photo courtesy of Prineville Chamber of Commerce)
It could be said that Prineville is a Central Oregon oasis: The idyllic small town is geographically set apart from the rest of the region — surrounded by the Ochoco National Forest, the Crooked River and the Prineville and Ochoco reservoirs — and though it is only a 45-minute drive from Bend, it feels like it’s a world away. Named after Frances Barney Prine, the town’s first merchant who reportedly built a house, store, blacksmith shop, hotel and saloon there in 1868, part of Prineville’s charm is the distinct essence of the wild west that still permeates the region.
What really defines Prineville, however, is the strong sense of community that exists. City officials agree that over the past 16 months, the town has banded together like never before. “We have seen businesses supporting businesses, community supporting each other and our municipalities all working together for the good of Prineville,” says Kim Daniels, director of the Prineville Chamber of Commerce. “There was strength in a time of uncertainty. We are a small town whose foundation has been built on adversity and the support of community. Rather than see this past year as devastating, many chose to face it with a chance to overcome.” Jason Beebe, Prineville’s mayor, adds, “I’m proud of how Prineville has banded together to get through these tough times. Our citizens care very much for each other and they are country strong. Everyone has come together to support each other no matter what their beliefs are regarding the COVID situation and the struggles it has caused within the community.”
When the pandemic hit, Prineville city officials, businesses, schools and the community kicked into high gear to help one another get through. “The COVID pandemic hit our businesses with fear as it did in many areas, but in Prineville, where locals tend to own, manage and work the small businesses, there was an overwhelming amount of support,” says Daniels. “Between the city, county and chamber, and with the help of Facebook, businesses were able to benefit from a local grant program within 30 days of shut down. Things seem to be strong, and we have seen very few businesses close.” City Manager Steve Forrester adds, “My wife owns and operates the subway in Prineville. It got tough, especially for bars and restaurants. But the character of Prineville was shown very early on when we partnered with Facebook and the Downtown Business Committee. We were able to get approximately $300,000 in funding within ten days. We were one of the first Central Oregon communities to provide relief and a bridge between the onset and the federal money. This is a great testament to the character of Prineville.”
Recent Successes
Despite the shutdown, Prineville has grown and enjoyed a variety of successes in recent months. In 2020 and during the first half of 2021, Prineville grew in population and number of businesses and chamber of commerce memberships, and managed to complete a few major infrastructure projects. “We had some really massive infrastructure projects,” says Eric Klann, City Engineer and Public Works director. “We have been working on a large aquifer storage and recovery project, which is a very environmentally sensitive way to provide water to our customers. It was tough, some of the parts and pieces were hard to come by, but we were able to wrap that up even through COVID.”
Forrester says the completion of a new public safety and 911 dispatch facility has been a crowning achievement this past year. “This was a $7 million project, and we were able to do that under the strength of the financial condition of the city without going to bond. Not very many cities are able to update and create a new police station with their own funding. We just moved into that facility in late May,” he says. “One of the things I’m most proud of with the city is that the continuity of government was solid, and the continuity of providing city services was solid, including law enforcement, water, the golf course, railroad, etc. All those operations moved through this in good shape. We found new ways to get that work done.”
To further enhance the future of the region, Prineville welcomed the grand opening of the Baker Technical Institute this spring. The Baker City-based institute offers education in hands-on fields such as welding, nursing, construction, engineering, natural resources, environmental science and agriculture, and opened a Prineville facility in April of 2021 “That’s something we all worked on, and it has launched, so we have a tool in our toolbox that has the ability to qualify people for heavy equipment and truck-driving life skills, and we hope to expand that to other areas,” explains Forrester. “We are very proud of that; we believe there is not enough emphasis on these trade jobs. Prineville has taken the lead in that to provide that for Central Oregon. That is a huge thing for us.”
While the business and infrastructure growth has been impressive, perhaps most notable success in Prineville over the past year and a half is the increase in registrations at the schools. “Unlike other Central Oregon school districts, our student population surged in 2020-2021,” says Daniels. “A huge amount of praise has gone to our school district, which I believe was the first in the state to get their online learning platform in place and one of the first to get in-person learning reinstated again.” Klann says the school district went above and beyond to provide education throughout the pandemic. “At the onset last spring, Facebook provided a million dollars to make sure every student had a laptop or device of some sort,” he says. “My son is a fourth-grader, and he was only not in class for in-person learning for one week over this past school year.” Forrester adds, “Again, this is an example of resiliency and a differentiator between this community and some of the other communities. We were able to get some things done that other communities could not.”
The Real Estate Boom
Like most areas in Oregon and across the country, Prineville is also experiencing a booming real estate market. “We are just like everywhere else; we are nuts,” says Mike Warren, an Oregon licensed principal broker with Crook County Properties, LLC. “It’s going really well. The negative is that a lot of people are being priced out in residential. We are not near Bend prices, but are definitely much higher than before. In some cases, even 100 percent higher on bare land, and probably 20-30 percent higher on residential.” He adds, “There are bare lots that I have sold for between $30,000-$40,000 before, but this year, on those same types of lots, the last one I sold for $79,000. We are seeing a lot of people coming from the Valley and Deschutes County, but inventory is low.”
Warren says that the biggest change he’s noticed in the Prineville real estate market is with commercial and industrial. “I’ve had properties I’ve been sitting on for a year that are now getting action. People can get commercial properties here that they can’t get in Deschutes County. But we are getting people from all over.” Warren says he believes the reason for this is that Prineville has properties that are bigger and not quite as expensive as those in other areas. “Not only can you not find it in Deschutes price-wise, but also size-wise,” he says. “Large commercial and heavy industrial is just not available in other places.” Forrester adds, “We are following the same trends we see in Bend and Redmond: It’s a very active market, with extreme increase in pricing and very low availability. To date, there is no change; it hasn’t slowed down. Prineville continues to position itself to be a viable environment for current businesses to expand and new ones to site here. We have significant interest in businesses expanding here or relocating here.”
Returning Events
As the pandemic slowly fades and there is some semblance of normalcy returning, Prineville is opening back up with events and recreation offerings. Crook County High School graduation was celebrated in person this year, but after the huge success of the graduation parade through town that replaced the in-person ceremony last year, Daniels says the parade was added to this year’s graduation festivities again, and will most likely be a staple for years to come.
Over the coming summer, other live events are also being reinstated, including the Crooked River Roundup and the horse races. “It will kick off on Wednesday, June 23 with the Stampede Street Party in Downtown Prineville, where our local restaurants and shops will be open to the public to celebrate the return of the Roundup,” says Daniels. Roundup then takes place June 24-26, with the Roundup Parade on Saturday, June 26 and the horse races July 14-17. “Based on what restrictions are in place at the time, there may be a limit on the number of attendees allowed,” she says. “At this time, the Roundup Board is requesting all tickets be purchase in advance and online.” Daniels says that the Western Days Festival, with food and vendors, will also take place in Ochoco Creek Park on June 25-26. “This event moved to a larger park in town to allow for more distancing.”
Other resurrected events will include Fourth of July activities including a parade through town, the Firecracker 100 bike race, the Splash-N-Dash Quadrathlon and the Old-Fashioned Fourth of July festival, with food, craft vendors, music and more in Ochoco Creek Park. Fourth of July festivities will conclude with fireworks. Later in the summer, Prineville will hold the Crook County Fair August 4-7. “How it will look is still being determined, but it will have live music each evening, food, vendors and animals,” says Daniels.
Like its sister cities in Central Oregon, Prineville is known for its abundant recreational offerings, and Daniels says tourism is back up. “We are seeing an increase in people coming to the area to do outdoor activities such as cycling, hiking, camping and rockhounding,” she says. With a population of about 9,000, Prineville is the gateway to the Ochoco National Forest, and has the unofficial title of Rockhound Capital of the U.S. thanks to the variety of precious gemstones found in this part of Oregon. The Prineville Reservoir is a popular local attraction, and golfing, boating, camping, biking and hiking are considered outstanding in the area.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” says Forrester. “There is lots of pent-up demand. Activity in our community over Memorial Day weekend was extremely high. The traffic was heavier than I’d seen in the past. The local restaurants were busy, and there were a lot of people on the move. We are still under some restrictive regulations that limit business to some degree, but we are recovering.”
cityofprineville.com • co.crook.or.us • prinevillechamber.com • crookcountyproperties.com
