Our farm used to be called a hop ranch, before my husband's grandfather bought it in the 50's. It was the largest hop yard under one trellis in the world in the 1920's. In the old days of growing hops there were between 2,500 and 3,000 people employed every season to bring in the hops. They brought their families and camped out where our hazelnut orchard is now. The ranch gave the pickers tents to live in, a stove, fire wood, a table and benches, enough clean straw to make a comfortable mat for beds, and garbage service.
Pickers were paid 1 cent per pound of hops. In an average day a picker picked about 200 lbs. More experienced pickers picked 300 to 400 lbs. The pickers made enough money for winter supplies and school clothing.
Our ranch had 6 hop houses on it, that were used for drying the hops. The ranch had 19 to 20 horse teams, it's own store, restaurant, depuity sheriff and place of entertainment.
The ranch also hired Indians with the understanding that the ranch would furnish a certain amount of pasture for some horses, and would give them the same camping privileges as the other pickers. There was 2 tribes of Indians that did not get along, so they had to camp in different sections.
The peek of the hop era was during the 1920's and 30's, by the early 1950's there was hardly any hops left.
Before the hops, where our house is now located there was an Indian camp. We find arrow heads and bowls and pounders made from rock all the time. There is also a "dump" where the hop campers garbage went. After a heavy rain sometimes we discover old bottles, lamps, and other things from that era.
We now grow grass seed, hazelnuts, green beans, and corn.
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