The Dead Indian area is rich in history.
Prior to pioneer settlement, there were several thousand years of Native American habitation. The spring that feeds the present Charley Horse cabin was a frequent Indian encampment, evidenced by numerous artifacts found there.
During pioneer settlement, the area was the location of some of the battles of the Modoc Indian wars. A Calvary road went through the property. The Mows who later homesteaded the property told Floyd Charley that the spring that feeds the current cabin is where the dead Indian was found, leading to the area's name. As the story goes, the Calvary was traveling the road, and they scared off a band of Indians camped at the spring. They left behind the body of a band member who had died of natural causes. There are a number of claims to the Dead Indian origins, but one of the Mow brothers was actually in the Calvary troop involved in the incident, so we believe our version to be true.
The property we now call Charley Horse was originally homesteaded by two brothers, Lee and Elizah Mow (pronounced like “how”). Lee owned the southeast quarter section (160 acres). The ruins of his house, food cellar, barn, and pig shed are still visible at the southwest corner of the property. Elizah owned the northeast quarter. He lived in a small cabin located near the spring. The cabin was moved prior to the Charley acquisition, but the ruins of the pig shed remain.
In 1945 the partners of Charley Brothers Hereford Ranch, consisting of Floyd, Claus, and Leland Charley, purchased the “Mow Place” for $600. The property was needed for summer grazing lands for their cattle.
During and after World War 2, the Mows, and later the Charleys, had the property logged of much of the timber to create more grassland for the cattle. During those times, the timber was milled in semi-portable sawmills at the logging site. The cook shack for the mill was recently torn down, but remnants of the sawmill remain.
When the Charley brothers reached retirement age, they split up their vast property holdings. Floyd retained several holdings, including the Charley-Horse property. Eldred Charley always dreamed of having this property, and according to Iris, in 1963, Floyd (Grandpa) and his wife Mary (Granny) came over to Eldred and Iris’s house with big grins on their face and signed over the deed for a fee of ten dollars.
The name Charley Horse was Iris’ idea. They had a beat-up old boat with the words “Charley’s Horse” written on the side, which got a lot of laughs. That evolved into the naming of the property.
When Eldred and Iris first took over, there was nothing on the property besides a few old, dilapidated buildings. On overnight outings, the family stayed in the old mill cook shack as guests of the rodents who inhabited it.
In 1970 Eldred spent $3000 and built a dam in a narrow part of Iron Gulch, forming the lake. According to Iris, this was the only thing that he ever did against her will, but now she is glad he did it.
In 1972 Iris drew up the plans (in the dirt), and the building of the cabin commenced. Labor was furnished by family and friends, led by son Bill Charley and his uncle, Kenneth Curtis. During the framing of the walls, two teams were formed, one led by Bill and the other by Kenneth. One team took the west wall and the other the east wall. The teams were competing on who could frame the walls quicker and who were better carpenters. During the rivalry, both teams were looking over their shoulders to see each other’s progress, simultaneously criticizing each other’s work and each other. The competition ended up in a draw as both walls were raised at exactly the same time.
Iris formed Charley Horse LLC in 2001, naming her five children and sixteen grandchildren as members. This will assure that the property will remain in the possession of future generations and remain a legacy of Eldred and Iris Charley.
Charley-Horse is a special place.