Working Farm Roots

The first Euro-Americans arrived in 1870 when Presley A. Dorris, Henry Fitzhugh, and several other Dorris family members drove cattle and horses into the area. With land granted under the Homestead Act, the Dorris family established a livestock ranch and operated it for 90 years. In 1961, the Bureau of Fisheries and Wildlife, then part of the US Fish & Wildlife Service, bought 5,966 acres from the Dorris family using money raised from the sale of Duck Stamps and established Modoc National Wildlife Refuge. More land was added over the years through donation, purchase, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.

California · United States