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Rajneeshpuram plans and Big Muddy Ranch property records

 Collection
Identifier: Coll796

Content Description

The collection consists of two documents: a photocopy of volume 1 of the City of Rajneeshpuram Comprehensive Plan and a property inventory of Big Muddy Ranch. The comprehensive plan contains information regarding plans for buildings and land and water usage, and includes maps and figures. The property inventory evaluates structures on Big Muddy Ranch (the site of Rajneeshpuram), comparing their condition as of May 1996 to that from a 1991 inventory; it includes photographs of said structures.

Dates

  • Creation: 1982, 1996

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The Oregon Historical Society owns the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners.

Biographical / Historical

The followers of Baghwan Shree Rajneesh (1931-1990), known as Rajneeshees, purchased Big Muddy Ranch, a 64,229-acre site near Antelope, Oregon, in 1981 for 5.75 million dollars. They used the site to build an intentional community named Rajneeshpuram. By 1984, Rajneeshpuram was a city of roughly 7,000 people with a fire department, a police force, restaurants, a sewage system, a post office, and an airport.

By 1986, following a criminal investigation of the Rajneeshees, Rajneeshpuram had become a ghost town. The firm Washington Construction purchased Big Muddy Ranch in 1991. In 1996, the property was sold to the Christian youth organization Young Life, which operated a summer camp at the site from 1999 onwards.

Extent

0.18 Cubic Feet (1 document case)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Comprehensive plan for Rajneeshpuram, 1982, and property inventory of Big Muddy Ranch, 1996.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Robert Thompson, February 6, 2019 (Accession RL2019-022).

Title
Guide to Rajneeshpuram plans and Big Muddy Ranch property records
Status
Completed
Author
Jeffrey A. Hayes
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
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Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240