Mohs Ranch

Mohs Ranch

Frederick Mohs.

Minnie Leslie Mohs with her first husband George Leslie.

Harvest on Mohs Ranch.

The barn on Mohs Ranch was one of the first buildings in Whitman County.

A team of horses works in the field at Mohs Ranch.

16-year old Frederick Mohs immigrated to the US in 1847 from Preuben, Germany, along with a brother. Both boys settled in Missouri before Frederick moved to California to pan for gold.  Later, with his gold grubstake, he relocated to Butter Creek, Oregon where he learned to farm.

In 1863 he married and had a daughter. As the Butter Creek area began to attract more settlers, he moved his family further north, reaching Whitman County in eastern Washington in 1870. He established an inn on Texas Ferry Road catering to miners arriving in the Northwest.  In 1872 he acquired the squatter rights to property in Whitman County and established what would become the  Mohs Ranch. The original ranch house is recognized as the first frame house and barn in the county which was insulated with sawdust.  

Mohs ran a freight hauling business between Walla Walla and Umatilla, Oregon. He kept horses and cattle on his  land; thus, the property was known as a Ranch rather than a farm. He continued to buy land in the area  expecting the expansion of the railroad westward.  

Frederick’s daughter died in 1885 and his wife in 1890. Now a widower, he traveled to Spokane in search of a  housekeeper. He was introduced to Minnie Leslie, a 24-year old widow with two young children. She accepted  his offer of employment and moved to the Mohs Ranch.  In June 1890, Frederick and Minnie traveled to Rathdrum, Idaho where they married. He and Minnie continued  to add land to their holdings.  10 years later, Frederick adopted Minnie’s two children; they retained Leslie as their middle names and took the Mohs name, ensuring the legacy of the Mohs Ranch would be perpetuated.  

Frederick Mohs died August 16, 1899 at the age of 68. After his death, Minnie and her two children continued to live on the Mohs Ranch and  bought additional contiguous land over the years increasing the holdings of the Mohs Ranch that today is 2979  acres.  During this time, both her children married and each had two children. The family celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the Mohs Ranch in June 1972.

As the land was originally intended to pasture horses and cattle,  wheat was first grown on the 1620 tillable acres in the early 1900’s. To this day the land is planted in wheat, and cattle still graze the pasture land.  Today the land is owned by the fourth generation of Mohs descendants. The 150th Anniversary of the  founding of the Mohs Ranch will be celebrated at the ranch on June 11, 2022.  

1922: The 50th Anniversary of Mohs Ranch.