Crane, OR

Crane is an unincorporated town and census designated place in Harney County, Oregon, United States, northeast of Malheur Lake on Oregon Route 78. The 2020 census counted 116 residents. The community is the location of Crane Union High School. Crane was named for the prominent local features Crane Creek and Crane Creek Gap. Crane Union High School and Crane Elementary School are in Crane. The high school, which draws students from a large rural district, is a boarding school. Taken together, these details give a newcomer a usable picture of Crane, where its history, geography, and current gathering places meet.

For Crane, the memorable detail is the way older history and current gathering places share one local map. Crane Creek Gap is the pass between the Harney Basin and the drainage basin of the South Fork Malheur River. Crane is in eastern Harney County along Oregon Route 78, which leads northwest 29 miles to Burns, the county seat, and southeast 64 miles to U.S. Route 95 at Burns Junction.