HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
Scenic overlook on US-97 in Terrebonne, Oregon, 300 feet above the Crooked River, where in 1961 two children were murdered and thrown into the gorge in Oregon's most notorious child murder case.
US-97 N (0.4 miles south of SW Culver Highway), Terrebonne, OR 97760
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free day-use state scenic viewpoint; no admission fee
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved rest area with viewpoint overlook; bridge rail and canyon edge — supervise children closely
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1926 · Site of the 1961 Freeman-Jackson double child murder — Oregon's most notorious child homicide case · Original 1926 Crooked River High Bridge listed on the National Register of Historic Places · First woman sentenced to death in Oregon (Jeannace Freeman) was convicted for the crime committed here
The Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint is located on US-97 approximately 29 miles north of Bend, Oregon, on the border of Deschutes and Jefferson counties, roughly 0.4 miles south of SW Culver Highway in Terrebonne. The viewpoint overlooks the Crooked River Gorge from approximately 300 feet above the river and frames three bridges spanning 100 years of construction history.
The original Crooked River High Bridge — a steel arch structure with a 330-foot main span — was completed in 1926 and served as a primary crossing on the Pacific Highway West (later US-97) for 74 years. A concrete replacement span, the Rex T. Barber Veteran Memorial Bridge (a 410-foot arch), was completed in 2000 and carries modern traffic; the original 1926 bridge was retained and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
On May 11, 1961, the site became the location of a double child murder. Jeannace June Freeman (age 19), who had been hired as a babysitter by Gertrude May Nuñez Jackson (age 32), beat Jackson's six-year-old son Larry to death with a tire iron in a fit of rage. Jackson then agreed to help conceal the crime and participated in killing her four-year-old daughter Martha. The bodies of both children were thrown into Crooked River Gorge from the viewpoint that evening.
Freeman and Jackson were arrested by Oakland, California police on May 16, 1961, after fleeing the state. Jeannace June Freeman was convicted of first-degree murder on September 15, 1961, and became the first woman sentenced to death in Oregon's history. When Oregon voters abolished capital punishment in 1964, Governor Hatfield commuted Freeman's sentence to life imprisonment. Freeman was first paroled in July 1983 but returned to prison as a parole violator in January 1984; she was re-paroled on July 29, 1985, then reincarcerated in 2002 on a separate coercion conviction, and died in prison on December 19, 2003. Gertrude Jackson pleaded guilty and was paroled in 1968.
The case was documented extensively in Oregon Supreme Court records (State v. Freeman, 232 Or. 267, 1962), multiple journalistic retrospectives, and Karen Zacharias' true crime work 'Cries from the Canyon.' Highway 97 through the Crooked River corridor has also recorded a high rate of modern fatal crashes, documented by ODOT crash statistics.
Sources
The paranormal tradition attached to the Crooked River High Bridge and Old Highway 97 is rooted in the 1961 Freeman-Jackson child murders. According to multiple independent paranormal-tourism sources, the spirits of the two murdered children — Larry and Martha Jackson — are said to haunt the bridge, with visitors reporting disembodied voices and unexplained disturbances at the overlook after dark.
The Shadowlands Haunted Places Index entry for 'Old hwy. 97 between Culver and Crooked River Bridge' describes phantom cows that suddenly appear in the road with glowing eyes, and through which vehicles pass without impact. This folk motif — the phantom livestock at a dangerous stretch of road — is common to rural highway lore and reflects the Crooked River corridor's documented history of fatal accidents. ODOT records show 77 fatal crashes on Highway 97 between 2016 and 2020, with the stretch between Madras and the Crooked River High Bridge subject to a formal $200,000 ODOT safety study.
The Haunted Oregon podcast (Spotify) devoted an episode to Old Highway 97 and the Crooked River High Bridge, and the Great American Ghost Tour references the Terrebonne area as haunted by the children's spirits. These accounts should be understood in the context of the well-documented true crime history: the lore is a direct cultural response to documented tragedy rather than independent paranormal folklore.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint offers views of both the historic 1926 Crooked River High Bridge (steel arch) and the 2000 Rex T. Barber Bridge 300 feet above the river. The site is the location of the 1961 Freeman-Jackson child murders, a well-documented Oregon true crime case. Picnic tables and restrooms available.
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