When Logan Stanley moved to Seneca from Boise, she knew finding work would be a challenge. But with the arrival of the Cyber Mill, her options have expanded dramatically.

The nonprofit facility, which opened Nov. 16 in an 800-square-foot former restaurant building on Highway 395, is providing something that has been sorely lacking for many residents of this small Grant County ranching community: broadband internet access.

Stanley can access the building anytime between 5 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. She’s hoping the facility’s high-speed internet connection will allow her to parlay her political science degree into a good-paying job.

“I’m looking for remote work (and) this gives me access to find work outside the area,” Stanley said. “Having access to the internet is what opens the door to that opportunity.”

Didgette McCracken is a founding board member of Cyber Mill Grant County, the nonprofit behind the facility. The project has been more than two years in the making, and McCracken couldn’t be more excited to see how the people of Seneca make use of it.

“It makes my heart happy,” she said.

It’s a big change for the tiny town of Seneca, population 165, but it’s also a sign of things to come for other isolated communities in this part of Eastern Oregon. Similar projects are already in the works for Prairie City and John Day, and long-range plans call for laying fiber-optic lines that could bring high-speed internet access to every community in Grant County.

Think of the Cyber Mill as an internet café without the café.

Just inside the front door is a living room-like space with small tables and comfortable chairs scattered around a Western-print throw rug and a large video monitor on one wall. There are three desktop computer terminals available for public use.

In the back of the building is a small meeting space, with a portable whiteboard and a wall-mounted monitor set up for videoconferencing. 

There’s also a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout the building for people who want to bring their own wireless devices.

Having access to a high-speed internet connection could also enable local artisans to sell their wares via online stores and empower entrepreneurs to launch all kinds of online businesses.

High school students can come in to do their homework, while older students can pursue online coursework.

Or people can just come in to hang out, surf the net, watch a movie or connect with others for multiplayer online games.

And for now, at least, it’s all free.

McCracken said Grant County Cyber Mill hopes to keep it that way, but even if the nonprofit has to start charging a user fee at some point, she thinks the cost will remain affordable.

While internet service is available through commercial sources in Seneca, it can be cost-prohibitive for some area residents. Others say their homes are too remote for satellite or DSL service, or the connection they are able to get is slow and unreliable.

“This part of Oregon is considered frontier,” McCracken said. “A lot of people don’t really know what that means, but when it comes to broadband, there’s really not a lot of options.”

Layne and Janelle Jackson, who moved to Seneca from Boston with their son, Luke, said they’ve been frustrated by the lack of reliable internet service at their ranch seven miles from town. The Cyber Mill, they said, could make a big difference for them.

“It’s crazy how bad our internet is,” said Janelle. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”