The gazette-times., October 14, 1915, Page PAGE FOUR, Image 4

THE GAZETTE-TIMES, HEPl'NK'i- ORE., THURSDAY, OCT. 14, 1913
T.r,r. four
501 EARLY HISTORY OF HEPPNER
RECOUNTED EI i OREGON PIONEER
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BONDS and INSURANCE
INSURE IN
Royal Insurance Co. and Fireman's
Fund
AND YOUR BONDS IN
United States Fidelity Guaranty Co.
Rates furnished upon request
T. J. MAHONEY : ': Heppner, Oregon
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s.A. R. REID
for your
Rough and Dressed Lumber,
Wood and Posts
At the Mill or delivered
j4,4,44444444444'M''M'
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WATCH!
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LicensedEmbalmer Lady Assistant
1. L.YEAGER
FUNERAL DIRECTOR
Phone Residence Heppner, Oregon
By T. T. GEER. in Sunday's
Oregonian.
The little city of Heppner, the cap
ital of Morrow County, situated about
50 miles south of the Columbia river
is one of the best points to be found
anywhere in the interior of Oregon,
and is characterized by all features
of the frontier, though its men and
women are cultured and enjoy all the
conveniences of modern life.
For about 30 years Heppner has
been the terminus of a branch rail
road connecting it with the O.-W. R
& N., and has remained Its terminus
to the present day, thus reaping the
advantage which accrues to all ter
minal towns. A vast region stretch
ing southward to the Blue Mountains
furnishes a substantial basis for a
permanent and growing support.
Away back in the later 60s among
the prominent merchants of La
Grande was J. L. Morrow known to
everybody as "Jack" Morrow. He
was in business there for several
years, when, in 1871, a man named
Henry Heppner, who had been trav
eling through that country buying
hides and wool in a small way, had
observed that toward the head of
Willow Creek, in the southwestern
part of Umatilla County, a few set
tlers were coming in with stock, and
as the range there was practically
inexhaustible, the outlook was good
for a rapid settlement. He suggested
to J. L. Morrow that there was cer
tain to be a town started in that sec
tion, and that he had selected the
the spot where it would be. He fur
ther insisted that he and Morrow
form a partnership and start a store
there in anticipation of some other
venture in the same line. Morrow
thought enough of the proposition to
take a horseback ride across the
country with Heppner. They
"weighed the probabilities" of a fu
ture settlement and decided to put in
a stock of goods, which they did in
the early Spring of 1872. They se
lected the spot where Heppner now
stands, at the very head of Willow
Creek Valley, where the little and or
dinarily unpretentious stream bear
ing that name starts toward the Co
lumbia River, some 50 miles away.
When Morrow and Heppner went
to that section with their Btock of
goods, the only building within miles
of the location was a log cabin occu
pied by a man named Frank Stans-
bury. He had a few head of cattle
and had a squatter's right to the lit
tle valley where Heppner now stands.
Morrow and Heppner bought a small
tract, laid it off into streets and built
a small "box" storehouse, a partition
separating the store portion from the
rear part, which was occupied by Mr.
Morrow's family for several years.
This building remained on that cor
ner and was used in the same line of
business until 1890, when it was re-
Ulue Mountains.
Indeed, for a period of about 30
years, or until the building of the
branch line from Arlington to Con
don a short time ago, there was more
wool shipped from Heppner each year
direct from the growers, than any
other single point anywhere in the
West. It is still a great shipping
center for wool, but in later years
the wheatgrowing industry has been
extensively developed and cattle and
horses are grown on a large scale.
Nowhere in Eastern Oregon or
Washington was there a more mag
nificent stretch of the famous bunch
grass than that which greeted the
eye of the traveler as he rode across
that portion of Umatilla County now
composing the County of Morrow. I
first saw Heppner in June, 1877, as I
came across that section with my wife
and three babies, enroute to Marion
County to make my future home, and
now recall that for many miles be
tween Pendleton and Heppner there
were thousands of acres of bunch
grass, two feet In height, where no
animal had taken a bite of the splen
did feed since it had emerged from
tli ground in the early Spring.
Within a mile of the several
streams that come down from the
mountains at distant intervals the
grass had all been eaten off, but oth
erwise the range at that time was
waving in beckoning invitation to the
ranger, cowboy and stockman.
Grist Mill Serves Long.
At that early day a grist mill was
in process of completion by a man
named Beegle, still after 38 years in
service, though it has been several
times remodeled and improved. There
were very few houses in Heppner at
that time and the writer recalls pur
chasing from "Jack" Morrow, whom
he had known in La Grande, a small
supply of needed articles for the re
mainder of the trip.
Heppner has had its share of men
who became well known over the
state for their successes in various
lines of endeavor. Among these
should be mentioned W. II. Ellis,
School Superintendent, Circuit Judge
for six years and member of Congress
for five terms. John Wilson, who
was one of the first men to go from
the Willamette Valley to the Hepp
ner country to engage in the sheep
business. He served Umatilla Coun
ty in the Legislature in 1SS0 and
was a member from Marion in 1SS9,
to which county he had later re
turned. G. W. Phelps, at present Circuit
Judge for that district, was a citizen
of Heppner and was a member of the
Legislature from Morrow County in
1902. Others of those who w.(i
prominent in developing that section
of Eastern Oregon were Frank Mad
dock, one time Sheriff of Umatilla
County, a man of the frontier roufjh-and-ready
type; Judge A. Mallory,
Judge A. G. Bartholomew, George
Conser, connected with the First Na
tional Ban:c for 20 years, and ,J. ,'. 1
Brown, twic-3 member ol the Legis
moved to make a place for the Palace lature The AyerSi nhea an(, Mat.
Hotel, which is one of the best-known
lock families were prominent In the
and popular hostelries anywhere iu : ear,y dayg ,n furtherillg the (,rowll.
!of Heppner and Morrow County, sov-
Central Oregon.
In 1S70 a man named Speneer had eraJ of wUom 8tm remain ,ere
started a store anoui iu nines irom
.,j$4$44.j.4444444444444444444$4''S,,8'
L. MONTERESTELU
MARBLE AND GRANITE
WORKS
PENDLETON, OREGON v
Fine Monument and Cemetery Work.
All parties interested in getting work in my
line should get my prices and estimates
before, placing their orders.
ALL WORK GUARANTEED
Willow Creek on Rhea Creek, but
soon discovered that he had made a
mistake in his guess. The head of
Willow Creek Valley was a better lo
cation for the coming town, but Mor
row and Heppner had "heat him to
it," so in the Fall of 1872 he moved
his stock to Heppner and bought the
opposite corner where the First Na
tional Bank has been located for
more than 20 years.
One of the prominent "first set
tlers" locating in that section was A.
Mallory, a brother of Judge Hufus
Mallory, who arrived in Salem with
his family from New York State in
the fall of 1868. He "wintered" in
lie Looney neighborhood south of
Salem, and in the Spring of 1869
went across the mountains on horse
back and decided that the prospect
for a splendid stock country was un
surpassed at the head of Willow
Creek, and located five miles above
where Heppner is. In the Fall he re
turned to the Willamette Valley and
took his family to the new Eastern
Oregon home in the Spring of 1870
except one daughter, who, in the
meantime, had concluded to become
the wife of John B. Looney, since
State Senator from Marion County
for eight years, and another who had
gone to the town of Union to teach
school and had favorably listened to
the persuasive eloquence of W. T.
Wright to become his life partner.
These wives and husbands are still
living, Mrs. Wright being the mother
of Will Wright, ex-State Bank Exam
iner and now connected with the
Scandinavian-American Bank of this
city.
Mr. Mallory First Judge in Morrow.
Mr.' Mallory was appointed the first
judge of Morrow County upon its
creation by the legislature of 1885,
and lived in Heppner until his death
a few years ago.
Soon after the location of the Mor
row and Heppner store in 1872 the
settlement of that portion of Umatilla
County progressed rapidly, many peo
ple going there from the Willamette
Valley with cattle and sheep to take
advantage of the Immense area of
bunchgrass hills and plains that
stretched well to the summit of the
After continuing in the mercantile
business for a few years, Henry Hepp
ner disposed of his interests and re
turned to his first vocation, that of
buying hides. Old-timers in Hepp
ner recall many of the characteristics
of this pioneer delver after wealth.
For several years he rodo a mare he
owned all over the country in iuest
of hides, and, having no wagon, or
perhaps needing none, lie would often
lash several hundred sheep hides to
gether, with a few cowhides for an
outside covering, and drag the "car
go" from the hills miles away into I
Heppner by a lariat fastened to the i
horn of his saddle.
There are several one-story brick
dwellings still standing in Heppner I
which were erected by tills pioneer
merchant anu tradesman, Hearing 111s
name and one presenting the date of
889.
"Jack" Morrow remained In busi
ness in Heppner for a period of near
ly 20 years, was a member of the Leg
islature in 1876 and died a few years
ago, leaving a splendid reputation
for business integrity and with as
many friends as he had acquain
tances. His son, J. W. Morrow, own
er and landlord of the- Palace Hotel
for a few years and afterward clerk
of Morrow County for eight years,
is now the tax agent for the O.-W.
It. & N. Company in Portland. He
also served his district as State Sen
ator for four years.
The public will generally recall the
fearful catastrophe which overtook
Heppner on Sunday, June 14, 1903,
when a cloudburst in the immense
rtablelands between the city and the
Blue Mountains brought down the
different canyons and gulches which
converge at that point a veritable
wall of water, which the surviving
residents Bay was 30 feet in height
as it entered the upper edge of the
town. Its flow was retarded and ag
gravated by the remains of houses
and barns, which it had gathered
from the farms above, thus adding
to the Vrestible volume that swept
everything before it as It dealt out
death and destruction in its furious
rush through the surprised and help
less city.
Within 20 minutes it was all over,
NOW
is a good time to
be measured
for that
Royal Tailor Suit
PHELPS GROCERY CO.
Resident Agents
FUNERAL SUPPLIES
MODERN EQUIPMENT
PAINSTAKING SERVICE
CASE FURNITURE COMPANY
rink "Grape Smash"
The pure flavor of the Concord Grape
5c a glass
Fresh Ice Cream Every Day WE MAKE IT
THE PALM
The Home of Good "Sweet Meats"
GET
THE HABIT
OF DEPOSITING YOUR FUNDS WITH
The First National Bank of Heppner
WE BKMEVE THERE IS MUCH ROOM FOR DE
VELOPMENT OF THE SAVINGS HABIT AMONG THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE IN GENERAL, AND AMONG OUR
LOCAL PEOPLE IN PARTICULAR.
WHEN WE FIRST PUT IN OUR SAVINGS DEPART
MENT RESULTS WERE NOT ENCOURAGING, BUT WE
FIND THAT THE DEPOSITS HAVE GRADUALLY IN
CREASED. A LARGER NUMBER ARE MAKING USE
OF THIS METHOD OF TAKING CARE OF THEIR IDLE
FUNDS.
WE ARE PREPARED TO CARE FOR BOTH LARGE
AND SMALL AMOUNTS AND PAY FOUR PER CENT.
INTEREST.
WE FEEL THAT THERE ARE MANY MORE IN THIS
COMMUNITY WHO SHOULD BE AVAILING THEM
SELVES OF OUR SAVINGS DEPARTMENT.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED WE WILL BE PLEASED
TO HAVE YOU CALL AND GET PARTICULARS.
and 214 people were drawn Into the
pitiless flood and drowned. Consid
ering its population, it was the larg
est per cent of loss of life ever ex
perienced by any city in the United
States in the same length of time.
A few days ago I visited the cemetery,
which overlooks the city, and was
again impressed -with the awful ex
tent of the calamity as I walked
among the gravestones, reading the
statemont over and over again; "Died
on June 14, 1903."
At one place eight I believe It
was eight stones are in a row, each
announcing that Henry, aged 6, or
Myrtle, aged 3, as the case might be,
and the mother had passed away on
June 14, 1903. Seven children and
the mother at 3 o'clock in the after
noon were in their home, happy and
unsuspecting, and within 20 minutes
were all dead. Hardly a family in
the city escaped a loss of some mem
ber. With characteristic grit, however,
and with the belief that such an ex
perience would perhaps never over
take the city again, Heppner began
its rebuilding and it is now one of the
most thriving little cities to be found
anywhere in the Inland Empire.
The Morrow County Fair has just
closed with a splendid exhibit of
fruit, vegetables and grains and an
attendance that Indicated the loyalty
of its people and their faith In its
steady growth. What it needs most,
Indeed, what all Oregon needs most,
is more people on smaller farms a
condition that will insure better cul
tivation, larger yields and Increased
1 profits with less labor.
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