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Its no accident tti.it the level the county In !VJ m 2.K75 4 County lluntet and Anglers
f fjnn lHli.fi In M irw county
fai.l immii: Hie li sj; hf of any
county In iln J'.nifK Nithwet.
farming U the major Indus
try In Mrr' con My , Inflamed
by Irnoine fiin (he cttrity'
timber roun-e Wheat i the
major r;ih crop, balanced in
c me ft.-in jn"-t' k- t'i f".(fu a
Imii of agricultural ptoj;ram
with lrriial--i !( In 1 1 noiUi
t-rn ni'l of the county and l"ng
county nireninv lia hHjwd pro
creive farrnct I it tut M.ible
Modern tannin;; mt'i-d mak
ing uw 'f improved varieties,
mr rU'ld i- Iih Hun tf livestock
breeding Mirk. and better farm
Ing practice have hrtMvl Mr-
row county Imint'fn rmphaMie j
their Mog.-tn i.f luing in "the:
county of bilsisii-d advantages"!
Thi rich far mini: ana Is lo .
rated In the ninth t rt r I part f i
K.iswni Oregon, nixnit 270 miles
Inland from the Pacific Ocean.
The county is bounded on lh(
north liy over .'HI miles of the
Columbia ItiviT. To the caM lies
I'matiHa county, (Jrml and
Wheeler an south, and the coun
ty Ih bounded mi tin1 wed hy
Cllliam county.
A gently rolling plain lies next
to the Columbia River In tin
northern Hart of tin county. Ah
imi moves south, this nlain leads
Up to broad plateau and round
ed ridges that m ike up the cen
tral section of the county, and
further south, they merge with
the mora rugged terrain of the
Blue Mountains.
This rising slope of the county
from north to south Is shown hy
thp elevations of the towns. Low
M)lnt, 250 feet above sea level,
is at Boardman In the north. Ir
rigan lien at 1!'.)7 feet, Cecil at
G19, Morgan at 791. lone at 10SO,
laxington at 1 1."V1. Heppner at
1955, and Ilardman at 35W) feet
above sea level. The highest
point Is Madison Butte. It Is (MM)
feet uhovo the sea.
Precipitation In the county fol
lows the land contour, Increasing
from north to south. Average an
nual precipitation Is 8.6 Inches
In the northern end of the coun
ty, Increasing to IS inches In tne
forests to the south. Heppner has
13.05 Inches.
Temperatures here sire consid
ered moderate, and the growing
season averages 1C8 days h year.
At Heppner, average tempera
tures ranee from a high in the
90's in the summer, to lows
around zero In the winter.
Drainage is supplied by Wil
low and Butter creeks, that head
In- the Blue Mountains In the
south and flow through the coun
tv into the Columbia River on
the north. These streams, to
gcther with Rhea, Hlnton and
other streams, provide water for
livestock and for irrigation In
meadows and valleys along the
way.
Soils In the county vary from
coarse-textured .sands and sandy
loams in the north to medium
textured silt loams and sllty clay
loams in the south. Reflecting
the heavier rainfall and higher
elevation in the south, the soils
become progressively darker
with well-developed subsoils.
Alluvial bottomland soils oc
cur in the stream valleys and
vary from light to medium tex
ture. Alkali, the plague of the
irrigated west, is formed where
drainage is poor, but there isn't
much of it.
Named for J. L. Morrow, an
early resident, Morrow county,
with 2059 square miles, was split
off from Umatilla county by the
Oregon legislature February 16,
1885. First industry in the new
county was cattle raising, but a
few settlers also operated supply
stores for early travelers coming
over the Oregon Trail. The trail
crossed Willow Creek at Cecil,
and its ruts can still be seen at I
many points.
The city of Heppner was nam
ed for Henry Heppner, who
owned the first store on the site.
It was incorporated in 1887, and
later became the county seat.
Lexington and lone were both
incorporated in 1M)3. Lexington
was named by the Penland fam
ily in memory of their home
town of Lexington, Ky. lone was
named for lone Wilson, baby
daughter of an early settler
whose home was part of the
townsite. Boardman, incorporat
ed in 1927, was named for Sam
uel H. Boardman, whose original
homestead became the townsite.
Nearly 75 per cent of the
1.3V7.70O acres of land in Mor
row county is in farms, accord
ing to the 1959 U. S. census of
agriculture. Of this land. 372.306
is in cropland, 590.497 in pasture
land. 15. 327 in other farm land,
and 339.630 in land not in farms.
The nurrilwr of farms in 1959,
was listed at 3st by the census. I
down 77 farms from the 1954
'ensus. Average size of farm in
r
-.
IrtUMifd litmt averaging U! tfamr .rerv Mln fit nd
around li i r. are found in the ; B. tlv !!!. I inur future hunt
i-Uri-me ri..ftii.-in fiid. A ! J iK fl-tdnf Th Columbia
do, it u.d for M.llni! and fall i liHrr Slate '.'9II1P ItcfujM. rover
idiiep rjetf l'r tx-lwren IM If
rivaled wti..n and the wheat
of
ana In the ni tral M. Cattle
rim In' me found mainly In (be
in-uilscrn pail of the county, with
the rtJiie Mountain In the u!h-
east fumi'ditiiiJ ri'iittderablr
ram) for livix'-xk a well at
t'mlM-r for Die lumlw-r industry.
Wheat, alternated with win
iner f.illow, U the predominant
l)pe id agriculture. AIm.uI !) jcr
lent f the u licit in fill planted
In 1959. winter wheat wan plant
ed on over ll.V) acres, spring
wheat n MmhiI 2.VK) ncres. and
bin lev on over t5,io acres. In-
1 come to the county from grain
'crops hi 19i) win estimated at
( around V 779 275,
' Livestock m ike up the icond
ll.irgtst Houree of farm Inctime,
' amoumln" to $l.90l,7(M) In VMM.
' In the last 10 years, sheep
numbcis have dii reasel, all ho
lira has liecn offset by more cat
tie. During the same iierlod.
rattle numbers rose from 2O.5O0
to over .HMN M) in l!M'i0.
Other important sources of ag
ricultural Income, nccordlnj; to
1960 estimale.H mnile by the coun
tv extension ageid. were hay and
silaee, $1 .n.'t0.5M); farm timber
nrodui'ts. $150. (MM); potatoes and
truck crop. Kil.fXiO; dairy. $.VM).
0(M); eggs and poultry, 5!Mi.4.0;
and fruit. $25iM).
All told, Agricultural initime
in Morrow county in 1900 was es
timated at 510.C37.77S.
A growing total of Irrigated
land In the county Is helping to
diversify agriculture. In 1959, 283
farms listed 11.011 acres under
1959 irrigation.
Largest Irrigated areas are
around Boardman and Irrigon in
the north. An abundance cf wat
or. coupled with a large reserve,
allow farmers to raise potatoes
melons, fruits, and other truck
crops. Hay, however, remains the
chief crop of the irrigated farms
in the north, and In the creek
bottoms of Rhea. Willow, Butter
and Hlnton creeks.
Timber resources also play a
big part In the economic struc
ture of Morrow countv. Timber
lands cover about 233,500 acres,
The Umatilla National Forest,
lying in the Blue Mountains in
the southeast corner, contains
202,000 acres.
Morrow county forests provide
much more than Just Income
from timber. They protect the
watersheds that provide lrriga
tion and domestic water for the
lands and towns below. And,
equally Important, all parts of
the forest suitable for Rrazlng
about 200,000 acres are under
permit to stockmen who have
grazing rights established by
ownership of land and prior use.
Its rangelands and rolling for
ests also help turn Morrow coun
ty into a sportsman s delight,
and the tourist trade has become
another source of income. There
is excellent deer and elk hunt
ing In the Blue Mountains
Pheasants are plentiful, and
ducks and geese by the thous
ands swarm from the Columbia
to feed on the irrigated areas
and stubble fields. Hunters from
all over Oregon visit the county
ach year. We, who live here,
live right in the middle of a big
vacation land.
The mountain streams and
alley creeks are also noted for
their supply of fighting rainbow
trout, and fishermen regularly
atch their limit. The Morrow
liitf 2 2"0 rte, 1 also in the
muni) ,
Stale anl i-ounty highwax
rilssa ros the county and facili
tate rnot.r Iraxel and trantor
tation of ?imW We have ISO
tulle of Mate highway on ktate
highway 71. 2"i, and 2l)7. U. S
Highway 30 skirt the Columbia
flivrr on the north, and a net
work of county road link the
county together. j
Several truck line provide i
freight transportation. A branch
line of the Union Pacific Rail
rad reaches 77 mile from Ar
lington on the Columbia River
to Heppner. Tills branch line tiesi
in the county with the main line
of the Union Pacific and with
large and other navigation fa
cilities on he Columbia River.
Barge lines have carried an In
creasing amount of freight out
of Morrow County In recent years.
There Is a good airport at Lex
ington. Heppner. in the south-central
part. Is the principal town and
trading center and the county
seat. A town of about 17(0 citi
zens. Heppner has fine schools,
churches, lodges, civic groups, a
riding club, golf course and
young peoples' organizations that
make it an alert and active community.
The four other principal towns
are Boardman and Irrigon on the
Columbia River, and lone and
Lexington on the Willow Creek
highway.
All five towns have standard
elementary ahd high schools.
School buses provide transpor
tation for children thruout the
county.
Population of Morrow county
was estimated ny tne uregon
State Board of Health, to be
about 4870 In 1955. This is a
gain of 500 in 15 years.
Morrow County boasts the
only hospital In the state with a
private airstrip at its back door.
This allows emergency cases to
be brought In from all over the
county. The ultra-modern, 49-bed
hospital is fully equipped with
modern X-ray facilities, surgery,
obstetrics room, and a completely j
equipped laboratory.
The Morrow County Rodeo has
attracted visitors from far and
wide for over a quarter of a cen
tury. This event held the first
part of September, now includes
the Morrow County Fair.
!
mm
!
Gun Club
JPopular
r Pastime
r. t k
4 t
; V.
ONE of tha fin ranch in tb ot central part of Morrow county U tho H. C Cam pboll placo.
Thi ii tho homo wboro on Larry Campbell oni family lit on tho ranch. (G T Photo)
BR I STOWS
MARKET
FOR THE BEST
IN
GROCERIES
AND MEATS
42 YEARS
OF SERVICE
I0NE
We Get Rid
Of Pests
BUT WE EXTEND A
HEARTY WELCOME
TO NEWC0MER5
GET RiDyyj
RODENT CONTROL
GRAIN FUMIGATION
BIN SPRAYING
HOUSE FUMIGATING
YARD SPRAYING
TERMITE WORK
BIRD CONTROL
Dobyns Pest Control
John Jepscn
IONE. Phone 8-7180 or 8-7244 Pendleton. Croiview 6 2125
r
i it irniV-' ....-- i , -. , - ill
THIS PHOTO shows on of tho modern trends In agriculture on Morrow county wheat ranches.
Six new grain bins are in construction on tho ranch of H. G. Campbell and son Larry CampbelL
Grain Is removed from tho largo bins by Inserting an augur through pipes that go to tho
bottom of invested cones underground. Sides are Jut starting to bo formed on tho bins in this
photo. (G T Photo)
One of the ewral j'puUr
jHift t lull 1 tht Morrow (oun
ty t!un Club for the clay tar--!
ijirti.mrn.
It w organised In l'U'.i and
crounU Ate located a mile south
i f ll. ppniT Jut .ff highway 207.
where they have good back
ground, roomy t-lulduiusc and
two rlix-trie trap
Much time, alor and planning
bv the memliers ha made It a
very iui-cessful nun club.
Several amateur have risen to
top shooters through their par
ticipation In the event here dur
ing the past year.
Lach spring they enter the
Oregon Journal Telegraphic
Shoot where most of the gun
club In Oregon participate. The
club here combined with the
IlermiMon and Arlington clubs
won the Journal plaque In 1!57
and again In 1!59.
Another yearly event is an an
nual spring shoot with perpetual
purses that have been running
for seven years. This shoot
brings many trapshooters from
the nelgboring gun clubs which
this year was held May 14.
Also the proceeds from the
shoot a year Is donated to a
charitable organization.
Pity the grouch he's a
who has sized himself up
got sore about It.
guy
and
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o