r - i
J
HENRY HEPPNER
Thi pditinn nf the Hennner Gazette-Times is the
newspaper's major contribution to the spirit of the
Heppner centennial. It deals mainly with history and
development of Heppner which is inevitably concerned
with the history and development and growth in all
the towns and areas in Morrow County. When Hep
pner first . started there was no Morrow County, it
was a part of Umatilla County which had been carved
from Wasco County, a huge area which stretched clear
over to Wyoming!
Memories this edition will bring mixed emotions
as Heppner has been the site of a major American
tragedy, the Heppner Flood of June 14r 1903. We are
confident our readers will find in this issue a narra
tive of the commerce, industries, the major agricul
tural activities : and institutions of a great region.
We cannot, at this late date, vouch for the authen
ticity of all our historical data but we've m-.de it as
authentic as we possibly could. No location nor family
was intentionally slighted. So much information was
brought in much will be run in future issues of the
Gazette-Times for several years.
To build on the frontier a century ago surely re
quired a giant-size helping of dedication, vision, hard
work and just plain guts. To the memories of these
pioneers who forged a county from the raw, we say
Hurray! and a big salute from all of us with this
issue of Morrow County's own newspaper.
We are most grateful to the dozens of folks who
sent up photos and historical data to make this edition
possible. We thank our good advertisers who supported
the issue and made it possible to publish what we
believe to be one of the largest papers in the history
of the Gazette-Times.
Our thanks to our subscribers and our thanks, too, to
our staff who put in many long hard hours to make
the issue a reality.
. Dorothy & Charlie Heard,
T
Heppner' s 100th
CHOOSING A NAME
Henry Heppner did not mar
ry and had no children upon
whom to leave his name, and
it was a happy thought of
his neighbors to place his
name upon the city. At a
meeting held to christen the
town, he votedagainstthe mo
tion to name it thus, but the
rest carried it over his ob
jections and Heppner it
stands. (Pg. 370, History of
the Pacific Northwest.)
Editors 4 Publishers
Year .
Schiach's History of Uma
tilla and Morrow Counties
(pg. 292) gives the selection
of ttie name thus, "During
the winter of 1872-3, the
sturdy knights of the frontier
began to concern themselves
that the embryo town should
be granted the dignity of a
name, and a conference was
held for the purpose of cho
osing a suitable designation.
We have the authority of some
of the participants in the dis
cussion preceding the chris
tening that the minds of the
cattlemen were very fertile
in suggesting possible appel
lations, each having a name
of his own to propose. It
is said that Stansbury was
In favor of the name Willow
Creek, while someone else
suggested Willows as being
shorter. Notwithstanding the
general healthfulness of the
place, Messrs. Heppner &
Morrow had found it necess
ary to import for medicinal
purposes a quantity of I.X.
L., and many were found who
wished to name thetownafter
their favorite panacea for all
the ills which usually afflict
a pioneer people. This name
met more popular favor than
any previously suggested, but
found fewer friends than Per
ry Oiler's New Chicago. The
name which finally prevailed
and which has been the of
ficial designation ever since
was suggested by Mr. Stans
bury himself.
VIGOROUS EARLY GROWTH
Blacksmith O.H. Hallock
started his business very so
on and competitors Bishop
Chase and George Stewart
came to build their shop out
of whipsawed lumber.
In the summer of 1873 The
Spencer store from Ruggs
moved to Heppner. That fall
Dr. Allan J. Shobe of Ne
vada arrived. He was per
suaded to open a drug store
and to take over the IXL
that Heppner and Morrow had
handled.
The settlement of the coun
ty progressed steadily. As
early as 1873 the need for
a school was felt. The court
of Umatilla County organized
a district, but it was evi
dent that the push for a scho
ol had to be made locally.
"Accordingly, Mr. Heppner
mounted a Cayuse and pro
ceeded around the neighbor
hood to solicit subscriptions,
the firm to which he belong
ed having first started the list
with a donation of $100 worth
of materials. The scatter
ing inliabitants supported the
movement with liberality, but
when all had been done that
It was thought could be done
in furtherance of the pro
ject it was found that consi
derable money still remained
to be raised. Nelson Jones
the town's first milkman,
came to the rescue with the
amount required. Henry
Johnson did the carpenter
work, and soon a very cre-t
ditable structure stood.''
(History of U. & M. Coun
ties, Pg. 292)
This account continues, "A
bell was furnished by Henry
Heppner, to whose enterprise
the town was mainly indebted
for its first school. Mr. Hep
pner had no children to edu
cate and no personal interest
in the matter, but being a public-spirited
man he was will
ing to work for anything tend
ing toward the promotion of
the commonweal Mr, Hep
pner displayed a like public
spirit whenever an opportun
ity presented itself, and the
town which bears his name
found in him a man ever will
ing to take the lead in its
upbuilding." (The school was
built on Gale St. where the
Clinic Bldg. stands now and
was moved years later to
West Center where it was
remodeled into a residence in
which Mrs. Rachel Harnett
now lives.
In 1873 the first saloon,
built of lumber hauled from
Umatilla Landing, was opened
by Dlshaway and Sanford.
In 1875 Henry Heppner en
tered into a partnership with
Frank Maddock establishing
a merchandising business
with the stock of goods left
by Taylor Spencer at his dea
th. The first hotel in town
was established by E. Van
Sliull, Frank Goble and Per
ry Oiler, who also instituted
a livery business. Mrs. E.J.
Smith also built a hotel at
an early date and kept it
for a time, then sold the
building to Henry Blackmail.
"During the few years whi
ch followed the growth of the
town was quite rapid, its
business development be
coming so complex and mul
tiform that It is practically
useless to attempt to trace
it further in detail," Mr.
Schiach wrote.
By Justine Wjatherford
Read ... .
HOMESTEADS
HERITAGES
By Giles French
Available at both
Banks and local
stores.