Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 1972)
Hkl'l'NtH K Citv Hotel stood between the Mi.sonic Bailding and Thomson Store. Ojierated by Stanley Minor's grandparents, the Ellis Minors shown here with members of their family. Oregon Grows Continued Ellis Minor, George Noble, S.P. Florence. Giles French writes, "The fact is there wasn't a farmer in the lot. Probably every head of a liousehold raised a few crops on his land, but grass grew on the creek bot toms by nature's hand and the income was from stock and there wasn't much of that nor much of a market for what there was. It was not until 1874 that Joseph Glidden ob tained a patent on the manu facture of barbed wire. Be fore that, land was fenced with poles or with rock. Cattle and sheep ran at large and tilling the soil -the occupa tion of a farmer-was diffi cult without the possibility of enclosures more con venient than poles or rocks". (Homesteads and Heritages, THE rv' HEPPNER GAZETTE-TIMES Serving Morrow County And Parts of Grant, Wheeler, Umatilla and Gilliam Counties For 89 YEARS The PLACE To Get Your Job Printing Wedding Invitations Letterheads and Envelopes Invoices and Business Printing For Anything Printed Call 676-9228 Or 676-9492 SECTION 3, PAGE 5 Pg. 2. ) About then, Joseph Mason of Portugal came east from Salem, Oregon into the Rhea Creek Valley, He bought 160 acres and later built the first brick house in Morrow County w here a large fa mily grew up. Mr. Mason planted the first orchard and berries on Rhea Creek and early travelers found this an ideal place to camp and rest and were happy to find a place to buy such fine food. 1870 brought many familar names to Morrow. Edward Cluff, the Irish founder of lone arrived. Albert Wright, James Ayers, Thomas Mor gan, J. Crockett Kirk, brothers William and Frank Gilliam, Henry Padberg and his family, Eli Summers and his family moved in. Very close to this time the A.M. Mallory family and Tom and Mike Quaid settled on Balm Fork. Many Irish were beginning to arrive including Black Horse James G. Do herty and Mike Kenny. From England came the Hynd Fam ily. Frank Maddock, Anson Wright, the Hayes Brothers -Jim, John and Jeff, Tom Matlock A.G. Bartholomew, Wm. P. Dutton, George J. Currin, Orin Farnsworth, Milt Hale, came in rather near the time of Heppners founding. HEPPNER'S FOUNDING Astory in an old newspaper quotes Frank Gilliam's story that the city of Heppner came near to being located some 15 miles south on the waters fo upper Rhea Creek. When Mr. Gilliam fist arrived in this area there was no town and the territory was settled only by stockmen who had homes on the creeks and ran cattle and sheep over the roll ing hills which were covered with bunch grass and sage brush. No one thought of grow ing wheat on the hills until some 15 years later. Quite early in 1872 a store was established on the Heppner-Hardman road at the present site of the bridge (now Ruggs). Later the same year Henry Heppner and J.L. Morrow debated whether to place a store there also, but selected the site on Willow Creek. Taylor Spencer moved his store into Heppner in the summer of 1873 to com pete with them. Several stories are given about why Henry Heppner' s first store was built where it was. Various persons claimed to have influenced, him. The matter of who start ed whom in the partnership of Heppner-Morrow is also questioned. It is certain that Henry Heppner had been through this area often; J.L. Morrow wasaLaGrande mer chant. At that time supplies were hauled into the area from ' Umatilla Landing which was over fifty miles away, or from Pendleton, John Day or The Dalles. Mr. Morrow and , Mr. Heppner were exper ienced businessmen, and no matter who had the idea first, they decided to plunge. Jack son Lee Morrow came to Stansbury Flat and began to
