Significant
Developments
Continued from Page 6
managed In t manner evinc
ing progresslveness and ef
ficiency In the mayor and
council.
COMING OF THE RAILWAY
From 1887 through 1888
negotiations were carried on
with several rallways.Sever
al propositions were made
and finally one was worked
out with the O.R. & N. peo
ple. Construction was start
ed In 1888 and completed
from Willows to Heppner on
Dec. 7, 1889, a Jubiliant day.
The railway brought new life
and energy into the county.
It especially Invigorated the
wheat raising industry as it
had been impossible to trans
port the yield by wagon to
the main line of the rail
road for the prevailing pric
es. Heppner real estate rose
fifty per cent.
"The entire mercantile bu
siness for the year 1888,"
says the Gazette supplement
of 1889 "scarcely exceed
ed $300,000. Recnt summar
ies from the books of mer
chants show that three deal
ers in general merchandise
have sold goods to the amount
of $160,000 in six months.
The seventeen firms doing bu
siness have a trade of over
$273,000 for half the year.
The flouring mill, brewery
and other manufacturing es
tablishments have doubled ca
pacity and are unable to meet
demands of increased busin
Willie Wirehand Says:
"Congratulations to Heppner
Umatilla Electric Cooperative Association has served
the northern part of Morrow county since. 1938. In a
continuing effort to provide dependable service to the
rural areas, UECA is continually expanding its electrical
network. Recently UECA constructed a new sub station
and transmission line to provide dependable service to
the expanding northern Morrow county area.
UECA will continually play its part in the future de
velopment of northern Morrow county.
(UMMMLA LP
HERMISTON 567-6414
ess. A conservative estimate
of the entire trade for 1889
would exceed $1,000,000 or
three times that of the year
previous."
The community became
very concerned about Its wa
ter supjdy and about the pos
sibility of a disastrous Are.
Otis Patterson of the Gazet
te was asked to gather In
formation about artesian
wells. Which led lo the dril
ling of an expensive lest well
some S30 feet deep but no
flow of water. So the city
continued to use springs and
small wells.
After the advent of the rail
way and the increase of 'raf
fle and business the Palace
Hotel Company was incorpor
ated on Oct. 26, 1889 by Tho
mas Qua Id, J.w. Morrow, C.
A. Rhea, Henry Blackman
and J.B. Natter, who soon
began the erection of a three
story brick building so that
the next year the town could
boast of as fine a hostelry
as was to be found in any
other town of twice the size
in the Inland Empire. It was
leased to Will Van Cadow and
business flourished. 1889
also saw the construction of
the Fair building and the
opening of one or two more
places of business.
A MOST UNUSUAL
DISASTER
During the time of the con
struction of the railroad, in
the spring of 1888 a rare
and unusual disaster, a dev
estating cyclone struck Lex
ington. It formed just north
of town and struck first at
Lexington grove twisting oft
the trees with remarkable
evenness. It caused a great
deal of wreckage in Lexing
ton, leveling and moving
homes and town buildings and
killing four persons. It con
tinued out to Sand Hollow
where It picked up several
houses and strew them about.
It terminated at a point be
yond Pine City where It had
demolished the schoolhouse.
During 1889 some ex
citment was generated by re
ports of mining successes on
Upper Willow creek. Cropp
lngs were foundassaying over
$160 In gold and silver, and
on its 100th birthday. "
We Care . . . We're Consumer Owned
many hoped that coal mining
would prove profitable. The
mines were abandoned later
on.
EARLY LPS AND DOWNS
The winter of 1889-90 was
an unusually severe one and
thousands of head of stock
perished for want of food.
This slowed business some
what but business still seem
ed to increase, being some
what stimulated by the im
provements made by the state
on the Monument road. 1891
was a fine harvest year, pric
es were very good and gen-'
eral prosperity prevailed.
Ts.7rfrr--wjij" st--""- ,l i 'mm
''i'Tl1 " Unfm-ftl lift- -- T7i
HEPPNER'S PALACE HOTEL
nreca "
L.
SECTION 3. PACE 9
Mr. Overholtz who had been
operating the flouring mill
was drowned In Clark's Can
yon about 1885 and the mill
changed hands several times
from W.B. Cunninghame &
Co., to John W. Morrow, to
Nelse Jones and others. It
passed into the bands of J.B.
Sperry about 1887, and be
built a large structure which
cost about $32,000. Mr. Sper
ry s Interests became scat
tered and bis energies fet
tered by lack of funds, but
he kept the mill In opera
tion until fall of 1891, when
C ontinued Page 10
(Courtesy Lois Winchester)