Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2004)
A short history of Morrow County By Bettv Mills Wetsoll u of 0 Newspaper Library Eugene, OR 97403 B239Ì9 T his is a short history o f M orrow County and the fam ilies that started som e o f the businesses on Main Street, which are featured on the mural on the Ag M useum building. SETTLING SANSBURY FLAT VO L 123 NO. 7 12 Pages Wednesday, February 18,2004 MC Arts and Crafts plans for St. Pat’s Day • * M o rro w C o u n ty C reative Arts and Crafts will be in the Les Schwab building on Friday, M arch 12 from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m . and Saturday, M arch 13 from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., during the St. Pat’s Celebration in Heppner. A ll m em bers are asked to bring an article describing their articles for sale to the Feb. 26 meeting at G D ’s banquet room at 1 p.m . A lso on agenda will b e p a in tin g s fro m B e tty C rossw hite for her April 16 and 17 workshop. Pictures o f watercolor subject matter will be at the meeting to highlight a w o rk sh o p by Joyce A nderson. Any m em ber or n o n -m e m b er in te rested in these w orkshops is urged to attend and see list o f supplies needed. W o rk s h o p fo r Crossw hite is six students or more and Anderson workshop is 10 students or more. Sandra Haynes will do a m ake-up class in M arch of colored pencil. C ontact Judie L a u g h lin a t 6 7 6 - 9 7 8 1 . C o n ta c t B e tty M ills fo r Crosswhite at 676-5546. The public is invited to the meeting and to take w orkshops. HLL to hold registration for 8225 o r R e n é e Y ocom 2004 Season R egistration for the 2004 season at Heppner Little L e a g u e w ill b e h e ld on W e d n e sd a y , F e b . 18 an d F riday, Feb. 20, from 5-7 p.m. Children ages 4 through 12 are eligible to enroll to play Wtffle ball, T-ball and M inors a n d M a jo rs b a s e b a ll a n d s o f tb a ll. R e g is tr a tio n is req u ired ev en if the ch ild played previously. R egistration w ill be h e ld a t th e H e p p n e r Neighborhood Center. At least one parent o r legal guardian must be present, with proof o f residency and a copy o f an original or state-certified birth certificate. A driver’s licease or u tility b ill is a c c e p ta b le d o c u m e n ta tio n . F o r m ore in fo r m a tio n , in c lu d in g a description o f the boundaries, call R obyn Skaggs at 676- Navy son reenlists at 676-9821. Little L eague is the w orld’s largest youth sports program w ith m ore than 2.8 million children and one million volunteers in m ore than 100 c o u n tr i e s . For m o re information on Little League, visit the Little League website at www.littleleague.org. M a jo r a n d M in o r baseball and softball tryouts will being with Major boys and girls on M arch 17 and 18 at 4 p.m. Boys will be at G eorge W aterland Field and girls at Bob K ilkenny Field. M inor boys and girls tryouts will be held on M arch 19 at 4 p.m. Boys will be at Shad H isler Field and girls at Bob Kilkenny Field. lone teams heads to Big Sky district tournament lo n e H ig h S c h o o l varsity basketball team s are N a v y C h ie f P e tty headed to the Big Sky League Officer Rodger J. Amtt, II, son o f Sandra K. and R odger J. D is tric t T o u rn a m e n t th is A m tt o f H eppner, recently Thursday, Feb. 19. The lone reenlisted for four years while Cardinal varsity girls play the serving at T rident T raining Echo Cougars at 1:30 p.m., on Facility Bangor, Silverdale, Feb. 19, w hile the C ardinal varsity boys play the D ufur WA. A r n tt is a 1 9 8 6 Rangers later in the day at 8 g ra d u a te o f B en so n H igh p.m. The tournam ent is being School o f Portland and joined held at Umatilla at the Umatilla High School. the N avy in June 1986. A s land now know n as M orrow C ounty was being settled in the m id 1860’s, little thought was given to farming or ranching. Most inhabitants were drifters seeking their fortunes in gold or free grass. Som e raised horses and a few sheep to fit the needs o f passing troops of miners. There was little use for cattle since the winters were too difficult for cattle without an am ple supply o f hay, o f which there was very little. For those who raised horses, there was am ple grass for them to graze on and a dem and for pack anim als and riding horses from the earliest settlers. Ranchers and m iners had to contend with the marauding Indian parties that inhabited the area. Small bands o f Indians would often harass the settlers, running o ff with stayed horses and stealing from the m iners. Eventually, the U.S. Arm y set up forts in strategic places in Eastern O regon to control the warring parties. This led to The Dalles M ilitary Road, w hich was used to service the various military forts. T his land w as m ainly a m an 's w orld. Few w om en ventured into the area until the H om estead Act was im plem ented. This Act entitled farm ers to acquire a quarter section of land free if they were willing to spend at least five years of their life developing the land and building fences as well as putting up a m odest house of some kind. Cattle m ade their appearance in about 1860 when a Texan named M enefee brought cattle from Texas. He located on Birch Creek som e distance from Heppner. W ith the introduction of barbed wire in 1874, farm land was soon established with specific boundaries. Farmers and ranchers appeared steadily and a settlement was formed on parcels o f land ow ned by G eorge Sansbury, ju st west o f W illow C reek and Hinton Creek. Shortly, Sansbury Flat was renam ed after a prom inent citizen Henry Heppner. Heppner was the ow ner o f a general store along w ith Jackson Morrow. A post office was soon relocated from Butter Creek, without official decree, and the small city began to take shape. Surveyors established streets, blocks and lots. M ain Street was supposed to be 1 (X) feet w ide, and side streets 60 feet wide. M ain Street w as to run due N orth and South but would wind up being a few degrees east of north. By 1875, there were enough children in the com m unity to cause Henry Heppner to ride through surrounding comm unity to solicit enough money to build a school. The building was put on Gale Street. At this time, the population o f the city rose to 318 people. Num erous businesses and organizations were formed. There was a Baptist church, which held services once a month. The M asonic Lodge also held m eeting once per month. There was a livery stable, hotel, flour mill, blacksmith shop, drug store, variety store, harness shop, general mercantile, four saloons and a jew elry store. The railroad’s appearance gave the Heppner com m unity an outlet for its products of wool, wheat, cattle and even passenger service. As a result, m any young wom en traveled to Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon the area in search for a teaching jo b in one o f the schools being located in the area. Wool wagons belonging to Thom psons, W ilkinsons, Veys and others rolled through the m ain street o f Heppner. The m uleskinners and team sters usually m ade it into one o f the many saloons for a dust quenching drink o f their choice. Then on to the depot just at the north John M artin, son o f end o f town. More about these families will be featured in the next mural about sheep ranches C a rl a n d G e ri M a rtin o f and the railroad depot. Heppner, has returned to Iraq. He departed from M iram ar COLUMBUS RHEA M arine C orps A ir Station on Feb. 5 w ith his unit for a second tour of duty. His wife and children will rem ain at home in California. For anyone wishing to co rre sp o n d w ith John, his overseas address is: C W 0 2 Jo h n M a rtin , U S M C , M W CS-38 U IC 4 1 136, FPO A P 96426-1136. Another son returns to Iraq Free Colorado blue spruce trees Ten free C o lo ra d o blue spruce trees will be given to each person w ho joins The N a tio n a l A rb o r D ay Foundation during February 2004. The free trees are part o f the nonprofit Foundation’s Trees for Am erica campaign. C o lo r a d o b lu e spruces have silver blue-green color and a com pact conical shape. They can be used as individual ornam entals, an energy-saving w indbreak, a privacy screen or as living Christm as trees. T h e tre e s w ill be shipped postpaid at the right tim e for planting betw een M arch 1 and M ay 31 with enclosed planting instructions. The six to twelve inch trees are guaranteed to grow, or they will be replaced free of charge. To become a member of the Foundation and receive the free trees, send a $10 c o n ti ib u tio n to Ten F ree C olorado Blue Spruce Trees, N a tio n a l A rb o r D ay F o u n d a tio n , 100 A rb o r A venue, N ebraska City, NE 68410, by Feb. 2 9 ,2 0 0 4 . Or go o n lin e to www.arborday.org. lone and H eppner tournam ent brackets on page three ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. / M olly a n d Steve R h ea During 1864, Colum bus Rhea, or Lum Rhea, came to the area and was the first white man to settle on a creek in the area, that creek today is known as Rhea Creek. Rhea was not satisfied to remain on Rhea Creek and in 1885 he moved to Heppner. There he met Sophronia A dkins and they were m arried on Jan. 22, 1868. To them w ere bom eight children. Lillie, Ellor, W aldon. Josephine. Ada. Helena, Curtis and Carl. On Sept. 6, 1906, Curtis m arried Cecil Rankin. They had eight children. They were Alice Buckley, Carl Rhea, Mary Ashbeck. Marie Headrick. Robert Rhea. Sophronia Kirkham. Curtis Jr. and Josephine Liesegang. Those who are sill living in the area are Mary Ashbeck and Alice Buckley who were Carl Rhea’s sisters, and o f course, grandson, Steve Rhea, who lives here in H eppner today. Rhea started a bank known as the First National Bank o f Heppner. Today, that business still stands with m ajor renovations, which added a second story to the building. Officers o f the bank included Lum Rhea, brother. Thom as Rhea who w as vice president and George Conser who is credited with the rapid growth o f the bank. It was recognized as on of the best banking institutions in the Northwest with over $436.000 dollars in deposits and offering four percent interest on time deposits. Alongside of the bank was a grocery store, owned by Rhea and Welsh. It was reported that they carried a good supply o f m erchandise well adapted to local ranchers and stock growers. N ot only did they serve the locals but also for the territory. Rhea was reportedly a good businessm an and was on the city council for three term s. W elsh was also a good businessm an and took good care o f his business. The establishment o f the new bank was a key inducement for the incorporation o f the City o f H eppner, w hich took place on Feb. 9. 1887. Sidew alks were put into place, most were boardw alks but some were merely dirt footpaths. Continued on page 7 GOOD LUCK AT DISTRICTS I0N E CARDINALS a n d HEPPNER MUSTANGS! Morrow County Grain Growers Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396 For farm equipm ent, visit our web tite at www m eg* net
