Morrow County was founded in 1885; it was
taken from a small portion of Wasco County and Umatilla County.
Morrow County got its name from Jackson Lee Morrow. He was an early
settler to the area. Morrow County is in the northern-central part of
the state near the Cascade Mountains. The county contains 2049 square
miles. The columbia river is on North side of the county. It seperates
Umatilla County from Washington. Heppner was designated temporary
county seat at the time the county was made. It almost lost to
Lexington in a close race. This election was held in 1886 to determine
a permanent county seat. Heppner won. Heppner was originally called
Stansbury Flat after George W. Stansbury but was then named Heppner
after Henry Heppner. The first Court House was just a frame
structure. In 1902 the courthouse that we have now was built out of
stone.
Early Cattlemen liked the area because they found an abundance of rye grass and creek bottoms for their cattle. They all drove their herds into the area to graze on the natural pastures. They established camps and from them grew the county's first ranches and homes. For many years the economy revolved around raising livestock. However, the ranchers let the cattle overgraze all of the grounds and that majorly declined the ranching economy. Thats when the farming came in. They completed railroad tracks in 1883 and that increased marketing and the need for wheat farming also.
Heppner was nearly destroyed by a flood on June 14, 1903. The flood was caused by a sudden cloud burst followed by hail which caused the water to rise and the dam to collapse. It was estimated toat about 247 people were drowned in the flood. About a million dollars of property damage was caused. Lexington and Ione suffered signifigant damage also.
Early Cattlemen liked the area because they found an abundance of rye grass and creek bottoms for their cattle. They all drove their herds into the area to graze on the natural pastures. They established camps and from them grew the county's first ranches and homes. For many years the economy revolved around raising livestock. However, the ranchers let the cattle overgraze all of the grounds and that majorly declined the ranching economy. Thats when the farming came in. They completed railroad tracks in 1883 and that increased marketing and the need for wheat farming also.
Heppner was nearly destroyed by a flood on June 14, 1903. The flood was caused by a sudden cloud burst followed by hail which caused the water to rise and the dam to collapse. It was estimated toat about 247 people were drowned in the flood. About a million dollars of property damage was caused. Lexington and Ione suffered signifigant damage also.