Morrow County, Oregon

42 topographic sheets cover 17 settlements here, and 5 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

5 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Oregon within the United States

Morrow County within Oregon

What the record shows

179 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
5 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 4 buildings and 1 site.
1 of the 5 listings was added during the 1970s.
The Geographic Names Information System records 17 populated places in this county; 17 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Property	Type	Listed	Reference
Gilliam and Bisbee Building	building	1990	90000840
Hardman I.O.O.F. Lodge Hall	building	2012	12000484
Heppner Hotel	building	1982	82001511
Morrow County Courthouse	building	1985	85000366
Oregon Trail, Wells Springs Segment	site	1978	78002305

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

673 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 673 of them, burning about 156,396 acres. 394 started naturally and 22 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause	Fires
Natural	394
Recreation and ceremony	147
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	40
Debris and open burning	33
Arson/incendiarism	22
Equipment and vehicle use	18
Smoking	9
Power generation/transmission/distribution	3
Other causes	3
Railroad operations and maintenance	3
Misuse of fire by a minor	1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
29 June 2008	Natural	78,000 acres	Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge	COAL PLANT
13 July 2007	Natural	53,448 acres	Umatilla National Forest	RED HILL
2 August 1994	Natural	7,000 acres	Prineville District	HORN BUTTE
19 June 2003	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	4,000 acres	Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge	WEST BOUNDRY
23 May 2016	Equipment and vehicle use	3,000 acres	Umatilla Agency	1605230053
6 August 2019	Natural	1,350 acres	Umatilla National Forest	LITTLE BEAR
6 August 2016	Debris and open burning	1,141 acres	McNary National Wildlife Refuge	BOARDMAN
18 July 2000	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1,047 acres	Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge	OLD730HWY

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1957 to 2023

60 of 65 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 65 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 1 injury and about $1,061,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event	Reports
Hail	31
Thunderstorm Wind	16
Flash Flood	6
Heavy Rain	4
Lightning	2
Tornado	2
Flood	2
Wildfire	1
Funnel Cloud	1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
August 2000	Lightning	Boardman	1 hurt, $20,000	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Boardman	$500,000	no account filed
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Munley	$250,000	Morrow County Emergency Management reports trees down on houses with power poles and lines down in the south side of Irrigon. Wind damage to numerous houses and buildings in the Irrigon area. At least 22 power poles down from Paterson Ferry Road to Irrigon.
August 2000	Lightning	Heppner	$100,000	no account filed
May 2011	Flash Flood	Heppner	$94,000	One to two inches of rainfall within 1 hour caused flash flooding in the Heppner and Lexington areas. Roads were inundated. A home, two basements, and a garage were flooded. Sandbags were used to protect homes and businesses.
June 2011	Flash Flood	Heppner	$70,000	Flash flooding on Hinton and Willow Creeks damaged roads, bridges, and the Morrow County Fairgrounds. The Heppner elementary school was evacuated as a precaution.
May 2006	Tornado (F1)	Boardman	$20,000	Swirling ground debris beneath funnel cloud. Tractor trailer rig blown off Interstate 84.
October 2018	Flood	Heppner	$3,000	Two feet of water inside a residence due to heavy rain forced four adults and a child to leave their house on the 54200 Block of Highway 74 in Heppner.
April 2019	Flood	Heppner	$2,000	Flooding along Hinton Creek took place on April 9th and 10th. The fairgrounds in Heppner were flooded as well as fields along the creek above Heppner.
April 2005	Flash Flood	Ione	$2,000	no account filed
April 2011	Tornado (EF0)	Lexington	$500	EF0 tornado, which was spotted by a resident, caused damage to a pump house on the farm south southwest of Lexington. Insulation was seen twisting up in the air and 2x4s from the pump house landed 100 yards to the southeast. Pea sized hail was seen prior to the damage and thunder was heard 10 minutes prior to the damage. Trees, grass, and weeds were seen blowing in various directions.
August 2023	Flash Flood	Ione	-	The Morrow County Emergency Manager posted pictures via social media post flash flooding through the town. The pictures showed water overflowing drainage ditches and flowing over the roadway, muddy debris leftover across sidewalks and the road within town, and water still flowing into the area creek from the hills surrounding the town. Other photo's from the city of Ione show water and debris that had flowed into local businesses as well.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Ione	-	Tree down across route 74 at Ella Road.
May 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Boardman	-	Tree down in Boardman.
April 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Heppner	-	Pear tree had several limbs broken off.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Boardman	-	Estimated wind gusts 80 mph.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Boardman	-	Public reported several power poles downed.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Munley	-	Public reported 6 to 12 inch diameter tree down and power outage.
September 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Munley	-	Half of a barn roof blown off reported on social media.
April 2012	Heavy Rain	Heppner	-	Three quarters of an inch of rainfall fell in a 35 minute period.
April 2012	Flash Flood	Heppner	-	Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in several areas of Heppner, including residences, the elementary school, sewage treatment plant, city shop, a bank, and the newspaper office. Roadways were also flooded and debris cleanup had to ensue in 10 spots.
April 2012	Heavy Rain	Heppner	-	Rainfall of 1.23 inches was reported in a 1 hour period.
July 2012	Hail	Lena	-	Hail accompanied by minor creek flash flooding.
July 2012	Hail	Heppner	-	Hail dented vehicles, broke windshields and caused some roof damage.
July 2012	Heavy Rain	Heppner	-	Shobe Canyon mesonet station reported 1.1 inches of rainfall in 1 hour.
June 2009	Hail	Hardman	-	Accompanied by wind gusts 40-45 mph and 1/2 inch of rainfall in 20 minutes.
August 2008	Hail	Ione	-	Large hail accompanied by wind gust to 53 mph.
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Irrigon	-	10,000 poplar trees blown down at Potlatch Tree Farm. Winds estimated 70 to 80 mph.
August 2006	Hail	Hardman	-	Penny size hail covering highway 207.
July 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Irrigon	-	Several wind sensors located adjacent to the Umatilla Army Depot received severe wind gusts. 3 sites measured gusts of 70, 65 and 59 mph respectively.
June 1999	Hail	Ione	-	A spotter reported nickle-sized hail and 0.31 inches of rain in just 10 minutes one mile north of Ione.
April 1998	Heavy Rain	Heppner	-	Three tenths to one half inch of rain fell in 20 minutes from Heppner to Ione with wind gusts to 40 mph.
July 1998	Wildfire	Boardman	-	Lightning caused a brush fire on the Naval Bombing range south of Boradman that burned more than 30,000 acres. Strong shifting wind, difficult terrain, and heavy brush hampered fire fighting efforts. One hundred fifty Naval and civilian fire fighters fought the fire.
May 1997	Hail	Ione	-	A farmer reported severe damage to wheat crop. Hail dented three vehicles.
May 2015	Hail	Lexington	-	no account filed
September 2013	Hail	Ione	-	no account filed
September 2013	Hail	Lena	-	no account filed
September 2013	Hail	Lena	-	no account filed
July 2012	Hail	Lena	-	no account filed
July 2012	Hail	Lexington	-	no account filed
May 2011	Hail	Lena	-	no account filed
June 2010	Funnel Cloud	Boardman	-	no account filed
August 2007	Hail	Ione	-	no account filed
March 2006	Flash Flood	Boardman	-	no account filed
May 2006	Hail	Boardman	-	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Irrigon	-	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Irrigon	-	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Irrigon	-	no account filed
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Boardman	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	Heppner	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	Heppner	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	Heppner	-	no account filed
June 2006	Hail	Heppner	-	no account filed
June 2004	Hail	Hardman	-	no account filed
August 2004	Hail	Heppner	-	no account filed
August 2003	Hail	Lexington	-	no account filed
July 2002	Hail	Boardman	-	no account filed
August 2000	Hail	Hardman	-	no account filed
July 1995	Hail	Ione	-	no account filed
July 1995	Hail	Ione	-	no account filed

Mines and quarries

100 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 100 workings inside this county. 48 still produce and 52 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity	Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction	33
Stone	32
Stone, Crushed/Broken	29
Tungsten	2
Gemstone	1
Silica	1
Semiprecious Gemstone	1
Geothermal	1
Gold	1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Columbia River Sand Dunes	Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica	Occurrence
Gemstones Mine	Gemstone	Past Producer
Madison Butte	Gold	Prospect
Unnamed Site	Semiprecious Gemstone	Producer
Wells Spring	Geothermal	Producer
Big Dip	Tungsten	Occurrence	Unknown
Big Dip	Tungsten	Prospect
Butter Creek Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Chick Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Clark Canyon Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Cutsforth Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Halverson Site	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Mp 39 Heppner/Willow Creek Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Mp 59.6 Wasco/Hepper Hwy	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Mp 60.5 Wasco/Hepper Hwy	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Mp 67.4 Heppner Hwy	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Mp 75.7 Wasco/Hepper Hwy	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Rhea Creek Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Riprap Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Rivercrest Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Rugg Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Ruhl Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Skinners Fork Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Three-Mile Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamd Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Basalt Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Basalt Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Basalt Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Butter Creek Quary	Stone	Past Producer
Cecil Rock Production	Stone	Past Producer
Cecil Rock Production	Stone	Producer
Chick Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Clark Canyon Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Cutsfordh Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Halverson Site	Stone	Past Producer
Mp 39 Heppner/Willow Creek Pit	Stone	Past Producer
Mp 59.6 Wasco/Hepper Hwy	Stone	Past Producer
Mp 60.5 Wasco/Hepper Hwy	Stone	Past Producer
Mp 67.4 Heppner Hwy	Stone	Past Producer
Mp 75.7 Wasco/Hepper Hwy	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Rhea Creek Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Riprap Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Rivercrest	Stone	Past Producer
Rugg Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Ruhl	Stone	Past Producer
Skinners Fork Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Three- Mile Pit	Stone	Past Producer
Zinter Quarry	Stone	Past Producer
Boardman Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Boardman Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Boardman Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Boardman Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Borrow Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Columbia River Sand Dunes	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Occurrence
Food Processing Park	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Food Processing Park	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Navy Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Navy Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Six-Mile Canyon Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Six-Mile Canyon Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Six-Mile Canyon Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Six-Mile Canyon Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
South Bombing Range Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
South Bombing Range Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Zinter Quarry	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every populated place in the county

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Boardman

Boardman census division · 97818 · Boardman quadrangle

16 sheets, 1906 to 1993
Cecil

Ione-Lexington census division · 97843 · On Brandy Creek · Cecil quadrangle

13 sheets, 1906 to 1984
Clarke

Boardman census division · 97844 · Clarke quadrangle

16 sheets, 1906 to 1993
Eightmile

Ione-Lexington census division · 97836 · Eightmile quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1981
Ella

Ione-Lexington census division · 97843 · Ella quadrangle

15 sheets, 1906 to 1993
Galloway

Heppner census division · 97836 · Near Carpenter Butte · Butter Creek Junction quadrangle

11 sheets, 1908 to 1984

No longer a settlement
Gooseberry

Ione-Lexington census division · 97843 · Gooseberry quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1981
Hardman

Heppner census division · 97836 · Near Merrill Canyon · Hardman quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1981

No longer a settlement
Heppner

Heppner census division · 97836 · On Shobe Creek · Heppner quadrangle

8 sheets, 1953 to 1981
Ione

Ione-Lexington census division · 97843 · On Lorraine Creek · Ione North quadrangle

13 sheets, 1906 to 1984
Irrigon

Boardman census division · 97844 · Near Island Number 17 (historical) · Irrigon quadrangle

14 sheets, 1908 to 1993
Lena

Heppner census division · 97836 · Near Jones Canyon · Lena quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1981
Lexington

Ione-Lexington census division · 97839 · Near Blackhorse Canyon · Lexington quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1981
Morgan

Ione-Lexington census division · 97843 · In Morgan Canyon · Cecil quadrangle

13 sheets, 1906 to 1984
Pine City

Heppner census division · 97826 · On Little Butter Creek · Butter Creek Junction quadrangle

11 sheets, 1908 to 1984
Ruggs

Heppner census division · 97836 · Near Cason Canyon · Ruggs quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1981
Valby

Ione-Lexington census division · 97843 · Near Huston Canyon · Eightmile quadrangle

7 sheets, 1953 to 1981

The vanished settlements of Morrow County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.