Heppner Junction
By Curt Cunningham

Heppner Junction was established in 1888 during the construction of the O. R. & N's 45 mile Heppner branch. It was originally called Willows Junction, and in April of 1896 the name was changed to Heppner Junction which was rejoiced by the residents of Heppner. The branch line was completed in November of 1888, and Heppner travelers would no longer have to take a bumpy stagecoach to Willows station which was 2 miles west of Heppner Junction to catch the train to Portland or Walla Walla. The passengers would be transferred to mainline trains at Arlington instead.

The branch line was an important link to the outside would for the town of Heppner and in addition to passengers, the branch line hauled out wheat and lumber and brought in consumer goods, machinery and other needed supplies. In 1910 the O. R. & N. became a subsidiary of the Union Pacific called the Oregon & Washington Railroad and Navigation co. (O. W. R. R. & N.) In 1936 the Union Pacific absorbed the O. W. R. R. & N., and continued operation of the branch line until June 30, 1994, when the last train ran the line down to Heppner and back. The line was abandoned because it had become unprofitable. The tracks were then tore up except for a 3/4th mile section at the junction which is used today by the Union Pacific for car storage.

On November 26, 1888 the Heppner Branch was completed and the first train rolled into Heppner. It was a joyous occasion and the whole town came out to greet the train. George Fell was the first agent and operator at Willows (Heppner) Junction and on November 29, 1888 George had decided to take some time off and rode the train to Heppner to visit his parents. Due to the demands of his job he was compelled to return back to the station that evening.

Heppner Junction is located about 10 miles upstream from Arlington on the west side of Willow creek where it empties into the Columbia. It was also about 2 miles upriver from Willows station which was established in 1881 as a stop on the newly completed mainline, and was used by the ranchers and farmers of the area as a shipping point for wheat and wool. Over the following years a small town developed around the station, and in 1905 Willows had a post office, store and a train depot. Willows would eventually fade away from existence along with Heppner Junction, Blalock, Quinton, Boulder and Castle Rock.

Murder at Willows Junction

The earliest news I could find from Willows (Heppner) Junction was from 1865 when 2 men were murdered there. The murderer was arrested and taken to Wasco county jail at The Dalles and was later hanged for his offence. It was the first recorded hanging in Wasco county.

The story is found in the Thursday May 11, 1905 issue of the Hood River Glacier where an upcoming execution had started an inquiry concerning former hangings in Wasco county. John Mitchell told the newspaper that prior to 1905 Wasco county had only 2 hangings, and he was a witness to both of them. The first hanging was in 1865 when a man was hung for the murder of 2 men near Willows Junction on the old Canyon City trail. The hanging was public, and hundreds of people from miles around came to witness the execution. The second hanging was in 1878 when a prisoner murdered another prisoner in the county jail who had turned state's evidence.

Willows Junction News From the 1890's

On April 22, 1893 a small cyclone hit the town of Heppner blowing out several windows of Henry Heppner's vacant store. The water in Willow creek was very high and it was reported to be over the tracks at Willows Junction.

On January 6, 1894 The Dalles-Times Mountaineer reported that down at Willows Junction, laborers and teams were busily engaged in removing earth and stone preparatory for the erection of a depot building. Other railroad appurtenances were to be built there. The newspaper said; "we have it straight that the run of the Heppner branch would shortly be arranged to end at Willows Junction instead of at Arlington." At one time the junction
was considered the end of a division and was to become the location of railroad shops, and the paper had hoped that in the future this would be realized.

There was to be a ferry operation there, and they said it was probable that when the railroad proceeded to favor the construction of a town, that the junction would become the place for the location of a hotel and store. Considerable trade would be secured from the Washington side, as well as on this. In the language of the Pasco scribe, "Keep your eye on" Willows Junction." It appears that none of these things ever materialized.

On February 24, 1894 it was announced in The Dalles-Times that the Union Pacific would change the time of the Heppner branch trains, beginning on February 24th. All transfers of passengers and baggage for the branch line would be made at Willows junction, instead of at Arlington. The railroad had just completed a commodious depot had been recently completed at the junction, and under the new arrangement, connections would be made with both east and westbound passenger trains. The train arrived at the town of Heppner at 5am daily, except Monday, and it disembarked the town at 9:45pm daily, except Sundays.

The Saturday January 26, 1895 edition of The Dalles-Times Mountaineer said that; "on Sunday January 20, 1895 the people of Willows, the railroad station a few miles from Arlington, were entertained by the singing of about 30 Indians on the island in the Columbia opposite that town. During the entire day the singing and dancing and playing of tom-toms proceeded and was heard late into the evening. Sunday night about 3 dozen Walla Walla's who came down on the night train paraded through the town of Willows, and there was a grand jack-rabbit hunt the next day. People who knew their customs said the were attempting to organize a weather bureau of their own and were tom-toming up a warm Chinook wind."

On January 7, 1899 it was announced that train No. 4 which arrived at The Dalles at 5:40pm would now connect with the Heppner train there. Previously train No. 2 had made this connection. The newspaper said that passengers bound for Heppner to not make the mistake and get off the train at Willows Junction.

The Flood of 1894

The Heppner Gazette reported that on May 29, 1894 the Columbia river was at the highest point than had ever been reported. The railroad track was covered by the high water between Willows Junction and Arlington to the west and between and Willows Junction and Coyote to the east. All train traffic was stopped until the water reseeded and repairs could be made. Governor Pennoyer and Rev, Waldrop were forced to walk from Willows Junction to Arlington from a trip to Heppner so they could get back to Salem as the westbound train could not connect at Willows Junction. Many residents of Heppner traveled to the Junction to see the high water of the Columbia.

On June 12, 1894 the Gazette reported that the late May flood had flooded all the towns along the river from Portland to Umatilla. At Willows Junction the water was near the track, and the station was covered with water to the depth of several feet. The pump house was gone and the Section house was floating. Another house was seen floating past Arlington on Saturday June 9th with the owner on top who was shouting for help. A rescue party quickly left on a boat to retrieve him. Other buildings were anchored to the tracks to keep them from floating away.

Not a quarter of a mile of good track was left between Willows Junction and Arlington, and below there it was even worse, ties and rails were gone in many places. Between Willows Junction and Umatilla the railroad had fared better and it was easily repaired back to running condition for traffic. Willows Junction was made the terminus of the railroad and a landing for boats to carry the passengers downstream to The Dalles until the road could be reopened. The reporter said it "looks like old times to see riverboats operating on the Columbia again." C. B. Brooks, Albert Wright and Fred Allison came up on a train from Portland on Sunday the 10th by transferring at the Cascades and again at The Dalles for the remainder of their trip to Willows Junction on the steamer Almota.

On June 20, 1894 Superintendent Borie of the eastern section of the division had a large force of workers rebuilding the line at Willows Junction, and Superintendent Baxter had over 600 working on the rebuilding near the Cascade locks. On June 28th 1894 the railroad had been put in good repair from Umatilla down to Willows Junction, and the people of Heppner were again in communication with the East. It was expected that the railroad would be open from Portland to the Cascade Locks by Saturday night the 23rd, which would help out in the repairs from there to The Dalles, as it enabled material of all kinds to be sent to the front. Barges from Celilo were towed to points along the line, which enabled the work of repairing to be carried on at several places simultaneously. Over 1000 railroad workers were at work between Bonneville and Willows. The line was put into working order from The Dalles to Willows Junction on July 15th.

"Freight Car" Tourist Takes a beating at Heppner Junction

On September 9, 1897 it was reported that on Tuesday August 31, 1897 a man arrived at The Dalles and had a very sore head and a rather "fishy" story. He said his name was Henry Butcheck, and that he resided 20 miles west of Corvallis, and had recently been employed on a farm in Montana. His story begins when he hopped on a freight train headed for The Dalles, and when he emerged from a box car at the depot he was covered with blood, his head being beaten into a jelly, his scalp showing a half dozen gashes that cut through to the skull.

Butcheck gave the following explanation of how he was wounded; He said that he and another man who had been working on the farm in Montana with him had decided that they would beat the railroads out of their fare and hopped on the freight train. When they were passing Willows Junction, and while they were asleep, his companion claimed to have dreamed that a brakeman was about to throw them off, and seizing a heavy piece of iron, pounced upon Butcheck, and he would have almost killed him, had he not awakened his assailant.

The injured man was taken to Dr. Sutherland's office at The Dalles, where his wounds were dressed. He expressed perfect confidence in his story, saying his companion was a "good fellow" and would not injure him intentionally. However, the fact developed that Butcheck had some money, while his traveling companion had but little, hence there was at least grounds for believing that the fellow's dream was actuated by a desire to possess the money that Butcheck had..

The Flood of 1903

On June 15, 1903 a heavy cloud burst caused severe flooding on Willows creek which flooded the town of Heppner. Tragically about 400 people lost their lives that day and many of the bodies were never recovered. The town was almost wiped off the map. Willow creek descends a steep grade, but ordinarily carries but a small volume of water. During freshets in the spring the water increases until it becomes like a mountain torrent. Heppner is located in a canyon, the walls of which rise on either side fully 700 feet high, and the town is built mostly in the creek bottom and extends about 3/4 of a mile along the ravine, with few buildings on the hillsides. Willow creek flows practically through the entire county of Morrow, with Heppner, Lexington and lone being the 3 main towns.

The next day Willow creek fell 7 feet, but was still in a turbulent condition. Boats at Heppner Junction were braving the rough waters waiting for bodies to come down with the hope of intercepting them before they got into the Columbia and were lost forever. The water watch would be unsuccessful. Dozens of people were stopping at Heppner Junction for a few days after the deluge willing to travel to Heppner to help in cleaning up the destruction. A. P. Bradley recounted his experience during the flood during the afternoon of that day; "I was sitting in the Palace Hotel, looking out into the quiet streets. Hardly anyone was about, for the rain was falling freely, but quietly."

"It was about 6pm when suddenly the sky grew darker and finally it became impossible to read in the office room of the hotel. I walked to the door and out into the street. The rain had ceased falling, but the air was heavy with moisture and I observed an immense black cloud whirling about some half mile or more up the canyon. The Palace Hotel stands on safe ground, being on a street graded about 40 feet above the main town. I had watched the black mass of vapor when there was a roar accompanied by the fiercest flash of lurid lightning I ever saw."

"When this occurred, the storm center seemed not 500 feet away, then followed a scene which begs description. From where I stood, there appeared to he a solid wall of water a hundred feet high rushing down the canyon, carrying everything before it. Huge trees were carried on the current and boulders weighing many tons were hurled about like pebbles. When the waters were several hundred feet away from the Palace Hotel I became aware that the elevation of the structure would not save it from being flooded."

"I ran into the hotel and had gained the upper story when the mad waters began rushing by. Houses were upon its crest, and in the terrible flood I saw here and there a helpless human being struggling against certain death. The cries of the victims were drowned in the uproar. Death and destruction was all about me, and the other fortunate ones who had escaped. After the fearful death-dealing, the madly-driven waters had subsided. I ventured forth, accompanied by several persons about the hotel and succeeded in rescuing more than a dozen persons, 7 of whom were women."

"I never believed such pathetic scenes could have occurred, for I found that after saving a poor woman, she said that nothing this side of the grave can heal this. Of the 7 women who were saved 6 had lost children and could not be comforted. When the early morning came the desolation grew worse so I hurried to The Dalles for aid by riding as hard as the horse could carry me, and when I arrived I announced the terrors of the Heppner disaster." 

Fire at Heppner Junction

On June 30, 1903 fire broke out at Heppner Junction in the depot building. The fire had destroyed all the household effects of T. Glenn, who was the railroad agent. The fire began around 3:30pm in a shed around the back of the building, and fortunately no one was hurt and there was little damage to the main building.

On July 6, 1903 the O. R. & N. freight and passenger depot at Heppner Junction again caught fire, and this time the depot was completely destroyed. The fire was so fierce for a time that passenger train No. 5 was unable to pass, and was delayed about one hour. The fire was said to have started from an engine spark. The loss to the depot was small as it was an old building, but the loss to freight which was stored inside was of greater value.

The Heppner Junction Depot was a Miniature Hades

On July 26, 1905 Frank Toevs, who was a traveling salesman for the Hazelwood Creamery company wrote a letter to the state rail commission in which he called attention to the inadequate accommodations provided at Heppner Junction. He asked that something be done to alleviate the deplorable conditions there. He said that when he was at the depot last Saturday July 20, 1905 he waited 4 hours for a delayed train and there was no drinking water available at the station. He characterized the place as a "miniature Hades" and said; "travelers are compelled to undergo suffering at that point almost daily at this time of the year." "Your commission." said Mr. Toevs, "could do a charitable act and earn the gratitude of the traveling public by securing a little relief and decent treatment for the patrons of the O. R. & N. lines at that point."

The Columbia River Highway

In the December 9, 1917 issue of the Oregon Sunday Journal is an article about a preliminary survey of the route of the Columbia River Highway through Gilliam county. This was before construction had begun and the route they chose was to travel along the river instead of going inland through Wasco. The survey showed that there was very little if any difficulty due to sand. Beginning at the Morrow county boundary, one mile east of Heppner Junction near the railroad, and running west parallel with the tracks, the route would cross Willow creek at Heppner Junction. Then it would run up on the bench 75 to 100 feet above the railroad track and follow the bench for some distance, then descending on a 5% grade back down to the river.

The route would then follow the river bank westward on the south side of the railroad track back of and above the traveling sand areas, then into Arlington under a rock bluff 40 to 50 feet above the railroad immediately in back of an oil tank at Arlington. West of Arlington the route was to continue under the bluff just above the track, a distance of a mile and a quarter, then along a rock bench, part of the distance being several hundred feet from the track, then along near the track again to mile point 5.5 miles where a decent was made away from the track for the purpose of crossing Lang's canyon.

Then up a 5% grade onto a level bench about 200 feet in elevation for about a mile and then descending on a 5% grade through some heavy construction and on to the flat at Blalock. Then down the river paralleling the railroad through orchard and poplar trees for a distance of a mile and a quarter then continuing along the railroad through boulder country ranging a short distance back from the track to Rooster rock and continuing down the river on the south side of the track to Quinton.

Then down the river for 2 miles, where the location takes to a point on the bench above Squally Hook station, then starting down from the bench on a 5% grade at a point 3/4th of a mile below Squally Hook, then on to a bench about 300 feet from the railroad track, and keeping this position for about 2.5 miles, then along near the track to the mouth of the John Day river. The bridge was located about 200 to 300 feet south of the railroad bridge.

Construction on highway projects around the state were suspended due to the onset of World War I. When the war had ended in November of 1918 the state began to make plans to resume road construction. On September 25, 1919 the Oregon Highway Department announced the "After-War" road building program and began to award road construction project across the state. One of these projects was to construct 2 concrete bridges at Heppner Junction for the Columbia River Highway.

The first bridge was built over Willow creek, and the other bridge crossed the railroad tracks a mile east of the creek. The bridge over Willow creek required approximately 200 cubic yards of class B concrete, 187 cubic yards class A concrete. 32,000 pounds reinforcing steel, 36,000 pounds structural steel, 800 lineal feet wood piling, and 280 lineal feet concrete handrail. The bridge crossing over the railroad tracks required approximately 290 cubic yards class A concrete, 36,000 pounds reinforcing steel, 345 lineal feet of concrete handrail. The Reese & Davis Co. was the contractor for the work. The Columbia River Highway from the Deschutes river to Umatilla would be completed in 1921.

The Oregon-Washington Highway

On September 9, 1919 it was reported in the Eastern Oregonian that the Oregon-Washington Highway would the name given to the new road beginning at Heppner Junction and running south up Willow creek through Cecil, Morgan, Ione, Lexington, and Heppner then east into Umatilla county through Pilot Rock, Pendleton, Adams, Athena, Weston, Milton-Freewater, and on across the state line into Walla Walla. While this is a relatively short trunk road, some sections of it carried very heavy traffic in 1919 and continues to do so today. The traffic was heaviest between Pendleton and Walla Walla, and in 1919 was the heaviest traveled highway in Eastern Oregon. The highway is 136 miles long and in 1919 the entire length with the exception of about 8 miles had been surveyed and about 48 miles had been graded. The highway between Heppner and Heppner Junction was completed in 1922.

Today the section between Heppner Junction and U. S. Highway 395 at Nye which is about 5 miles west of Pilot Rock is known as the Heppner Highway, and State Route 74. At Nye the road becomes U. S. Highway 395 also known as the World War I Veterans Memorial Highway, and continues east and then north to Pendleton. At Pendleton the road becomes the Oregon-Washington Highway again as well as and Oregon State Highway 11 to the state line, where it becomes Washington State Highway 125 into Walla Walla.

The Willow Creek Valley

Willow creek begins in the Blue mountains and travels northward for approximately 65 miles before it empties into the Columbia river, the entire distance in a narrow canyon. The 3 largest towns in Morrow county; Ione, Lexington and Heppner, lie along this creek. For a long time possibly thousands of years, the Willow creek valley had been used by Indians as a travel corridor between the fishing grounds on the Columbia river and the hunting grounds in the Blue mountains.

The area was nothing but sagebrush and bunchgrass and was first used by cattle ranchers in the 1870's as many thought nothing would ever grow there. Today the country between Heppner Junction and Heppner is covered with beautiful wheat fields. The first town encountered traveling south from the Columbia river on the Heppner highway is Cecil which is about 13 miles south of the Junction. This is where the Oregon Trail crosses the creek. The crossing of Willow creek was where the emigrants could fill their water jugs and give their livestock a drink. There was also plenty of grass for the animals and many stayed there for the night.

About 3/4ths of a mile north of Cecil is the Willow Creek Campground historical marker. This is where John Murray had camped in 1853 when traveling the Oregon Trail. He stayed at the camp for the night and wrote that the valley there was a quarter  to a half mile wide and was covered mostly with ryegrass and the rest with greasewood. He also said a some Indian families had a few lodges a short distance north of his camp and there was a trading post about a half mile to the south. When he resumed travel out of the valley the next day he passed by 18 graves. Only 3 have been identified, and all were women who died in 1852; one from child birth, and the others from fever. 

Beginning in the 1860's stage coaches operated on the old trail between The Dalles and Walla Walla. The Willow creek crossing was a stopping place for the coaches and a station was soon established. In 1862 a store was opened at the crossing and it stayed in business until 1974. The town of Cecil grew up around this store. From the 1910's until the Columbia River Highway was completed, the old trail was used by automobiles going between The Dalles, Echo, Pendleton and Walla Walla. At the crossing of the creek travelers could stay at the "Highway House" which was operated by T. H. Lowe. 

The next town is called Morgan which is about 20 miles south of Heppner Junction. Earl Morgan said in 1917 that the town was first called Saddle, and later it was changed to Douglas after O. T. Douglas who settled there in 1871. Douglas moved away in 1897 and the name was changed again to Morgan, after his father A. C. Morgan. There was not much there in 1917 except for some grain warehouses and a store with a post office inside, which was run by postmaster E. Balcomb. He then said that between Heppner Junction and Morgan there was about 20 miles of fertile soil and was home to many farms and ranches. The productive valley, ranging in width from a mile to 3 miles raised immense crops of alfalfa, peaches, onions and other vegetable crops. Immense herds of cattle and flocks of sheep were wintered and fattened for market there. 

In April of 1917 a reporter for the Silverton Tribune took a trip to Morgan from Heppner Junction and was told that one man had thinned out his flock of sheep and sold "only" 2,000 head at $10 per head, netting him $20,000, and this was only a part of his flock. Emerging from this valley and going up over the ridge, on either side looks over vast and seemingly endless tracts of wheat land that had netted the ranchers of that section a small fortune in the 1916 wheat harvest. At the little station of Morgan, there was in storage over 60,000 sacks of wheat averaging 140 pounds per sack, and the writer was told this was grown within a radius of 5 miles. A large percentage of this wheat was stored in open warehouses, or rather platforms, and was exposed to all the winter's storms, but was dry and sound despite the snow. About 4 miles up the railroad track was another open platform, upon which was piled a large quantity of wheat, also exposed to winter's storms and still in a condition for milling purposes.

Stranded at Morgan

In the February 28, 1922 edition of the Heppner Herald is an article written by "The Producer" about some sorry looking stranded travelers who wanted to get to Heppner Junction from Morgan. The new highway was not yet completed and the old road was impassible so they had to find another way. The Herald said that it was a sorry bunch hanging "round" the Union Pacific station at Morgan, on February 21st after leaving a farm bureau meeting that was held there. The roads were impassable and there would be no train to the outside world via Heppner Junction which is 20 miles away until the next day.

The paper then said; "If you know Morgan you will know why they were sorry looking." This sorry looking bunch was; Edgar L. Ludwick, secretary-treasurer of the Oregon Grain Growers; H. A. Lindgren livestock specialist of the Oregon agricultural college; R. V. Gunn, farm management specialist of the same institution; C. S. Brewster, manager of the feed department of Kerr-Gifford & Company, and C. C. Calkins, the live-wire county agent for Morrow county. They had been the speakers during the farm school held by the Morrow county farm bureau.

No train, no motor car, no eats and having to walk 20 miles to Heppner Junction was not something they were looking forward to. Ludwick then had an idea and suggested they "subsidize" the section foreman and make the trip to the Junction on his gas car. But acting on the suggestion, one of their party approached the station agent instead of the section foreman. After he told the station agent their idea, the agent flung his arms into the air and yelled; "Graft! Bribery! The morale of the service is now endangered! It never had been done so it never could!" The paper said that; "Ludwick must have been in remarkable mental condition as he had another thought. Two thoughts in one day."

He happened to know someone in Portland, A. H. Lea who was general manager of the Oregon Grain Growers. Ludwick tackled Lea by phone and a plot developed. Five minutes later the station master was sending a telegram to an official of the Union Pacific railroad in Portland which read; "Am stuck in Morgan, no train until tomorrow. Roads impassable. Want transportation to Heppner Junction on track foreman's gas car. Signed, A. H. Lea." The paper said that "Ludwick wrote it, which made 2 thoughts and 1 lie for Ludwick, and at the same time Lea in Portland was talking to another railway official in Seattle and the burden of his song was the same." After a half an hour, the station agent was taking a wire from headquarters in Portland instructing him to arrange immediate transportation for the party to Heppner Junction, via. the gas car. "Gee," said the station agent, "you guys are lucky."

The Picnic Party At Heppner Junction

In the Heppner Herald on May 29, 1923 "Wid" Palmateer, his wife and daughter, along with Miss Cleta, of Windy Nook, and Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morgan and their children of Broadacres had joined a large picnic party at Heppner Junction on a sunny spring afternoon, Sunday May 27th. the Herald said that; "Wid" was still alive to boast of the fine time everyone had, so the paper could vouch that "Wid" didn't reach the lunch baskets first. The Palmateer family had arrived at Morgan in 1898.

Heppner Junction Today

Today if you are traveling eastward on Interstate 84, and before you cross over Willow creek, you may see railroad cars parked along a section of the old Heppner branch up on the hillside. The new railroad grade which was constructed in 1968 is much higher than the original. The old branch line ran under the freeway and the main-line was further north near the water. The Union Pacific cut through the rock for the new grade in 1968 which took out much of the old highway and a portion of the new grade runs on top of the old highway.

The old depot station at Heppner Junction was under the westbound lanes of the freeway just before you go under the new branch line. The old Willows station was about a 3/4ths of a mile west of the Highway 74 bridge over the freeway and around 600 feet from the shoreline. This is approximately where the old highway becomes submerged for about 4 miles before it resurfaces about 5 miles east of Arlington and is an abandoned "ghost road" for about 3 miles before it goes under the freeway.