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Show HEPPNER DISASTER Page 2 fastest growing community. Early in 1903 telegraph lines throughout the country carried reports of drownings caused by floods in Missouri, Kansas, South Carolina, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico. Floods also struck Minnesota, California, 3 and Tennessee. Not until June 14, however, would the angry elements culminate to level a town and take more than 250 lives-all in one hour. Heppner lies at the end of a fertile valley that runs 45 miles southeast beginning at a point on the Columbia River about 150 miles east of Portland. The valley is less than half a mile across and is bordered by rolling hills. During the late 1800's, Heppner rapidly grew to prominence in eastern Oregon. Population rose from 318 in 1880 to 1,146 in 1900. After a bitter electoral struggle with nearby Lexington in 1886, Heppner emerged as county seat of Morrow County. Heavy rainfall is unusual in the Heppner region. Clouds moving east from the Pacific drop most of their moisture in passing over the Cascade Mountains which divide the state into western and eastern sectors. As a result, few streams of semi-arid eastern Oregon carry enough water for irrigation. June is usually the most beautiful time of the year in Heppner as hills turn green following spring rains, and orchards begin to blossom. But June of 1903 was different. Wheat farmers eyed their thirsty crops with apprehension as week after week passed without precipitation. U.S. Weather Bureau data confirmed their worries-a severe drought was setting in. From February 1 through May 31, 1903 Heppner received only 1.63 inches of precipitation, the lowest total ever recorded for those months. On June 14 approximately the same quantity fell, tragically, |