Heppner, Oregon

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Coordinates: 45°21′22″N 119°33′10″W / 45.35611, -119.55278
Heppner, Oregon
Heppner, Oregon from above Willow Creek Lake
Nickname: Gateway to the Blue Mountains
Location in Oregon
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Morrow
Incorporated	1887
Government
- Mayor	Les Paustian
Area
- Total	1.2 sq mi (3.2 km²)
- Land	1.2 sq mi (3.2 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	1,955 ft (595.9 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	1,395
- Density	1,138.5/sq mi (437.9/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
ZIP code	97836
Area code(s)	541
FIPS code	41-33550^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1121763^[2]
Website: http://www.heppner.net/city/index.html/

Willow Creek Dam and Lake at Heppner, Oregon. Part of the town of Heppner is visible below the dam.

The city of Heppner is the county seat of Morrow County, Oregon, United States. It was originally called Standsbury Flat for George W. Standsbury, one of the first white settlers in the area. It was later renamed to honor Henry Heppner, a Jewish pioneer who opened the first general store there in 1873. The population was 1,395 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Schools
5 Notable natives
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Heppner was designated the temporary county seat at the time Morrow County was created and narrowly defeated Lexington in the election held in 1886 to determine the permanent county seat. It was incorporated the following year.

Heppner was almost destroyed by a flood on June 14, 1903. The flood was precipitated by a sudden cloudburst and accompanying hail that caused a debris dam collapse and flash flooding. A wall of water and debris swept down the creeks and canyons and through the city. It has been estimated that 225 people or a quarter of the city's population was drowned. Property damage was reported at nearly $1,000,000. The nearby cities of Ione and Lexington also sustained significant damage. Stewart Holbrook vividly described this event in his essay "Disaster in June".^[3]

[edit] Geography

Heppner is located at 45°21′22″N, 119°33′10″W (45.356157, -119.552849)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 1,395 people, 583 households, and 398 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,138.5 people per square mile (437.9/km²). There were 660 housing units at an average density of 538.7/sq mi (207.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.70% White, 1.00% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 1.51% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population.

There were 583 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,421, and the median income for a family was $42,500. Males had a median income of $37,381 versus $20,714 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,729. About 11.1% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.