Continue to Stand in the Gap: Morrow County

Willow Creek Dam, near Hepner, Morrow County, OR

He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. Daniel 2:22

Morrow County was one of the counties still under the County Court system of government, but in 2017 the Court became the Morrow County Board of Commissioners. Currently, the Board comprises David Sykes, the Chair; Jeff Wenholz; and Roy Drago Jr. All three were elected in 2023, so it is a fairly new Board.

The Sheriff of Morrow County is John A. Bowles and the Undersheriff is Brian Snyder.

Described as dry and flat, except for the bit of the Blue Mountains at the southern end, Morrow County is the last county of the six-county Northeast Region as we move toward the west. Heppner is the county seat, and Boardman is the largest town with a population of 3,828.  The entire county has 12,186 residents spread over 2, 049 square miles. The Columbia River forms its northern boundary, an important consideration, as it turns out, in Morrow County’s economic development.

When I first wrote about Morrow County, I  admitted I didn’t know much about that area, and likened it to “flyover country” for those of us traveling I-84 toward points east: Baker City, Ontario, Boise. Morrow, however, turns out to be a fascinating place, no longer the high lonesome rangeland peopled by Irish Shepherds and vast flocks of sheep, and scattered ranches and cowboys herding cattle, although agriculture and ranching continue to be important economic considerations. 

The growth of the Port of Morrow along the Columbia River, the arrival of Amazon’s multiple data storage centers, the high-tech windfarms up the canyons and the plateaus away from the river have all created growth and with it, problems.

We mentioned the issue with the nitrates that have seeped into the groundwater here. While the state has fined some of those who were dumping nitrates into the groundwater, contaminating local private wells to four times the safe level for drinking water, the local citizens have grown weary of the long delays and lack of remediation. In February of this year, a group filed a class-action lawsuit against some of the polluters. This issue affects Umatilla County as well. Pray for solutions and the health and safety of those affected by the contamination. Excess nitrates in drinking water can cause various types of cancer. 

The town of Hepner was established in 1873. The earliest known meeting of a Church of Christ group in Hepner was in 1891 when a group met with a minister twice a month. More meetings came later, with the first full-time minister – John W. Jenkins - a graduate of Alexander Campbell’s Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia leading the Hepner congregation in 1895. He had moved there from The Dalles, where he had planted a congregation. When the new church building was dedicated in 1897, there were about 500 people present for the event, although the regular membership was around 113. The infamous Hepner Flood of 1903, which destroyed the town, did not touch the church building, but 19 years later a fire did. The church was rebuilt after the fire and some of the oak pews that survived are still in use.

Other Christian or Church of Christ congregations were established in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries at Eightmile, Ione, and Lexington.

Other groups in Morrow County include the Catholic Church (Hepner), Hepner Seventh-Day Adventist, Christian Life Center (Hepner), and All Saints Episcopal Church. 

Keep the churches of Morrow County in prayer.