History

Both Boardman and Hermiston have significant Lamb Weston frozen potato processing facilities. The Boardman plant is the largest of Lamb Weston's potato plants in the Columbia River Basin. In 2014, a 192,000 square foot addition to the Boardman facility gave Lamb Weston five production lines in two plants in Boardman, increasing capacity by an estimated 300 million pounds annually.   Lamb Weston opened a state-of-the-art potato processing plant in Hermiston in 1972. The Hermiston facility produces around 750 million pounds of french fries annually that are shipped globally, and is one of the largest employers in the area. A $250 million expansion was

With its most recent state title, now its ninth across Hip Hop, Dance, or Show since 2019, Hermiston’s dominant dancing dynasty continues The Hermiston High School Dance Team captured the 3A State Hip Hop Championship at the WIAA State Dance and Drill Championships March 28, 2026  at the Yakima SunDome. The Bulldogs edged out Kentlake High School of Kent, Washington, by a single point — 252.90 to 251.90 — with their "Welcome to the Jungle" routine to claim the title. Head Coach Alex Anteau noted that the team's season had its share of score swings, but believes those challenges forged the focus

Albert “Louis” Lyons, 1916-1990 From the Heppner Gazette Times, Sept. 2, 1987 When Louis Lyons, 70, Hermiston, retires at the end of this month, he will take many memories of Heppner and of Hermiston with him to his new home in Hawaii. The Hermiston Chamber of Commerce is hosting a reception in honor of Lyons’s retirement Sept. 10 at the Hermiston City Park. Many of Lyon’s memories are on film. Most will recognize his work, but even those who don’t may recall his diminutive presence behind a box camera at many major events in the area. He has resisted change to the 35mm camera, staunchly

In the early 1900s, J. F. McNaught , the community's first postmaster, named the town Hermiston at the suggestion of his wife Jennie, after Robert Louis Stevenson’s unfinished novel Weir of Hermiston. The city was incorporated July 10, 1907.   There's a direct and fascinating connection between the city of Hermiston and the novel. There are actually two Scottish Hermistons worth knowing about: The better-known one is a hamlet formerly in the county of Midlothian, now part of Edinburgh, located north of Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton Campus. It has medieval roots — in 1316 land in the area was granted to Sir William Douglas of

In the beginning, there was one Shari’s restaurant in Hermiston, Oregon. Word spread fast about its 24-hour dining, extensive pie offerings and bottomless cups of coffee. Soon, there were lines out the door. As a result, Shari’s Cafes appeared in Sherwood and Newberg, Ore., and then throughout the Northwest. Ron and Sharon Bergquist opened the first Shari's restaurant, named after Sharon, on South Highway 395 in 1978. The couple had been living in Hermiston since 1974 and for a time operated the Blue Bucket Restaurant. An architect, Ron had a vision for a new restaurant design with a signature hexagonal shape, and

Sandstone School (Photo courtesy of Steve Mills)   Hermiston's first school was opened in the fall of 1906. School was held in a single room on the west side of the railroad tracks. There were six students. The first teacher was May E. Skinner, daughter of William Skinner. By September 1907, school was moved to the upper floor of the Skinner Building at the corner of Second and Main. A second teacher was hired. The first high school graduating class was in 1909. The two graduates were Catherine Skinner and Mona Irvin. Sandstone School was the first building specifically constructed for education, built in 1908-1909

Founded in 1988, the Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston is an annual event that coincides with the Umatilla County Fair each August. With attendance now topping 20,000, the event has grown from a local tradition into one of the Northwest's premier rodeos — bringing top-tier talent, tourism and a sense of pride to Hermiston year after year. Nationwide, with a total purse of $50,000 per event, the 2025 event ranked among the top 30 for pay in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The best of the best have competed in Hermiston, thanks in part to two cowboys, David Bothum and

He spent seven years grinding through minor league bus rides and forgotten ballparks, always believing his moment would come. When it finally did, Bucky Jacobsen made sure no one would forget his name — even if his big league career lasted only 42 games. Born August 30, 1975, in Riverton, Wyoming, Larry William "Bucky" Jacobsen grew up to be a powerful, right-handed first baseman and designated hitter. He attended Hermiston High School before going on to play college ball at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton and later at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho — a program well known for

Joe Burns, back row center, with the Hermiston Development Corporation If E.P. Dodd was Hermiston's town father for its first 50 years, Joe Burns will be remembered as Hermiston's town father for the second 50 years. Following is his obituary from 2015. Joseph Edward “Joe” Burns, 90, died February 5, 2015 at his home in Hermiston. He was born on February 1, 1925 in Portland, Oregon, the son of John William Burns and Mae (Hanna) Burns. When he was two months old his family moved to Condon, Oregon where he attended grade school and high school. Upon graduation, Joe joined the Army Air

Elmer Perry Dodd was born on the banks of a Boise Valley irrigation canal built by his father. All of his long and useful life he devoted to the pursuit of his conviction that water could and would make the West bloom. He died this week in Hermiston where lush green fields extending to tamed waters of the Columbia River stand as a monument to his vision an extraordinary energy. He was among the original vigorous advocates of reclaiming the Sage-strewn sands of the Inland Empire.  —The Oregonian, June 11, 1959   Elmer Perry (E.P.) Dodd (1869–1959) was a central Oregon pioneer best

The watermelon may be the official symbol of Hermiston, but the onion also deserves its place at the Northeast Oregon dinner table. Before they’re sliced, diced, battered or crunched, onions are grown commercially in more than 20 states. According to the National Onion Association, U.S. farmers plant about 125,000 acres of onions each year, and 20 percent of those hit the soil in Idaho and Eastern Oregon. The region produces about 1.47 billion pounds of onions annually. While the Treasure Valley along the Oregon-Idaho border stakes its claim to the bulk of those acres, Umatilla County also has a piece of the

By Cassandra Tate 3/26/2008 HistoryLink.org Essay 8449 The sound of the great Ice Age floods would have been terrifying: some 530 cubic miles of water bursting through a wall of ice more than 2,000 feet high; roaring over Eastern Washington at speeds of up to 80 miles an hour; drilling deep crevices into ancient basalt, stripping away topsoil in some areas, piling it up in others, flinging boulders around like ping pong balls. The pressure on the earth’s crust probably triggered earthquakes and landslides. The floodwaters pounded down the Columbia Gorge and into the Pacific with enough force to dig channels into the

  From Northeast Oregon Now, Aug. 15, 2013 Michael Kane This is the story of a humble postcard’s journey from Hermiston to The Dalles to Coeur d’Alene to Florida – and likely many parts unknown – before arriving back in Hermiston 60 years later. Oh yeah – and Frank Harkenrider’s involved. I don’t know the complete history of this remarkable postcard – I only came upon it toward the back end of its story. Who knows how many other cities and states it has called home. I discovered it a few months ago when I was on eBay and innocently typed in the word “Hermiston”

Paddling down the Columbia River on a clear and frosty day in 1805, William Clark saw a round rock, with a flat top and vertical sides. The handsome rock stood seven stories above the surrounding landscape. Struck by the sight, he noted an outcropping “resembling a hat” in his journal entry of Oct. 19. On his hand-drawn map, he placed a dot and labeled it “Hat Rock.” Hat Rock, situated in a state park about eight miles northeast of Hermiston, was the first distinctive landmark noted by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on its trip down the Columbia River. It’s one of few sites

From McNary Dam to the #MeToo Movement, a Hollywood Icon Endures Hollywood came to celebrate the groundbreaking of McNary Dam in 1947. In April 1947 Janis Paige was crowned “Miss Damsite” and appeared at the ground-breaking ceremony for the dam on the Columbia River at Umatilla, alongside Oregon Gov. Earl Snell and Cornelia Morton McNary, Sen. Charles McNary's widow. In 1941, Congress approved dam construction and a groundbreaking followed in April 1947. Consistent with tradition, “People demanded that this event have its queen,” the McNary Dam employee newsletter reported. Janis Paige, a Tacoma native who had become a Warner Bros. screen star known

Russell Lee was an American photojournalist who in 1936 went to work for the federal Farm Security Administration documentation project. The FSA built a remarkable collection of 80,000 photographs of America during the Depression because they hired great photographers—Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, Russell Lee, Carl Mydans and Gordon Parks, who crossed the U.S. to produce a “visual encyclopedia of American life.” Lee is responsible for some of the most iconic images produced by the FSA. In September 1941, Lee visited Hermiston and took numerous photos in area communities. After the FSA was de-funded in 1943, Lee produced photographs for Standard Oil

A 20th Century Master Visits Northeast Oregon As she rose to the peak of her creative powers, Dorothea Lange visited Irrigon in 1939 on a trip through Oregon documenting the Great Depression for FDR Working in the crisp fall air, a farmer and his wife caught Dorothea Lange’s eye as they dug sweet potatoes along the Columbia River at Irrigon in October 1939. As part of the legendary stable of photographers at the Farm Security Administration during the New Deal, Lange spent much of the 1930s capturing the suffering and dignity of those who survived the Great Depression. Along with Lange, Walker Evans, Gordon

From Ruralite Magazine, 2013 Anchored in fishing and regional trade, the village of Ímatalam spanned four miles along the banks where the Columbia and Umatilla rivers meet. The Umatilla people – Imatalamłáma – bred horses, collected roots and buried their dead in a 500-acre area from prehistoric to modern times. Radiocarbon dating on artifacts recovered from the Ímatalam site – once the largest village of the Umatilla people on the Columbia River – have tested as far back as 5,000 BC, according to Teara Farrow Ferman,  program manager for Cultural Resources Protection Program of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The

The City of Hermiston has had 27 mayors in its history, dating to 1907. Some served for more than a decade and one served for just a single meeting. Three died in office, while one served multiple terms separated by more than a decade. Here’s a list of each of Hermiston’s mayors: George H. Car – July 10, 1907 to January 1908 James Griffin – January 14, 1908 (received oath of office, took chair and resigned that same meeting) Fred A. Yates – January 22, 1908 to January 1909 Harvey Ross (H.R.) Newport – January 1909 to January 1912 H.A. Waterman – February 1912 to

During its history as a military base, the U.S. Army Depot near Hermiston, Oregon stored, maintained, and demilitarized ammunition. Now closed and transferred to community ownership for economic development, the depot is located on 19,729 acres in Umatilla and Morrow Counties in northeastern Oregon, approximately three miles south of the Columbia River and 180 miles east of Portland. Although explored by the Spanish and English as early as the 1500s, the Umatilla area remained unsettled, except by various Indian tribes, through the early 1800s. The Lewis and Clark expedition traversed the area in 1805, and the Oregon Trail, located south of