Hermiston () is a city in
Umatilla County
Umatilla County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,075. Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton remains the county seat. Umatilla County is part of ...
,
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, United States. Its population of 19,696
makes it the largest city in
Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...
. Hermiston is the largest, and fastest-growing, city in the
Hermiston-Pendleton Micropolitan Statistical Area, the eighth largest
Core Based Statistical Area
A core-based statistical area (CBSA) is a U.S. geographic area defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that consists of one or more counties (or equivalents) anchored by an urban center of at least 10,000 people plus adjacent countie ...
in Oregon with a combined population of 92,261 at the
2020 census.
Hermiston sits near the junction of
I-82 and
I-84
Interstate 84 may refer to:
* Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N
* Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts)
Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the Northeaster ...
, and is 7 miles south of the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
,
Lake Wallula
Lake Wallula is a reservoir on the Columbia River in the United States, between the U.S. states of Washington (U.S. state), Washington and Oregon. It was created in 1954 with the construction of McNary Dam. It reaches from McNary Dam near the city ...
, and the
McNary Dam. The Hermiston area has become a hub for logistics and
data center activity due to the proximity of the I-82 and I-84 interchange,
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
fiber optic backbone, and low power costs. The city is also known for its watermelons, which are part of its branding.
History
The historic inhabitants of the area were the indigenous
Umatilla,
Cayuse,
Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to:
* Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named
* Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...
, and
Columbia Indians, descendants of peoples who lived in this area for thousands of years. The earliest European settlers established a mission near Pendleton in 1847. The territorial government organized Umatilla County in 1862 from the larger
Wasco County
Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe w ...
. On July 10, 1907, the town of Hermiston was incorporated. The original railroad station was named Maxwell, likely after a contemporary official at the railroad company. Colonel J. F. McNaught, an early settler in the region, later named it Hermiston from
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
's unfinished novel ''
Weir of Hermiston
''Weir of Hermiston'' (1896) is an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is markedly different from his previous works in style and has often been praised as a potential masterpiece. It was cut short by Stevenson's sudden death in 18 ...
''.
The greater Hermiston region began to see irrigated agriculture in 1908, with the completion of the
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Umatilla Basin Project in the form of Cold Springs Reservoir. The region saw modest growth until the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when the
Umatilla Army Depot was constructed, causing Hermiston's population to jump from 803 at the 1940 US Census to 3,804 in 1950. The region continued to experience modest growth for the next several decades until the 1970's, when low power costs coupled with the development of
center-pivot irrigation
Center-pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation), also called water-wheel and circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers. A circular area ...
resulted in a significant expansion in agricultural acreage put in to potato production. The expansion of potato production coincided with the development of large potato processing plants by
Lamb-Weston and
Simplot
The J. R. Simplot Company (commonly referred to as Simplot) is an agribusiness company headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
History
Simplot was founded in 1929 by 20-year-old John Richard Simplot near the agricultural community of Declo in south ...
, focusing on frozen potato products. The associated economic development drove Hermiston's population to nearly double from 4,893 in 1970 to 9,408 by 1980. The 1990's brought additional large employment developments to the Hermiston region in the form of
Two Rivers Correctional Institution
The Two Rivers Correctional Institution is a state prison for men located in Umatilla, Umatilla County, Oregon on the Columbia River, owned and operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections.
The facility opened in 1999, was completed in 20 ...
, a Wal-Mart
Distribution Center
A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to co ...
, expansion of the Union Pacific Hinkle Rail Yard, and beginning of the
Umatilla Army Depot's Chemical Weapon Incineration process. The 2000's have seen continued growth and diversification of the regional economy as Hermiston has grown to a population of 19,354 at the 2020 Census and has become a regional center for commercial and professional services.
Economy
Retail
![Former Roemark's Building in Downtown Hermiston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Former_Roemark%27s_Building_in_Downtown_Hermiston.jpg)
Hermiston serves as the retail and services center for much of western Umatilla County, as well as
Morrow County and parts of
Gilliam county
Gilliam County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,995, making it the third-least populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Condon. The county was established in 1885 and is ...
. Hermiston's Local Trade Area, which describes the area where people will travel to purchase items on a weekly basis, stretches from
Pendleton on the East, the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
to the North,
Heppner to the South, and Gilliam County to the West. There were 46,000 people living within Hermiston's Local Trade Area based on 2010 U.S. Census data. Major national chain retailers in Hermiston include
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
,
Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement r ...
,
Big Lots
Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American retail company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio with over 1,400 stores in 47 states.
History
The Big Lots chain traces its history back to 1967 when Consolidated Stores Corporation ...
,
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
,
AutoZone
AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States. Founded in 1979, AutoZone has over 6,400 stores across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the US Virgin Is ...
,
Big 5 Sporting Goods
Big 5 Sporting Goods is a sporting goods retailer headquartered in El Segundo, California with 434 stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Steven G. Miller is the chairma ...
and
Harbor Freight, among many others. The community also has
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
Chevy
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...
,
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
,
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, and
Subaru
( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...
dealerships. Despite a relatively robust local retail & services market, Hermiston experiences significant retail sales leakage to the
Tri-Cities for items purchased on less than a weekly basis. The Tri-Cities, located approximately 30 minutes north of Hermiston in Washington, had a metro-area population of 275,740 as of April 1, 2014, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Washington.
Workforce
Hermiston has the largest 30-mile-radius workforce in Eastern Oregon. According to 2018 U.S. Census estimates, there were 135,503 people actively employed within a 30-mile radius of Hermiston;
in comparison, there are 75,075 in the next-largest regional Labor Shed in Bend.
Hermiston-area employers benefit greatly from the proximity of the Tri-Cities in Washington which, based on light traffic, and easy freeway access, is approximately 30–35 minutes to the north of Hermiston. This proximity also allows dual-income households good access to employment opportunities for both wage earners.
Top employers
![GSMP](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/GSMP.jpg)
According to the City of Hermiston's ''2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,'' the top employers in the area are:
Parks
![Riverfront Park & Umatilla River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Riverfront_Park_%26_Umatilla_River.jpg)
The City of Hermiston Parks Department maintains 10 parks, 13 landscape areas, and 100-plus acres for the enjoyment of the community. In addition to the developed parks, the Department also has 50 additional acres planned for future development. Recent major enhancements include the additions of Riverfront Park, the Oxbow Trail, and continual additions to the Hermiston Family Aquatic Center. Riverfront Park features 16 acres of open grassy areas alongside the Umatilla River, as well as nearly a mile of paved walking paths, with picnic shelters, restrooms, and fishing access. A 1.8-mile paved walking path, named the Oxbow Trail, was added in 2015 to connect Riverfront Park with the north side of town near Good Shepherd Medical Center. The Trail winds through protected wetland area for nearly the entirety of its length and also connects to Harrison Park.
Geography
![Hatrock](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Hatrock.jpg)
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Distance to major cities:
*
Tri-Cities, Washington
The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities ( Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington. The cities border one another, making the Tri-Cities se ...
-
*
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
-
*
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
-
*
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
-
*
Boise, Idaho
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...
-
*
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
-
*
Missoula, Montana
Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...
-
Hermiston's recent population growth is due to its proximity to large cities in the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
and its location along two major freeways.
Climate
According to the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Hermiston has a
steppe climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
BSk). This gives the area hot dry summers with high daytime temperatures which do cool considerably overnight, and relatively cold winters which typically yield several snow storms per year with relatively minimal accumulation. On June 29, 2021 a max temperature of was recorded in Hermiston, which is just one degree below the new all-time record high temperature for the State of Oregon, which was set in Jefferson County on the same day.
Demographics
2020 Census
As of the U.S.
Census of 2020, there were 19,354 people residing in the city, a growth of 2,609 residents since the 2010 Census. Due to its consistent growth registering as an outlier among rural communities across the U.S., the 2020 Census figure far out-paced the Census Bureau's 2019 estimate for the community of 17,782. This same phenomenon occurred with the community's 2010 Census count far exceeded government estimates from 2009.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 16,745 people, 6,050 households, and 4,184 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 6,373 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.2%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.8%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.3%
Native American, 1.5%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.2%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 19.0% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 34.9% of the population.
There were 6,050 households, of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were
married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.8% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.28.
The median age in the city was 30.9 years. 31.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.3% were from 25 to 44; 20.8% were from 45 to 64; and 11% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.
Education
K-12
Hermiston School District is the largest district in
Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...
, with 5,508 students in the 2020-21 school year.
The district has one high school,
Hermiston High School, which hosts 1,703 students.
Due to the school's size, it is able to offer comprehensive programming and courses for all students. The district also is composed of two middle schools and six elementary schools. There are also two private schools in Hermiston.
Voters in the Hermiston School District have shown strong support for education as the district has experienced sustained robust enrollment growth. Voters approved a $69.9 million capital construction bond in November, 2008, and another $82.7 million capital construction bond in November, 2019.
The 2019 bond added a new elementary school near the intersection of NE 10th and Theater Lane, and replaced the 57-year old Rocky Heights Elementary School on-site with a larger facility. The 2019 bond will also add capacity for an additional 200 students at Hermiston High School.
High School Sports
Hermiston High School competes at the 3A level in the
Washington Interscholastic Activities Association
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of February 2011, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists ...
. This cross-state membership was approved by the WIAA in 2017 in recognition of the lack of comparable sized large high schools elsewhere in
Eastern Oregon
Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...
. The second largest High School in Eastern Oregon was
Pendleton, with only 815 students, compared to Hermiston's 1,703. The WIAA membership allows HHS to compete in the Mid-Columbia Conference against high schools from Kennewick, Richland, Pasco, and Walla Walla, Washington and significantly reduce travel times for conference games.
Higher education
Blue Mountain Community College
Blue Mountain Community College is a community college located in Pendleton, Oregon, United States, and serves Umatilla and Morrow counties as well as most of Baker County. It was established in 1962 and currently offers Associate of Arts degr ...
has a branch in Hermiston.
Eastern Oregon University
Eastern Oregon University (EOU) (officially designated as Oregon’s Rural University) is a public university in La Grande, Oregon. It was formerly part of the Oregon University System, since dissolved. EOU was founded in 1929 as a teacher’ ...
also hosts
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
and graduate-level courses at the Eastern Oregon Higher Education Center in Hermiston.
Transportation
Highways and roads
Hermiston benefits from being near the exact center of the Pacific Northwest, and at the crossroads of several major interstate highways. Drivers can easily access all four major Northwest metropolitan areas in just a half-day's drive.
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
is less than 3 hours to the West, and drivers can also reach
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
in less than 3 hours to the northeast, while
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and
Boise
Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...
are both approximately 4 hours away to the northwest and southeast, respectively. Highways serving Hermiston include
Interstate 84 and
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
, both of which run east–west,
U.S. Route 395
U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...
, which runs north–south, and
Interstate 82
Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States that travels through parts of Washington and Oregon. It runs from its northwestern terminus at I-90 in Ellensburg, Washington, to its southeaste ...
, which has its southern terminus near Hermiston and continues north to
Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...
.
Major transportation-related businesses in Hermiston include
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
's Northwest Distribution Center, and both
FedEx and
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company specializing in telegraphs, UPS has grown t ...
(UPS) have freight distribution facilities in Hermiston.
Rail
Hermiston is on the La Grande Subdivision of the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
, constructed originally through the area in the 1870s as the
Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company
The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a ...
. Railroad facilities include the
Hinkle Locomotive Service and Repair Facility and "hump yard" located just outside the city.
Airports
Hermiston Municipal Airport
Hermiston Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) southeast of the central business district of Hermiston, in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States.
Although most U.S. airports use the sa ...
is a city-owned airport serving General Aviation pilots, corporate jet traffic, agricultural operations, and cargo operations. There are currently no commercial flights out of Hermiston.
Tri-Cities Airport is located approximately 40 minutes north of Hermiston, and offers commercial flights to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Portland, San Francisco, and Phoenix. In 2014, due to strong growth in demand, the Port of Pasco approved a $42 million renovation and expansion, that will double the size of the current terminal.
Media
Radio
*
KOHU
KOHU (1360 AM, "Real Country") is a radio station licensed to serve Hermiston, Oregon, United States. The station, which began broadcasting in 1956, is owned by West End Radio, LLC, and serves Umatilla County and Morrow County, Oregon.
Program ...
1360 AM (Country)
*
KQFM
KQFM (93.7 FM, "The Q") is a radio station licensed to serve Hermiston, Oregon, United States. The station, established in 1978, is owned by West End Radio, LLC, which is in turn owned by the Ronald L. Hughes and Gloria Hughes Living Trust.
Pr ...
93.7 FM (AC)
*
KLKY 96.1 FM (Classic Rock) - Licensed to
Stanfield, Oregon
*
KZLY 99.5 FM (Spanish)
*
KGTS
KGTS (91.3 FM) is a radio station in College Place, Washington, broadcasting to the Walla Walla Valley, including Walla Walla, Washington, and the Tri-Cities. The station oversees the programming for the Positive Life Radio broadcasting networ ...
91.3 FM (Christian)
*
KOLH 105.9 FM (Catholic -
EWTN
The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...
Radio)
Newspapers
*''
The Hermiston Herald'' (published Wednesday)
*''
East Oregonian
The ''East Oregonian'' (''EO'') is a daily newspaper published in Pendleton, Oregon, United States and covering Umatilla and Morrow counties. The ''EO'' was the first-place winner of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association General Excellence ...
'' (
Pendleton paper with coverage of Hermiston, published Tuesday through Saturday)
Notable people
*
Tucker Bounds, public relations professional
*
Bucky Jacobsen, baseball player
*
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
, politician
*
Shoni Schimmel
Shoni Schimmel (born May 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player. She is a former All-American college player at the University of Louisville and was selected with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2014 draft by t ...
, basketball player
*
Jim Stuart, football player
*
Jared Zabransky
Jared Zabransky (born December 4, 1983) is a former professional gridiron football quarterback in the National Football League and the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Houston Texans of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2007 thou ...
, football player
Annual events
*
Hermiston Raceway/Super Oval, paved oval stock car track, races almost every Saturday from late April through the end of September every year.
*
Farm City Pro Rodeo, annual rodeo held in August
FarmCityEntry
/ref>
* Umatilla County Fair
See also
* Hermiston Butte
* Hat Rock State Park
* Oregon Route 207
Oregon Route 207 is an Oregon state highway running from U.S. Route 26 in Mitchell to U.S. Route 730 near Cold Springs Junction. OR 207 is long and runs north–south.
Part of OR 207 is included in the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway.
Ro ...
Footnotes
Further reading
* Ronald E. Ingle, ''Oasis in the Desert: The Story of Hermiston from Sagebrush to City.'' Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers, 2002.
External links
Entry for Hermiston
in the ''Oregon Blue Book
The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division.
The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and on ...
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City of Hermiston official website
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Cities in Oregon
Cities in Umatilla County, Oregon
Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area
1907 establishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1907