The Heppner flood was the deadliest in the history of the American northwest, and among the deadliest in the nation’s history. And yet, the disaster that struck the north central Oregon town has become nearly forgotten history.
During the civil war, the manufacture of powder and explosives was often handled by the most vulnerable, young women and children, whose labor was needed when so many men had been sent off to war. On March 13, 1863, the confederacy experienced a munitions disaster, in the confederate capitol of Richmond.