1909 - 2009 Centennial
Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center (HAREC) started as The Umatilla Experiment Farm. About 100 years ago an irrigation system was nearly ready for settlers to work this dry, dusty region of northwestern Umatilla County. The land was surveyed, ditches prepared, legal services were ready, railroads and roads were in place. Towns were mapped. Some businesses were already up and running.
Amidst all this was the Umatilla Experiment Farm, a forty acre piece of land ready with buildings to house people prepared to advise, teach and demonstrate how to extract a living from this scattered brush and native forbs protected sand.
Read more about the history of the station.