Hardman is a farming town located in the rolling fields about 20 miles south of Heppner on Highway 207. There is very little information available on this town and only a few people live there. It has the quintessential ghost town qualities. The town is divided by the highway and the occasional truck thunders on by, hauling its load to another place. The community centre has received minor renovations. Submitted by Darren Bernaerdt from Deserted Lands.

Raw Dog and Yellow Dog, the names of two small towns about a mile apart in Morrow County competing for the stagecoach depot in their locale. This was in the 1870s when stagecoaches and wagon trains traveled north and south through eastern Oregon and Washington. Either town was a convenient stopping point where passengers could rest for the night. When it was learned a post office was to be established in the area, it was decided Raw Dog would be the place because it had a few more people than Yellow Dog. It also decided Raw Dog would be the site for a more permanent stagecoach station and Yellow Dog laid down and died. When the post office was established in 1881, the postal officials couldn’t quite see Raw Dog a fitting name and gave the town the name of Hardman after the man who had homesteaded the site. As new methods of transportation were developed and stagecoaches began to disappear, so did Hardman. Raw Dog went to join Yellow Dog. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

In 1870....the town was called Dairyville.......then in approx 1876 it was changed to Dogtown......then Postmaster David Hardman established it's new post office and the town was named after him.
In brief......Hardman came to life as a freighting center in the 1870's and saw great prosperity.....then as the railroad was rumored to come to Hardman.......at the last minute.....the railroad decided on heppner and bypassed hardman altogether........which obviously signalled Hardman's death-knell as a major town.The last business closed in 1968 and has been very peaceful ever since. Submitted by: Rick Perry

P.S.I just sold my place in Hardman a year and a half ago.....other than the regular stories about the rise and fall of Hardman..which incidentally was the Important freighting station along the oregon trail in the 1870"s.........The town at this time has a steady population of 35 full-time residents and about 25 out of state property owners.The people that reside here are friendly but reserved.They take their independance very seriously and are a hard working hearty group.I had my place from October '89 to August of '96.If you visit here ...please look and take as many pictures as you like ....but please do not take anything that is not yours as it most likely belongs to the townsfolk.While there are no services in Hardman itself.......the residents there will help you if need be.Heppner is the nearest place for services........at 20 miles Northeast on Highway 207.The town of Spray is 33 miles south.During Hunting season....the old Town hall building is host to hunter's breakfasts.The town hall has been refurbished with the help of around 60 thousand dollars kicked in from the state.It's home to the Hardman Historical Society and association and they have potluck dinners for town residents once a month......Life is good there so bring the family and step back into times.....The remains are plentiful and the inhabited homes have been restored to their original clapboard for the most part amid fallen-down structures and various old vehicle remnants etc.Please do not remove anything as history cannot replenish itself..