Gallery 1: Hermiston in the Early 1940s

Northeast Oregon Now
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Depot Photos
Construction workers are seen here in front of an igloo under construction at the Umatilla Army Depot. The Library of Congress has dozens of photos taken by photographer Russell Lee during the depot's construction in the early 1940s.
PHOTOS COURESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Depot workmen
At the height of construction, there were more than 7,000 men and woman working in various capacities at the Umatilla Army Depot.
Igloo construction 2
Construction workers build one of the igloos at the Umatilla Army Depot. In all, there were a total of 1,001 igloos built at the depot base.
Igloo construction
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began planning the construction of the Umatilla Ordnance Depot, as it was first known, in the summer of 1940.
Pouring concrete into Igloo
Workers pour concrete into one of the igloos being built at the depot. Work on the depot begin in 1940 and wrapped up one year later.
Working on igloo
Hermiston was chosen as the depot site because of its rail connections and its interior location, which would make it a more difficult target for enemy aircraft.
Depot HQ
An aerial shot taken by Russell Lee of the Umatilla Army Depot in the early 1940s. The depot stored every kind of munition in the American arsenal.

Gallery 2

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