Wasco County, OregonWasco County, OregonCounty Seat: The Dalles, Oregon
Established: Jan. 11, 1854
Elev. at The Dalles: 98'
Area: 2,396 sq. mi.
Average Temp.: January 33.4°, July 73.1°
Assessed Value: $1,216,413,960
Real Market Value: $1,769,299,228
Annual Precipitation: 14.90"
Economy: Agriculture (orchards, wheat farming, livestock ranching), forest products and lumber, manufacturing, electric power, aluminum, transportation (rail, river barge) and tourism.
Points of Interest: Columbia and Deschutes Rivers, Fort Dalles Museum, Pulpit Rock, The Dalles Dam, Celilo Converter Station, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation and Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, Mt. Hood, Sorosis Park, original Wasco County Courthouse, St. Peter's Landmark and the Columbia River Gorge Discovery Center.
Government
Wasco County Courthouse
511 Washington Street The Dalles, Oregon 97058
(541) 296-2207 Fax: (541) 298-3650
Phone: 541-296-6159 (County Clerk);
541-296-3154 (Court Administrator)
Wasco County Home Page
http://co.wasco.or.us/
Wasco County Court oversees all county departments.
County Officials: Commissioners
Dan Ericksen, Chair, (R) 2007
Scott McKay (D) 2007
Dist. Atty. Eric Nisley 2005
Assess. Herb Crook (R) 2007
Clerk Karen LeBreton (NP) 2005
Sheriff Darrell Hill (NP) 2005
Surv. Dan Boldt (NP) 2007
Treas. Linda L. May (NP) 2007.
Incorporated Cities: Antelope | Dufur | Maupin | Mosier | Shaniko | The Dalles
History
Wasco County is named for the Wasco (or Wascopam) tribe of Indians that lived south of the Columbia River, near The Dalles. When Wasco County was created from portions of Clackamas, Marion, Linn, and Lane Counties on January 11, 1854, it consisted of all of Oregon Territory between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains and from latitude 42deg. (the California border) to latitude 46deg. (the Washington border). This was the largest county ever formed in the United States, originally consisting of 130,000 square miles.
Portions of Wasco County as it was originally drawn now lie in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Over the years, seventeen other counties in eastern Oregon were created from Wasco County, which now consists of 2,387 square miles. It is bordered by two rivers, the Columbia to the north and the Deschutes to the east, and by the Warm Springs Indian Reservation on the south and Mt. Hood National Forest on the west. Wasco County shares political boundaries with Sherman, Wheeler, Jefferson, Clackamas, and Hood River Counties.
The Dalles was designated the county seat when the county was formed in 1854. Courthouses were built in 1859, 1884, and in 1914. All three buildings are standing today and the 1914 building is still in use as the county courthouse. County officials include three commissioners, district attorney, assessor, clerk, sheriff, surveyor, and treasurer.
The 2000 Wasco County population of 23,791 was an increase of 9.72% over 1990.
The falls on the Columbia River near The Dalles served as a gathering place and major trading center for many Indians, including the Wasco, Paiute, and Warm Springs tribes. The falls had been named Le Grand Dalles de la Columbia (The Great Falls of the Columbia) by French Canadian fur traders. The Indians of the region were forceably relocated by the US Military to the Warm Springs Reservation in 1855. There was great unrest at the time from all quarters of the Indian population as the tribes fought for their homeland. Fort Dalles became a central military headquarters for dispatching troops to combat the unrest.
The Dalles had served initially as a way station on the emigrant road to the Willamette Valley. The construction of a pioneer road over the Cascades in 1845 and the Donation Land Act of 1850 brought families to the area to settle. Wasco County became a major transportation hub for both river traffic and inland traffic. River traffic on the Columbia River was profoundly affected in 1935 by the building of Bonneville Dam in Multnomah County and by The Dalles Dam in 1957 in Wasco County. The two dams were created to facilitate river traffic through some of the most treacherous and dangerous rapids on the Columbia river, and to provide hydro-electric power for the region. The construction of Dalles Dam was responsible for the flooding and destruction of Celilo Falls which for centuries had been the location of a sacred regional Indian fishing ground. The incalculable cultural loss of Celilo Falls continues to be a source of mourning and great sorrow to regional Indian tribes to this day.
When Wasco County was created, Jan. 11, 1854, it comprised all the area of the Oregon Territory between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, an empire in itself. By successive takings for other states and counties, the area of Wasco County has been reduced to 2408 square miles. Wasco is the modern name for a tribe of Indians. Early writers used the name in many forms. Woss in Fur Hunters of the Far West, v.1, p. 186, speaks of the Wiss-co-pam tribe. Lee and Frost in Ten Years in Oregon, p. 176, give Was-co-pam. For references to various spellings, see Handbook of American Indians, v.2, p. 918. About the time of the immigrations white people shortened the name to Wasco. The Wasco Indians were a Chinook tribe, formerly living on the south side of the Columbia River, in the vicinity of The Dalles. The name Wasco is said to be derived from the Wasco word wacq-o, meaning a cup or small bowl made of horn. The Handbook of American Indians, v.2, p. 917, says this referred to a cup-shaped rock near the main village of the tribe, but Dr. William C. McKay, in an article in The Dalles Mountaineer, May 28, 1869, said that the name Wasco meant makers of basins, and that the literal meaning of the word was horn basin. Some of these basins were fantastically carved. Both of the explanations may be correct. Dr. McKay said that the locality of the city of The Dalles was called Winquatt, signifying a place surrounded by bold cliffs.-- Source: Oregon Geographic Names, Sixth Edition, 1992, Lewis L. McArthur, Oregon Historical Society Press, ISBN O-87595-237-2.
Wasco County History Site
http://www.wasco-history.r9esd.k12.or.us/
Wasco County Genealogy
http://www.historysavers.com/orwasco/
Oregon Historical Records
http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/county/cpquick.html
Web links to relevant searchable and browsable resources maintained on official county Web sites. These often include assessment information, county commissioners' minutes, county ordinances and codes, county comprehensive plans, county budgets, subdivision and partition plats, various maps, survey plats, and more.
County Services
Dufur
Wasco County Road Dept.
541-467-2242
60 S. Heimrich
Dufur OR 97021
Maupin
Wasco County Sheriff's Office - South County
541-395-2214
Maupin OR 97037
http://www.oregonsheriffs.org/wasco/index.shtml
Mosier
Wasco Co. Road Dept
541-478-3355
Mosier OR 97040
The Dalles
County Clerk - Wasco Co.
541-296-6159
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
District Attorney's Office
541-296-4611
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
District Court
541-296-3196
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Oregon Child Development Coalition of Wasco County
541-296-0100
1300 W. 9th St. P.O. Box 1820
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.ocdc.net
Child care services, schools - academic, pre-school & kindergartens
Parks - Northern Wasco Co. Parks & Recreation Dist.
541-296-9533
319 E. 7th St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Parole & Probation Board - Wasco County
541-296-9333
The Dalles OR 97058
Veterans Service Office
541-296-9464
2705 E. 2nd St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco Co. Jail Facility
541-298-8672
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Animal Control
541-296-5189
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Animal Shelter
541-296-5189
5655 River Road
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.petfinder.com
Wasco County Assessor
541-296-5477
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Building Codes Information
541-298-4461
2705 East Second Street
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.co.wasco.or.us/statebuildingcodes/statecontacts.html
Wasco County Child Support Enforcement
541-296-4612
511 Washington St., Ste. 304
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Civil Dept.
541-296-1325
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Clerk
541-296-6159
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Commission on Children & Families
541-296-5888
606 Court St. 511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Information, Service directories, Parenting assistance, Drug Abuse & addiction information & treatment, Community Action Agencies.
Wasco County Commissioners
541-296-2207
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Commissioners
541-296-8746
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Community Corrections - Adult Parole & Probation
541-296-9333
502 Washington St., Ste 207
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Court House
541-296-4611
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County District Attorney
541-296-2276
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County District Court
541-296-3196
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Drug Tip Hotline
541-296-1885
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Education Center
541-296-6623
414 Federal St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Emergency Services
541-298-1929
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Emergency Services
541-296-6424
421 E. 7th St. Annex B
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Employee and Administrative Services
541-296-2276
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Engineering & Surveying
541-296-2214
2705 E. 2nd St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Extension Service OSU
541-296-5494
400 E. Scenic Dr.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Food Stamp Center
541-296-4661
700 Union St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Historical Museum - Discovery Center
541-296-8600
5000 Discovery
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.gorgediscovery.org
Wasco County Historical Society
541-296-1867
300 W. 13th St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Landfill
541-296-4082
2550 Steele Rd
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Library
541-296-2815
722 Court St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Mental Health
541-296-3164
223 E. 10th St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Mental Health - Center for Living
541-296-5452
719 E. 7th
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Planning and Economic Development Office
541-298-5169
2705 E. 2nd Street
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Public Works Office & Shop
541-296-5491
2705 East Second Street
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.co.wasco.or.us/planning/default.html
Wasco County Sheriff's Office General Business
541-298-2015
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.oregonsheriffs.org/wasco/index.shtml
911 Calls - Initial Response; Coordinated law enforcement response to 911 (city, state & county).
Emergency
9-1-1
Non Emergency Dispatch
541-296-5454
Civil Department 296-1325
Drug Tip Hotline 296-1885
Jail Facility: 541-298-8672
Maupin Office Wasco Co. Sheriff: 541-296-5454
Wasco County Treasurer & Tax Dept.
541-296-3327
511 Washington St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Veterans Service Office
541-296-9464
2705 E. 2nd
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Victim Assistance
541-296-6451
511 Washington St., Ste. 304
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco County Watermaster
541-298-4110
2705 East 2nd St
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.co.wasco.or.us/publicworks/default.html
Wasco County Weedmaster
541-298-4110
2705 East 2nd St
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.co.wasco.or.us/publicworks/default.html
Weed Division helps to manage the invasion and spread of noxious weeds throughout the county.
Wasco County Youth Services Dept.
541-296-4657
202 E. 5th St.
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.co.wasco.or.us
Wasco Family Services
541-298-4368
119 E. 2nd St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Wasco Region 9 Education Service District (ESD) Administration Office
541-296-4505
400 E. Scenic Dr.
The Dalles OR 97058
http://www.r9esd.k12.or.us
Instructional Services - Media
541-296-5157
WIC Program
541-296-4636
400 E. 5th St.
The Dalles OR 97058
Tygh Valley
Wasco County Fairgrounds
541-483-2288
81849 Fairground Rd.
Tygh Valley OR 97063
Wasco County Fairgrounds 4-H Building
541-483-2308
81849 Fairground Rd.
Tygh Valley OR 97063
Wamic
Wasco County Road Dept.
541-544-2322
Wamic OR 97063
Other Sites of Interest
Oregon Blue Book - Wasco County
http://bluebook.state.or.us/local/counties/counties33.htm
Northern Wasco County Peoples Utility District (PUD)
http://www.nwasco.com/default.htm
2345 River Road
The Dalles, Oregon 97058
Telephone: 541-296-2226
Fax: 541-298-3320
County Maps
http://www.odot.state.or.us/tdmappingpublic/county.htm
Wasco County Planning and Economic Development Office
2705 E. 2nd Street, The Dalles, OR 97058
Phone 541-298-5169
Fax 541-298-3551
Sources:
Oregon Blue Book
Economic Indicators (from OECDD)
"County Quick Facts" (from U.S. Census Bureau)
Wasco County Political Graveyard
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||
DISCLAIMER: A2Zgorge.info is an information and referral service provider and is not liable or responsible for direct services provided by any individual, business or organization listed. Please report any problems you experience directly to the business or organization in question. If you do not receive satisfaction, we suggest you file a report with the Better Business Bureau . The information on this site is for information purposes only, and not to be considered legal advice, or to take the place of consulting an appropriate medical or mental health professional. Would you like to make a correction or an addition?
A2ZGORGE.INFO © COPYRIGHT 2003 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
