Oregon County, Missouri: History and Information

Oregon County, Missouri

Oregon County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Court House:

P.O. Box 406
County Courthouse
Alton, MO 65606-0406

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for the Territory of Oregon.

Demographics:

History of Oregon County

Organized from Ripley County February 14, 1845, with a population of 750; and named for Oregon Territory. The controversy between Britain and the United States over the possession of this territory, which gave rise to the slogan "Fifty-four forty or fight," was a live issue at the time, finally settled in favor of the United States in 1846. Oregon Territory was organized in 1848, and became a state in 1859. It was named for the Oregon River, now the Columbia. The name is of Indian origin, but its precise meaning is uncertain. (Campbell, Gaz. of Mo. (1874) 407; Mo. Hist. Rev. (April, 1917) 337; Goodspeed, 181; W.E. Harrod; Clippings from THE SOUTH MISSOURIAN)

Source: Pottenger, Cora Ann. "Place Names Of Five Southern Border Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1945.

Neighboring Counties:

Insert Counties Here

Cities and Towns:

- Alton (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Koshkonong

town

Incorporated Area

- Thayer

city

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

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Oregon County, Missouri

Oregon County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History of Oregon County

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

County Resource Guide