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Oregon Counties

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Oregon Counties

There are 36 counties in the state of Oregon. The Oregon Constitution does not explicitly provide for county seats.

Baker County, Oregon

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

County Seat: Baker City
Year Organized: 1862
Square Miles: 3,068

Baker County Courthouse:
1995 3rd Street
County Courthouse
Baker City, OR 97814-3359

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of Edward Baker, one of Oregon's first senators and a colonel in the Union Army.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Baker County was created from part of Wasco County in 1862. It was named in honor of Edward Baker, one of Oregon's first senators and a colonel in the Union Army. Baker had been killed at the Battle of Balls Bluff in 1861. In 1864 Union County was created from the northern portion of the county. In 1887 Malheur County was created from the southern portion of the county. The boundaries were adjusted for the last time in 1901 when the area between the Powder River and the Wallowa Mountains, known as the Panhandle, was returned to Baker County.

The county consists of 3,089 square miles and is bounded to the north by Union and Wallowa Counties, to the west by Grant County, to the south by Malheur County, and to the east by the State of Idaho. The original county seat was established at Auburn. Originally a booming mining town with 5,000 inhabitants, the population dwindled and there was agitation to move the county seat. In 1868 an election confirmed Baker City as the new county seat.

The county has had three courthouses, all occupying the same site. The first courthouse was a two-story wooden structure built in 1869. It was replaced by a brick building in 1885. The current courthouse is a three-story building completed in 1909. It is constructed of a gray volcanic stone quarried a few miles south of town. Original county officers included a county judge, two commissioners, sheriff, clerk, treasurer, assessor, and school superintendent.

Gold mining was the original impetus for settlement in the area. At one time the county was the largest gold producer in the Northwest. Agriculture, stock raising, logging and tourism have become the primary economic pursuits. The Oregon Trail Interpretative Center has drawn large numbers of visitors since it opened in 1993 on Flagstaff Hill just northeast of Baker City. The Eagle Cap Wilderness Area, Hells Canyon Recreation Area, Sumpter Gold Dredge Park, Baker City Restored Historic District, and Anthony Lakes Ski Resort, along with fishing and hunting, also draw visitors to the area.

The county's population has fluctuated over time due in part to the boom and bust nature of mining. The population in 2000 of 16,741 represented a 9.3% increase from 1990 but was down from a high of 17,295 in 1960.

Neighboring Counties:

Insert Counties Here

Cities and Towns:

- Baker City (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Granite	city	Incorporated Area
- Haines	city	Incorporated Area
- Halfway	city	Incorporated Area
- Huntington	city	Incorporated Area
- Richland	city	Incorporated Area
- Sumpter	city	Incorporated Area
- Unity	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."