Oregon State...
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Oregon Counties
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Baker County, Oregon
Baker County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat:
Year Organized: 1862
Square Miles:
MSA: |
Baker County Courthouse:
1995 Third Street
Baker City, OR 97814
Clerk: (541) 523-8207
Courts: (541) 523-6305
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Named: Named in honor of Edward Baker, one of Oregon's first senators
and a colonel in the Union Army.
State & County QuickFacts:
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:
Cities:
County Resources:
Enter County Resources and Information Here
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County Resource Guide
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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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Penn Foster High School
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