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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.

Linn County, Oregon

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

County Seat: Albany
Year Organized: 1847
Square Miles: 2,291

Court House:

66 SE D Street, Suite A
County Courthouse
Albany, OR 97321-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Linn County was named for US Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri who was the author of the Donation Land Act that gave free land to settlers in the West.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

On December 28, 1847 the Provisional Legislature created Linn County from the southern portion of Champoeg (later Marion) County. The boundaries were altered in 1851 and 1854 with the creation of Lane and Wasco Counties. The county consists of 2,297 square miles and is bounded on the north by Marion County; on the east by Deschutes and Jefferson Counties; on the south by Lane County; and on the west by Benton County. Linn County was named for US Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri who was the author of the Donation Land Act that gave free land to settlers in the West.

The county seat was originally located in Calapooia (Brownsville), but in 1851 the Territorial Legislature passed an act establishing Albany as the county seat. A special election in 1856 reaffirmed Albany as the county seat. The Spaulding school in Brownsville served as the first courthouse. A new courthouse was erected in Albany in 1853 but was destroyed by fire in 1861. A third courthouse was built in 1865 and remodeled in 1890 and 1899. The present courthouse was constructed in 1940 adjacent to the earlier courthouses.

The general administration of Linn County business was placed in the county court, composed of two elected commissioners and a county judge. The county court met for the first time in December, 1849. In 1970 the county court was replaced by a board of county commissioners. Current county officials include three commissioners, district attorney, assessor, clerk, sheriff, surveyor, and treasurer.

The population in 2000 was 103,069. This represented an increase of 12.98% over 1990.

The climate and soil conditions provide one of Oregon's most diversified agriculture areas, allowing a wide variety of specialty crops and leading the nation in the production of common and perennial ryegrass. Linn County is also home to major producers of rare and primary metals, processed food, manufactured homes and motor homes as well as the traditional logging and wood products industries.

Neighboring Counties:

Insert Counties Here

Cities and Towns:

- Albany (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Brownsville	city	Incorporated Area
- Halsey	city	Incorporated Area
- Harrisburg	city	Incorporated Area
- Lebanon	city	Incorporated Area
- Lyons	city	Incorporated Area
- Mill City	city	Incorporated Area
- Millersburg	city	Incorporated Area
- Scio	city	Incorporated Area
- Sodaville	city	Incorporated Area
- Sweet Home	city	Incorporated Area
- Tangent	city	Incorporated Area
- Waterloo	town	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."