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Washington Counties

There are 39 counties in the state of Washington.

Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory and admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. The first counties were created from unorganized territory in 1845.

Klickitat County, Washington

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

County Seat: Goldendale
Year Organized: 1859
Square Miles: 1,872

Court House:

205 S. Columbus Avenue
County Courthouse
Goldendale, WA 98620-9279

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The Klickitat tribe of the Yakama Nation.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Klickitat County was created 20 December 1859 from Skamania County

Klickitat County, located in south central Washington, has a geographic area of 1,880 square miles and ranks 16th in size among Washington's 39 counties. The area was once home to the Klickitat and Wishram tribes, both of which ceded the land to the U.S. government in 1855. Bordering Klickitat County are Skamania County to the west, Yakima County to the north, and Benton County to the east. The Columbia River forms the southern border. The southernmost portion of the Yakama Indian Reservation extends into northern Klickitat County. The Klickitat and White Salmon rivers, both tributaries of the Columbia, flow through Klickitat County. The county's economy has been based on sheep and cattle raising, wheat, orchards, timber, and aluminum, and the county is home to the Maryhill Museum. Goldendale, population 3,760, is the largest town and county seat. As of 2000, Klickitat County's population is 19,161, two-thirds of whom live in unincorporated portions of the county.
File 7800: Full Text >

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,904 square miles (4,932 km²), of which, 1,872 square miles (4,849 km²) of it is land and 32 square miles (82 km²) of it (1.67%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Yakima County, Washington - north
Benton County, Washington - northeast
Morrow County, Oregon - southeast
Gilliam County, Oregon - southeast
Sherman County, Oregon - south
Hood River County, Oregon - southwest
Wasco County, Oregon - southwest
Skamania County, Washington - west

Cities and Towns:

- Bingen	city	Incorporated Area
- Goldendale (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- White Salmon	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

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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