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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.

Pend Oreille County, Washington

Pend Oreille County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Newport
Year Organized: 1911
Square Miles: 1,400

Court House:

625 W 4th Street
County Courthouse
Newport, WA 99156-9098

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The Pend d'Oreille Native American tribe.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Pend Oreille County was created 1 March 1911 from Stevens County

Pend Oreille County, in the extreme northeast corner of Washington, was the last county created in the state. The long narrow strip of land bordering the Idaho Panhandle comprised the easternmost part of Stevens County until designated a separate county in 1911. In 1912, Newport, the largest town, defeated three other contenders to become county seat. The name Pend Oreille derives from a French-Canadian fur trade moniker for local Indians who probably wore large ear pendants. The area that became the small, sparsely populated county was in many ways the last frontier in the state. Its inhabitants were first the indigenous peoples, then fur traders and explorers, followed by missionaries, then miners, loggers, and homesteaders. Industries such as timber, mining, and cement manufacture provided employment, but most of the profits flowed to outside investors, leaving little for local development. Today the county is working to upgrade its economy, while its scenic beauty and recreational opportunities are attracting tourism and settlement.
File 7618: Full Text >

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,425 square miles (3,692 km²), of which, 1,400 square miles (3,627 km²) of it is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) of it (1.76%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Boundary County, Idaho east
Bonner County, Idaho east
Spokane County, Washington south
Stevens County, Washington west

It also shares its northern border with British Columbia, Canada.

Central Kootenay Regional District, British Columbia

Cities and Towns:

- Cusick	town	Incorporated Area
- Ione	town	Incorporated Area
- Metaline	town	Incorporated Area
- Metaline Falls	town	Incorporated Area
- Newport (County Seat)	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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