Adams
Athena
Echo
Helix
Hermiston
Milton-Freewater
Pendleton (County Seat)
Pilot Rock
Stanfield
Ukiah
Umatilla
Weston
Umatilla County Courthouse
216 SE Fourth Street
Pendleton, Or 97801
Info:541-276-7111
Courts:541-278-0341
The Courthouse is open 8 am. to 5 pm. Mon. through Fri.
Location and hours for other County
offices
Umatilla County was created on September 27, 1862, out of a portion
of
Wasco County. Umatilla is an Indian term meaning "rippling water" or
"water rippling over sand" and has provided the name both for the
county and its major river. Adjustments were made to the
county's boundaries following the creation of Grant, Morrow, Union, and
Wallowa Counties. The county contains 3,231 square miles and is bounded
by the Columbia River on the north, Morrow County on the west, Grant
County on the south, and Union and
Wallowa Counties on the east.
The legislative act that created Umatilla County designated Marshall
Station as the temporary county seat. Umatilla City was chosen the
county seat in an 1865 election. Population shifted to the north and
east parts of the county due to the opening of the Pendleton area to
wheat production. A subsequent election in 1868 resulted in the
selection of Pendleton as the new county seat, supplanting both
Marshall Station and Umatilla City.
The first courthouse was completed in 1866 in Umatilla City. The next
courthouse, and the first built in Pendleton, was a wooden, two-story
structure completed in 1869. In 1889 a three-story brick courthouse and
jail was erected. A fourth courthouse was built on the site of the old
courthouse in 1956 and is still in use today.
The government of Umatilla County consisted originally of a county
judge, two county commissioners, clerk, and sheriff. The offices of
treasurer, assessor, coroner, and superintendent of schools were added
a short time after formation of the county. The county judge position
was abolished and a third commissioner was added in 1975.
Umatilla County is represented by Senate District 29; and
Representative Districts 57 and 58; and the Second Congressional
District. The first census of the Umatilla County in 1870 counted 2,916
inhabitants. The population has increased steadily with a 1997 census
figure of 65,500 representing an increase of 10.6% over 1990.
The Umatilla Indian Reservation was established by the Treaty of Walla
Walla in 1855. It became an 800 square mile home for the Umatillas,
Walla Wallas, and Cayuse tribes and is located immediately southeast of
Pendleton. The Umatilla Confederated Tribes have 1,400 enrolled members.
Lewis and Clark and pioneers traveling the Oregon Trail passed through
the area. The gold rush of 1862 brought miners and stock raisers to the
mountains and grasslands of Umatilla County. The county expanded after
the coming of the railroad in 1881 and the area was open to the
development of dry land wheat farming. The fertile land of Umatilla
County gives a strongly agricultural base to the county's economy.
Fruit, grain, timber, cattle, and sheep are important agricultural
products. Recreation, primarily in the Blue Mountains, and tourism,
most notably for the annual Pendleton Round-Up rodeo, are also
important to the local economy.
Umatilla County's Harris
Park
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Oregon
Pendleton Roundup
Frazier
Farmstead Museum
Eastern
Oregon
Visitors Association
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce
Milton-Freewater Chamber of Commerce
Pendleton Chamber of
Commerce/Visitors
Pilot Rock Chamber of Commerces
Weston Chamber of Commerce
Travel
Oregon Online
Oregon State
Parks