Umatilla County County
Umatilla County traces its creation in 1862 to the regional gold rushes, which spawned the riverport of Umatilla City and brought stockraisers to the lush grasslands.
Although Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail pioneers passed through Umatilla County, it did not bloom until the arrival of the railroad in 1881 and the development of dryland wheat farming.
Mapped Location
Umatilla County: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on Umatilla County
- Feature Type: County
- County Seat: City of Pendleton
- Established: Saturday, September 27, 1862
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Umatilla County
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Umatilla County | Official |
Related Catalog Titles
A Bibliography for Umatilla County, County
Pendleton a short history of a real western town by Keith F. May, Christina Rae May
Published by Keith F. May and Christina Rae May, Pendleton: A Short History of a Real Western Town explores the dynamic evolution of this iconic Oregon community from its origins as a frontier trading post into a bustling agricultural and cultural hub. The book chronicles the town's rich heritage, highlighting the impact of the Oregon Trail, the arrival of the railroad, and the establishment of its famous woolen mills and annual Round-Up celebration. Through local anecdotes and historical highlights, the authors capture the rugged spirit and enduring character that distinguish Pendleton from standard suburban settlements. A keen insight drawn from the text is how communities like Pendleton leverage theatrical traditions like the rodeo not just for entertainment, but as vital cultural anchors that allow a changing rural economy to publicly perform and preserve its foundational mythos.
124 pages : illustrations, maps, portrait ; 22 cm
CIRC [ 1 ]
Powerful rockey the Blue Mountains and the Oregon Trail, 1811-1883 by John W. Evans, Eastern Oregon State College
Historic sketches of Walla Walla, Whitman, Columbia and Garfield counties, Washington Territory, and Umatilla County, Oregon by Frank T. Gilbert
Published in 1882, Frank T. Gilbert's expansive regional history chronicles the rapid transformation of the Inland Empire—spanning eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon—from indigenous territory and fur-trade outposts to an agrarian powerhouse. The narrative meticulously details the violent conflicts of the Cayuse and Yakima Indian Wars, the establishment of early pioneer settlements, and the subsequent explosion of the region's lucrative dry-land wheat economy. A keen insight drawn from the text is how it perfectly exemplifies the Gilded Age "subscription history" model, where the grand, often brutal narrative of westward conquest was explicitly monetized by pairing regional chronicles with flattering biographical portraits of the affluent farmers and merchants who financed the publication. Consequently, while the volume remains an indispensable civic and genealogical archive, its historical framing intentionally sanitizes the systematic displacement of Native American tribes to celebrate the inevitable triumph of white, capitalist agriculture in the Columbia Basin.
447, [2], [449]-488, [12], 66 pages, [63] leaves of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 31 cm
ONLINE CIRC [ 1 ]
Umatilla County
- City of Adams
- Albee (historical)
- City of Athena
- Bingham Springs
- Bucks Corners
- Cayuse
- Charlestown
- Cobb
- Cold Springs
- Cold Springs Junction
- Crockett
- Duncan
- City of Echo
- Ferndale
- Fulton
- Gibbon
- Glendale
- Green Meadows
- Gurdane
- City of Helix
- City of Hermiston
- Hidaway Springs
- Hinkle
- Holdman
- Kirkpatrick
- Lehman Springs
- McKay
- Meacham
- City of Milton-Freewater
- Mission
- Nolin
- Nye
- Ordnance (historical)
- City of Pendleton
- City of Pilot Rock
- Power City
- Rieth
- Riverside
- City of Stanfield
- Sunnyside
- Tollgate
- Tutuilla
- City of Ukiah
- Umapine
- City of Umatilla
- Waterman
- City of Weston
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2013-01-08