Sunset from Bannister Road near Weston. (Oregon State Archives Scenic Images collection)
County Seat: Courthouse, 216 SE Fourth St., Pendleton 97801
Phone: 541-276-7111 (General); 541-278-0341, Pendleton, 541-667-3020, Hermiston (Court Administrators)
About
Established: Sept. 27, 1862
Elev. at Pendleton: 1,069'
Area: 3,231 sq. mi.
Average Temp.: January 31.9° July 73.6°
Assessed Value: $7,051,945,990
Real Market Value: $11,400,636,939 (includes the value of non-taxed properties)
Annual Precipitation: 12.97"
Economy: Agriculture, food processing, forest products, manufacturing, recreation, aggregate production and wind power generation. Tourism is also increasingly important to Umatilla County where “Let-er-Buck” is heard by Pendleton Round-Up crowds
Related Resources
Incorporated Cities
Points of Interest
Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon Indian Pageant & Wild West Show, Old Town Pendleton, Pendleton Woolen Mills, Pendleton Whisky Music Festival, Pendleton Bike Week, County Historical Society, Pendleton Underground, McNary Dam and Recreation Area, Echo Museum and Historic Area, Hat Rock, Battle Mountain and Emigrant Springs State Parks, Weston Historic District, Frazier Farmstead Museum in Milton-Freewater, North Fork Umatilla Wilderness Area, Tollgate-Spout Springs Recreation Area, Courthouse Clock Tower, Stateline Wind Project, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Tamastslikt Cultural Center and Wildhorse Casino
History and General Information
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.
Water in the form of irrigation has been key to economic diversification and growth, most recently in the Hermiston area, where the desert now yields lush watermelons and other products.
County Officials
Commissioners—Chair John Shafer 2027; Dan Dorran 2025, Cindy Timmons 2027; Dist. Atty. Daniel R. Primus 2025; Sheriff Terry Rowan 2025; Assess. Paul Chalmers; Rec. Mgr. Steve Churchill; Surv. David Krumbein; Financial Mgr. Robert Pahl; Admin. Serv. Director Dan Lonai