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Lincoln County, OR
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 Established:
Feb. 20, 1893
Population: 45,000 (2003)
Elev. at Newport: 134'
Area: 992 sq. mi.
Average Temp.: January 44.4°, July 57.5°
Assessed Value: $4,920,505,462
Real Market Value: $6,558,372,977
Annual Precipitation: 71.93"
Economy: Tourism, government, services/retail, forest products
and fishing.
Incorporated Cities: Depoe Bay | Lincoln City | Newport | Siletz
| Toledo | Waldport | Yachats
Points of Interest: Agate Beach, Alsea Bay Interpretive Center,
Beverly Beach State Park, Boiler Bay, Cape Perpetua Visitors’
Center, Cascade Head, Connie Hansen Garden Conservancy, Devils
Lake, Lincoln County Historical Museum, Newport Performing and
Visual Arts Centers, OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center and
Interpretive Center, Oregon Coast Aquarium, Otter Crest
Viewpoint, Seal Rock Park, South Beach State Park, Yaquina Arts
Center, Yaquina Bay State Park and Lighthouse, Yaquina Head
Outstanding Natural Area.
General Information: With miles of beach and coastline, Lincoln
County is one of the most popular visitor destinations on the
Oregon Coast. Named for President Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln
County was created by the Oregon Legislature in 1893. Lincoln
County has a very temperate climate, and a short but productive
growing season.
Depoe Bay is known as “the whale watching capital of the world.”
Lincoln City offers more than 2,000 hotel/motel/bed and
breakfast rooms, and resorts as well as the Siletz Tribe’s
Chinook Winds Casino; Newport, known as Oregon’s oceanography
research center, features numerous interpretive centers and the
Oregon Coast Aquarium, along with a large fishing fleet and
working bay front; Siletz is the home of the Administration
Center and reservation of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz
Indians of Oregon; Toledo is known as Lincoln County’s
industrial center; Waldport features the Alsea Bay Interpretive
Center; and Yachats is known as the “Gem of the Oregon Coast.”
County Officials: Commissioners—Bill Hall (D) 2009, Don Lindly
(D) 2007, Terry Thompson (D) 2007; Dist. Atty. Bernice Barnett
(NP) 2009; Assess. Rob Thomas (NP) 2007; Clerk Dana Jenkins (NP)
2007; Sheriff Dennis Dotson 2009; Surv. Tom Hamilton (NP) 2009;
Treas. Linda Pitzer (NP) 2009. |
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County History |
Lincoln County was created by the Legislative Assembly on
February 20, 1893, from the western portion of Benton County and
Polk County. There were boundary adjustments and annexations in
1923, 1925, 1927, 1931, and 1949. The county is bordered by
Tillamook County on the north, Polk and Benton Counties on the
east, Lane County on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the
west. It covers an area of 992 square miles. The county was
named in honor of President Abraham Lincoln.
When Lincoln County was formed, Toledo was picked as the
temporary county seat. In 1896 it was chosen as the permanent
county seat. In 1897 there was agitation to build a county
courthouse and with the growing demand a courthouse was finally
built in 1899. The city jail of Toledo was also made the
official county jail in that same year. In 1913 a new county
jail was built. Three elections were held to determine if the
county seat should be moved from Toledo to Newport. Twice these
votes failed in 1928 and 1938. In 1954, however, the vote went
in Newport's favor. While Toledo has remained the industrial hub
of Lincoln County, the city has never regained the position it
once had.
Lincoln County was governed by a commissioner's court, which
consisted of two commissioners and a county judge. The court
started meeting in April 1893, in a rented building in Toledo.
Appointed officials were the sheriff, stock inspector, school
superintendent, coroner, county court judge, treasurer,
veterinarian, and clerk. The county court was replaced by a
three member board of commissioners in the late 1960s.
The 1900 census measured Lincoln County's population at 3,575.
By 2000, it had grown to 44,479 representing an increase of
14.37% over 1990.
The northern part of Lincoln County includes the Siletz Indian
Reservation which was created by treaty in 1855. The reservation
was opened to white settlement in 1895 and closed to white
settlement by the federal government in 1925. The Siletz's
tribal status was terminated by the federal government in 1954.
In 1977 the Siletz became the first Oregon tribe to have their
tribal status reinstated. The current reservation totals 3,666
acres.
The Coast Highway, completed in 1925, and the Salmon River
Highway completed in 1930, improved inland transportation within
the county. In 1936 as part of federally funded construction
projects, bridges were constructed across the bays at Waldport,
Newport, and Siletz thus eliminating the ferries that had
formerly traversed these bays. A 1910 election created the ports
of Toledo, Newport, and Alsea.
Principal industries of the county are lumber, fishing,
agriculture and tourism. Newport is Oregon's oceanography
research center with Oregon State University's Marine Science
Center, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and its fleet of ocean-going
vessels. |
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