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Tillamook County, OR
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 Established:
Dec. 15, 1853
Population: 24,900 (2003)
Elev. at Tillamook: 22'
Area: 1,125 sq. mi.
Average Temp.: January 42.2°, July 58.2°
Assessed Value: $2,849,424,305
Real Market Value: $3,582,116,191
Annual Precipitation: 90.90"
Economy: Agriculture, forest products, fishing and recreation.
Incorporated Cities: Bay City | Garibaldi | Manzanita | Nehalem
| Rockaway Beach | Tillamook | Wheeler
Points of Interest: Neah-Kah-Nie Mountain; Tillamook, Nehalem,
Netarts and Nestucca Bays; Oswald West State Park; Nehalem Bay
State Park; Bob Straub State Park; Cape Lookout State Park;
Pioneer Museum; Blue Heron Cheese Factory; Tillamook Cheese
Factory; Naval Air Station Museum; Haystack Rock at Cape Kiwanda;
Whalen Island State Park.
General Information: Tillamook County was formed in 1853 from
Yamhill and Clatsop counties. The name Tillamook comes from the
Tillamook (or Killamook) Indians.
Dairy farms dominate the county’s fertile valley. It is the home
of the world-famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. The reforested,
355,000 acre “Tillamook Burn” is rapidly maturing. Commercial
thinning will become increasingly evident. With 75 miles of
scenic coastline, four bays and nine rivers, Tillamook County
offers the finest deep-sea and stream fishing, charter and dory
boats, clamming, crabbing, beachcombing and hiking. Its forests
also furnish excellent hunting.
County Officials: Commissioners—Charles Hurliman (R) 2009, Tim
Josi (D) 2007, Mark Labhart (R) 2009; Dist. Atty. William Porter
(NP) 2007; Assess. Tim Lutz (NP) 2009; Clerk Tassi O’Neil (NP)
2009; Justice of the Peace Neal Lemery (NP) 2007; Sheriff Todd
Anderson (NP) 2009; Surv. Dan McNutt (NP) 2009; Treas. Karen
Richards-Dye (NP) 2007. |
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County History |
Tillamook County, the twelfth county in Oregon to be
organized, was established on December 15, 1853, when the
Territorial Legislature approved an act to create the new county
out of an area previously included in Clatsop, Yamhill and Polk
Counties. The county was named after the Tillamook Indians who
occupied the areas around the Tillamook and Nehalem Bays.
Tillamook County is located in the northwestern portion of the
state and is bordered by Clatsop County on the north, Washington
and Yamhill Counties on the east, Polk and Lincoln Counties on
the south, and by the Pacific Ocean on the west. Boundary
changes were enacted with Clatsop County (1855, 1870, and 1893),
Lincoln County (1893), Washington County (1893, 1898), and
Yamhill County (1887). The area of Tillamook County is 1,125
square miles. The 2000 population of 24,262 represented an
increase of 12.48% since 1990.
During the first ten years following the organization of the
county, the county court met at the homes of its members. From
1865 to 1875 court sessions were held in various schoolhouses in
the district, the exact place being determined by the incumbent
county judge. In 1866 the town of Lincoln was renamed Tillamook
in order to stay consistent with the post office's name of
Tillamook. An election in 1873 chose Tillamook as the county
seat. In 1875 the county rented an office in the general store
to house government. In 1889 a courthouse was built but was
destroyed by fire in 1903. Only the county clerk's vault and its
stored records were saved. A new courthouse was built at the
same site in 1905 and replaced again in 1933.
County government offices that were already in place upon
statehood were the three county commissioners (including the
county judge), a probate judge, sheriff, clerk, treasurer,
assessor, school superintendent, and coroner. Subsequent
officers and/or boards were established as follows: surveyor
(1860); stock inspector (1895); school district boundary board
(1899); veterinarian (1910); health officer (1912); fair board
(1913); agricultural agent (1915); dairy herd inspector (1917);
dog control districts (1919); and an engineer (1925).
The major physical features of Tillamook County consist of the
rocky and irregular coastline that forms the county's western
boundary, stretches of coastal lowlands, and heavily timbered
interior parts, which comprise the main span and several spurs
of the Coast Range. Principal industries are agriculture,
lumber, fishing, and recreation. Dairy farms dominate the
county's fertile valleys providing milk for the well-known
Tillamook cheese. Logging and lumbering are becoming a
significant economic force due to the reforestation of most of
the "Tillamook Burn" area. With seventy-five miles of coastline,
four bays, and nine rivers, recreational and tourist facilities
are numerous. The Tillamook airbase for blimps was commissioned
on December 1, 1942, with the name U.S. Naval Air Station. It
was closed after World War II. Tillamook and Yamhill counties
also hosted the Mt. Hebo Air Force Station, which played an
important part in air defense during the Cold War, from 1956 to
1980. |
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