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Union County, OR
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 Established:
Oct. 14, 1864
Population: 24,650 (2003)
Elev. at La Grande: 2,788'
Area: 2,038 sq. mi.
Average Temp.: January 30.9°, July 70.4°
Assessed Value: $1,140,900,882
Real Market Value: $1,956,244,580
Annual Precipitation: 18.79"
Economy: Agriculture, forest products, education and government.
Incorporated Cities: Cove | Elgin | Imbler | Island City | La
Grande | North Powder | Summerville | Union
Points of Interest: Meacham and Tollgate winter sports areas,
Grande Ronde Valley, Eastern Oregon University (La Grande).
General Information: Union County was created in 1864 and named
for the town of Union, which had been established two years
before and named by its founders for patriotic reasons during
the Civil War. The county comprised a part of the northern
portion of Baker County and in 1899 Union County gave up its
eastern portion to Wallowa County.
The Grande Ronde Valley in Union County is nearly table flat and
is covered with the rich silt of an old lake bed. Highly
diversified, with a 160-day growing season and an annual
rainfall of twenty inches, the valley boasts of never having had
a general crop failure. The county’s 1,092 farms average 473
acres a unit.
Union County’s front door opens to the rugged Wallowa Mountains.
Its back door faces the Blue Mountains, which attract hikers,
skiers, and hunters.
County Officials: Commissioners—John Lamoreau (R) 2007, Colleen
MacLeod (R) 2009, Steve McClure (R) 2007; Dist. Atty. Martin
Birnbaum (NP) 2009; Assess. Linda Hill (R) 2009; Clerk R. Nellie
Bogue Hibbert (R) 2009; Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen (NP) 2009; Surv.
Greg Blackman (NP) 2006; Treas. Donna Marshall (NP) 2009; Co.
Admin. Marlene Perkins. |
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County History |
The population growth in eastern Oregon during the early
1860s prompted the Legislative Assembly to split Umatilla and
Baker Counties from Wasco County on September 22, 1862. Further
development of the Grande Ronde Valley led to calls for the
legislature to split Union County from Baker County. This
finally occurred on October 14, 1864. Union County's name
reflects the support of the people in this area toward
maintaining the United States during the Civil War.
Between 1875 and 1913, adjustments were made to Union County's
borders with Baker, Umatilla, and Wallowa Counties. Union
County, lying between the Blue and Wallowa Mountains, is
bordered by Wallowa County on the east and north, Umatilla
County on the west, and Grant and Baker Counties on the south.
The establishment of a county seat resulted in competition,
based on geography and on economic and population growth,
between La Grande and the city of Union. The county seat moved
between Union and La Grande until it was permanently transferred
to La Grande in 1905.
With each transfer of the county seat, there was a similar
removal of the county courthouse. The first courthouses were
rented structures in Union and La Grande. When the city of Union
was designated as the county seat in 1874, the county's records
were quickly moved to a new brick courthouse in the area where
Union High School now stands. La Grande regained the county seat
in 1905 and moved into the courthouse that had been built the
previous year as the city hall. The courthouse was razed in 1996
and offices for the county clerk, assessor, treasurer, and
planning department were relocated to the nearby Chaplin
Building.
The government of Union County consisted originally of a county
judge, two county commissioners, clerk, sheriff, treasurer,
assessor, school superintendent, and coroner. It changed from a
county court to a board of commissioners in 1991.
The county historically has been a slow growth area. The first
census of the county in 1870 showed only 2,552 inhabitants. It
has grown steadily and by 2000 the population was 24,530,
representing an increase of 3.95% since 1990.
The initial economic interest in the area was mining, but most
of the mines were in the area annexed by Baker County in 1901.
Over the years farming (wheat, fruit, vegetables, and grass
seeds), cattle, sheep raising, and timber replaced mining as the
primary economic forces in the county. Nearby mountains and
streams provide hunting, fishing, skiing, and camping
opportunities. |
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