The server that was hosting Wasco Co. GenWeb went down with very little notice. Please bear with me as I rebuild these pages. Please be aware that many links are not available yet.  Check out the Cities & Towns link on the left, also, the Wasco Co. Message Boards.  These are now working. 

2/20/11 Added link to A History of Wasco Co.  This is a project done by students in the Region 9 ESD     k-12 School District.  They have done a fabulous job.  Check out the site...
2/20/11 Added Cemeteries information
3/19/11 Worked the Look-up Page

 I am the coordinator for Wasco Co, Jan Bony I am very thankful to Cheri who was the prior coordinator. If you have information that you would like posted, please contact me

History

Wasco County is named for the Wasco (or Wascopam) tribe of Indians that lived south of the Columbia River, near The Dalles. When Wasco County was created from portions of Clackamas, Marion, Linn, and Lane Counties on January 11, 1854, it consisted of all of Oregon Territory between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains and from latitude 42deg. (the California border) to latitude 46deg. (the Washington border). This was the largest county ever formed in the United States, originally consisting of 130,000 square miles.

Portions of Wasco County as it was originally drawn now lie in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Over the years, seventeen other counties in eastern Oregon were created from Wasco County, which now consists of 2,387 square miles. It is bordered by two rivers, the Columbia to the north and the Deschutes to the east, and by the Warm Springs Indian Reservation on the south and Mt. Hood National Forest on the west. Wasco County shares political boundaries with Sherman, Wheeler, Jefferson, Clackamas, and Hood River Counties.

The Dalles was designated the county seat when the county was formed in 1854. Courthouses were built in 1859, 1884, and in 1914. All three buildings are standing today and the 1914 building is still in use as the county courthouse.

Elected county officials include the county judge, two commissioners, clerk, sheriff, and surveyor. In 1969 the county court ceased to have any judicial functions and became a purely administrative body.

The 2000 Wasco County population of 23,791 was an increase of 9.72% over 1990.