Columbia County, Oregon

Columbia County, Oregon
The Columbia County Courthouse in St. Helens
Location in the state of Oregon
Oregon's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 16, 1854
Seat	St. Helens
Largest city	St. Helens
Area
• Total	688 sq mi (1,782 km2)
• Land	657 sq mi (1,702 km2)
• Water	32 sq mi (83 km2), 4.59%
Population
• (2010)	49,351
• Density	75/sq mi (28.9/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Pacific: UTC-8/-7
Website	www.co.columbia.or.us

Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 census, the population was 49,351.^[1] The county seat is St. Helens.^[2] It was named for the Columbia River, which forms its eastern and northern borders.

Columbia County is included in the Portland metropolitan area.

History

The Chinook and Clatskanie Native Americans inhabited this region for centuries prior to the arrival of Robert Gray, captain of the ship Columbia Rediviva, in 1792. The Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled and camped along the Columbia River shore in the area later known as Columbia County in late 1805 and on their return journey in early 1806.

Columbia County was created in 1854 from the northern half of Washington County. Milton served as the county seat until 1857 when it was moved to St. Helens.

Columbia County has been afflicted by numerous flooding disasters, the most recent in December 2007. Heavy rains caused the Nehalem River to escape its banks and flood the city of Vernonia and rural areas nearby. Columbia County received a presidential disaster declaration for this event.

Economy

The primary industries are wood products and paper manufacturing, trade, construction and horticulture.^[3][4] The extensive stands of old growth timber, which had attracted many of the early settlers to the area, were completely logged over by the 1950s.^[5] Second-growth timber provides the raw material for local lumber and paper mills. About half the county's workforce commutes out of the county to work, most to the nearby Portland, Oregon metro area.^[6] Columbia County's average nonfarm employment was 10,740 in 2007.^[7] The five largest private employers in Columbia County are Fred Meyer, Armstrong World Industries, Wal-Mart, Boise Paper, and USG.^[8]

Government

The county is governed by an elected board of three commissioners. Each commissioner is elected to a term of four years. Other elected officials include the Sheriff, County Clerk, District Attorney, Treasurer, Surveyor, Assessor and Justice of the Peace.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 688 square miles (1,781.9 km²), of which 657 square miles (1,701.6 km²) is land and 32 square miles (82.9 km²) (4.59%) is water.^[9]

Adjacent counties

• Clatsop County, Oregon - (west)
• Washington County, Oregon - (south)
• Multnomah County, Oregon - (southeast)
• Clark County, Washington - (east)
• Cowlitz County, Washington - (east, north)
• Wahkiakum County, Washington - (northwest)

National protected area

• Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the census^[11] of 2000, there were 43,560 people, 16,375 households, and 12,035 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 people per square mile (26/km²). There were 17,572 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.42% White, 0.24% Black or African American, 1.33% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 2.53% from two or more races. 2.51% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 21.2% were of German, 10.8% English, 9.4% American, 9.3% Irish and 5.4% Norwegian ancestry.

There were 16,375 households out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,797, and the median income for a family was $51,381. Males had a median income of $42,227 versus $27,216 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,078. About 6.70% of families and 9.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.60% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In Presidential elections the county is among the most consistently Democratic in the state. The Democratic Presidential candidate has won the county in every election following 1924.^[12] That stated, the margin has been as little as three percent.^[13]

It is part of Oregon's 1st congressional district, which is represented by Suzanne Bonamici and has a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of D+8.

Transportation

The CC Rider transit service links the county to Portland and points in Washington County, including connecting with TriMet buses and the MAX light rail system in eastern Hillsboro.

Limited public transit service within Columbia County, and connecting the county with certain points in adjacent counties, is provided by the Columbia County Rider (or CC Rider), a service operated by the county's Transit Division.^[14] The service carried 91,500 passengers in 2010.^[15]

Communities

Columbia County Sheriff's Office

Incorporated cities

Unincorporated communities

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Columbia County, Oregon

References

v t e Municipalities and communities of Columbia County, Oregon, United States County seat: St. Helens Cities Clatskanie Columbia City Prescott Rainier St. Helens Scappoose Vernonia CDPs Deer Island Warren Other unincorporated communities Apiary Birkenfeld Goble Inglis Keasey Kerry Lindbergh Marshland Mayger McNulty Mist Pittsburg Quincy Woodson Yankton

v t e  State of Oregon Salem (capital) Topics History Geography Climate People Governors Government Delegations Constitution Congress Ballot measures Elections Parks Fair Symbols Oregon Trail Beaches Lakes Rivers Misc. Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gambling Politics Regions The Cascades Central Oregon Columbia Gorge Columbia Plateau Columbia River Eastern Oregon Harney Basin High Desert Inland Empire Mount Hood Corridor Oregon Coast Palouse Portland Metro Rogue Valley Southern Oregon Treasure Valley Tualatin Valley Western Oregon Willamette Valley Metros Bend-Redmond Coos Bay-North Bend Eugene-Springfield Medford-Ashland Portland Salem-Keizer Cities Albany Astoria Baker City Beaverton Brookings Coos Bay Corvallis Florence Grants Pass Gresham Hillsboro Hood River Independence Klamath Falls La Grande Lake Oswego Lakeview Madras McMinnville Milwaukie Monmouth Newberg Newport Ontario Oregon City Pendleton Prineville Roseburg Sandy The Dalles Tigard Tillamook Tualatin Umatilla West Linn Wilsonville Woodburn Counties Baker Benton Clackamas Clatsop Columbia Coos Crook Curry Deschutes Douglas Gilliam Grant Harney Hood River Jackson Jefferson Josephine Klamath Lake Lane Lincoln Linn Malheur Marion Morrow Multnomah Polk Sherman Tillamook Umatilla Union Wallowa Wasco Washington Wheeler Yamhill

Coordinates: 45°57′N 123°05′W / 45.95°N 123.08°W / 45.95; -123.08