Place:Baker, Oregon, United States

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Baker County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,668. The county seat and largest city is Baker City. The county was organized on September 22, 1862, when a portion of Wasco County was partitioned off. The new county's area was reduced in 1864 when Union County was partitioned off, and again in 1887 when Malheur County was partitioned off. The county's lines were last adjusted in 1901 when a parcel was added to the county.

Baker County was named for Edward Dickinson Baker, a senator from Oregon who was killed at Ball's Bluff, a battle of the Civil War in Virginia in 1861. The county is part of the county definition of Eastern Oregon.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The first groups from the eastern U.S. following the Oregon Trail passed through the area on their way to the Willamette Valley, unaware of the potential wealth they passed over. At Flagstaff Hill, near Baker City, of wagon ruts left by immigrants can still be seen.

Oregon Territory achieved statehood in 1859. In 1861 gold was discovered in eastern Wasco County, and a gold rush ensued. The area quickly became the Northwest's largest producer of gold. In September 1862 the state assembly created Baker County from Wasco. Later, Union County and Malheur County were created from this county. Baker County's boundaries were adjusted for the last time in 1901, when the area between the Powder River and the Wallowa Mountains was returned to the County.

Auburn was the original county seat; a booming mining town with 5,000 inhabitants. Once the gold was mined out Auburn's population dwindled. In 1868 county voters made Baker City the new county seat. Baker City was incorporated in 1874.

The population of Baker County nearly quadrupled from 1880 to 1910, largely due to the Sumpter Valley Railroad and several of its spur lines. The opening of the railroad helped lumber and mining operations develop.

In 1914 Fern Hobbs, on behalf of her employer Governor Oswald West, declared martial law in the Baker County city of Copperfield. This was the first declaration of martial law in the state since the American Civil War.

From 1915 through 1946, Baker County was represented in the Oregon State Senate by William H. Strayer. When he died in 1946, Strayer had served in the Oregon legislature longer then than any person in the state's history.

Timeline

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Research Tips

External links

www.bakercounty.org/