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Clatsop County is located on Oregon's rugged and beautiful northwest coast. Our county is named for the Clatsop Indians. The Lewis and Clark Expedition spent the winter of 1805-06 here before starting their journey back east.
Clatsop County is located in northwest Oregon, bounded on the north by the Columbia River and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The county seat, Astoria, is within two hours of Portland. The area has a coastal marine environment climate of moderate temperatures and frequent rains. The primary economies of Clatsop County are forestry, fisheries and tourist/recreation. The area is one of the principal marine fisheries regions of Oregon. Clatsop County has excellent schools, well-supported school districts and a community college. Population: 36,300. More information about demographics is available from the Population Research Center at Portland State University by visiting https://www.upa.pdx.edu/CPRC/publications/2000census/05041007.pdf Area: 1,085 square miles. 873 square miles of land; 212 square miles of water. Bordered on the north by the Columbia River, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and with the verdant Oregon Coast range. Established: June 22, 1844 from the original Tuality district. County Seat: Astoria, Oregon's oldest city and the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies. Astoria was established as a fur trading post in 1811 by a party commissioned by John Jacob Astor. The first U.S. Post Office west of the Rockies was established here in 1847. Other Municipalities: Seaside,Oregon’s oldest ocean resort community, was founded by Ben Holladay, a pioneer Oregon railroad builder, in the early 1870's when he constructed the Seaside House, a famous luxury hotel for which the city was named. https://www.cityofseaside.us/ Cannon Beach, an art community overlooking Haystack Rock in the Pacific, is named for a cannon that washed ashore many, many years ago. https://www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us/ Gearhart is a quiet coastal town Warrenton, named for pioneer lumberman D.K. Warren, is the gateway to fishing on the rivers and ocean. Annual Precipitation: 70 inches. Average temperature: January 41.9 degrees; July 60.1 degrees Principal Industries: Tourism, Fishing, Forest Products. Points of Interest: Astoria Column, Port of Astoria, Flavel House, Liberty Theatre, Fort Clatsop National Memorial, Lewis and Clark salt cairn, Fort Stevens State Park, Columbia River Maritime Museum, world’s largest Sitka spruce, Tillamook Head, Ecola State Park, Jewell elk refuge, Youngs River falls, Twilight Eagle Sanctuary, rivers, forests, beaches. History: As taken from the Oregon State Archives Before 1850 most of Clatsop County's government activity occurred in Lexington. Astoria, Oregon's oldest city, was founded in 1811 and as Astoria grew, activities gradually shifted to that city. Astoria was chosen by electors to be the county seat in 1854 and the first county government sat in Astoria in 1856. The early sessions of the county court prior to 1855 were held in the homes of county officials and private citizens, first in Lexington and later in Astoria. In 1855 a two-story frame courthouse was completed. The second courthouse was completed in 1908 and is still in use. The first county government was organized in the mid-1840s with the election of justices of the peace, clerk, sheriff, assessor, treasurer, and the formation of district courts and the county board of commissioners. In 1964 the county court was replaced by a board of commissioners. The voters of Clatsop County approved a home rule charter in 1988 that called for a board of county commissioners as the policy determining body of the county, and a county administrator to oversee daily operations of the government. Today, Clatsop County voters elected five commissioners, a districty attorney and the sheriff. The Port of Astoria, created in 1914, is one of 23 Oregon port districts which support the trade and commerce of Oregon.
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