Wasco County, Oregon

Wasco County is located in the of. The is   a local tribe of, the Wasco, a  tribe who lived on the south side of the. In, its population was 23,791. Its is.

Economy
The county's economy is based upon agriculture (orchards, wheat farming, livestock ranching), lumber, manufacturing, electric power, transportation, and tourism. Aluminum production was previously a major support of the local economy, but electrical price fluctuations and a slump in global aluminum prices has forced the closing of a number of local aluminum foundries.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 6,204 (2,395 ). 6,167 km² (2,381 sq mi) of it is land and 37 km² (14 sq mi) of it (0.60%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

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History
on the Columbia River served as a gathering place and major trading center for the local Native Americans, including the Wasco,, and Warm Springs tribes, for thousands of years. These rapids came to be named Le Grand Dalles de la Columbia or "The Great Falls of the Columbia" by the French Canadian fur traders.

The Dalles served initially as a way station on the emigrant road to the. The construction of a pioneer road over the in 1845, and the  encouraged families to settle in the area. Over the following years, Wasco County was a major transportation hub for both river and inland traffic.

The Legislature created Wasco County on,  from the parts of , ,  and  counties, that were east of the  -- which included most of , and parts of  and. At the time of its creation, it was the largest county in the United States, consisting of 130,000 square miles. As Washington Territory and other Oregon counties were split away, Wasco was reduced to its current size.

The Dalles was designated the county seat with the creation of the county, and has been its only location.

The river traffic on the Columbia River was profoundly affected in 1935 by the building of in Multnomah County and by  in 1957 in Wasco County.

Wasco county attracted international attention in the 1980s, when went to the United States and settled for several years at a marginal ranch called  "The Big Muddy", but later known as. Disagreements over zoning rules and building codes in the beginning continued to escalate between not only his followers and the inhabitants of Wasco County, but eventually with the rest of the state. His followers, known as Rajneeshees, settled en bloc in and were able to elect a majority of the town councillors. Acerbic, if not hostile comments by his spokeswoman,, only increased tensions, and were not helped by Rajneesh's. When the Rajneeshees subsequently recruited from across the United States to settle at Rajneeshpuram, it was widely seen as an attempt to use the ballot box to seize control of the county. But perhaps the most bizarre turn of events was when an outbreak of in a salad bar at a restaurant in The Dalles was traced to the acts of his followers. About this time, Sheela was removed from her post in the Rajneesh's service.

This chapter in the county's history finally ended in 1985, when Rajneesh was arrested as he was fleeing the U.S. On, a federal grand jury in Portland had secretly indicted Rajneesh, Sheela, and six other of his followers for immigration crimes. Two days later, a Wasco County grand jury returned indictments against Sheela and two others, charging them with the attempted murder of Swami Devaraj, the Bhagwan's personal doctor. He entered an, and given a suspended sentence on condition that he leave the country.

The former Rajneesh ranch is now known as "Wildhorse Canyon". It is owned and operated by, a organization providing camp services for youth.

Unincorporated communities and

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 * (ghost town)
 * (ghost town)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 23,791 people, 9,401 households, and 6,505 families residing in the county. The was 4/km² (10/sq mi). There were 10,651 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (4/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 86.58%, 3.81% , 0.80% , 0.50% , 0.30% or , 5.65% from , and 2.36% from two or more races. 9.31% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 9,401 households out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,959, and the median income for a family was $42,412. Males had a median income of $36,051 versus $21,575 for females. The for the county was $17,195. About 10.30% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the, including 17.70% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.