History
History
| At the turn of the 20th
century, the people of the Hood River region in
the northwest portion of Wasco County expressed a
desire for political separation from the parent
county. The passage of a statewide initiative
established Hood River as the 34th county of the
state. It was made official by a governor's
proclamation on June 23, 1908. Hood River
County was named after the Hood River and Mt. Hood
which are both located in its boundaries.
Mt. Hood was named in 1792 after Lord Hood
(Samuel) who served in the British Navy during the
American Revolutionary War.
The county's boundaries have since
remained unchanged. It is bordered by
Wasco County to the east, by Clackamas and
Multnomah Counties to the west, and by the
Columbia River to the north. Hood River County
is the 2nd smallest county by size in the state,
outranking only Multnomah County, with a total
area of 533 square miles.
The City of Hood River, first platted in
1881, is the county seat. The first county
courthouse was an old primary school building.
In 1937, after failing to approve a new
courthouse, the county was forced to purchase
the Butler Bank Building, which housed the
county government until 1954 when the present
courthouse was constructed. Most county
administrative offices are now housed in the
county's nearby Business Administration
Building.
Initially, county officials included the
county judge, two county commissioners, sheriff,
clerk, treasurer, assessor, school
superintendent, surveyor and coroner. In 1964,
Hood River County adopted the home rule form of
government. A five-member elected board of
commissioners creates ordinances and resolutions
to govern the county. The commission appoints a
county administrator to oversee operations of
county services. Except for an elected sheriff,
all county department heads are selected by and
responsible to the commission. Several
specialized advisory boards, committees, and
commissions give the board advice and
recommendations concerning various county
services.
The population of Hood River County in
2013 was 23,295. This was a 4.2% increase from
2010.
The first permanent settlers in Hood
River County filed a donation land claim in
1854; by 1880 17 families lived in the region.
By the late 19th century farmers of
Japanese, Finnish, German and French ethnicity
settled in the valley. The Columbia River
Highway was completed in 1922 from Portland to
The Dalles, making the towns of Hood River
County more accessible to people and commerce
from throughout the Columbia River Gorge and the
state.
The principal industries of Hood River
include agriculture, recreation, timber and
hydroelectric production. The fertile Hood River
Valley has an ideal climate for the production
of apples, cherries, peaches and pears. It also
offers recreational activities such as snow
skiing, yachting and fishing which bring people
and capital to compensate for the decline in
logging and hydroelectric production. The
Columbia River near Hood River is a premier
windsurfing area and attracts windsurfers and
kiteboarders from around the world.
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