Welcome to Sherman County ORGenWeb

 My name is Bob Jenkins and I am the Sherman County Coordinator.

 We have many genealogical resources available here.

 We would appreciate any contributions you would like
 to make to this site.
 
 

Sherman County, Oregon

Sherman County lies on the Columbia Plateau, a region long inhabited by the Wasco and other Columbia River tribes, whose fishing sites, trade routes, and seasonal villages lined the river for generations. Their deep cultural presence forms the earliest chapter of the county’s history.

American settlement increased in the mid‑1800s, as wagon roads, stage routes, and river crossings brought homesteaders into north‑central Oregon. The open plateau — marked by wheat‑friendly soils, rimrock canyons, and broad grasslands — attracted ranchers and dryland farmers who established scattered communities around schools, post offices, and rural crossroads.

Sherman County was officially created on February 25, 1889, carved from the eastern portion of Wasco County. During organization, Moro was selected as the county seat, a central location that quickly developed into the county’s administrative and commercial hub. The choice of Moro shaped settlement patterns and generated many of the early courthouse, land, and probate records used by genealogists today.

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, towns such as Wasco, Grass Valley, Rufus, and Kent grew around wheat production, livestock operations, and transportation links to the Columbia River and emerging rail lines. Grain elevators, river landings, rural schools, and early newspapers documented the families who built the region, leaving behind rich archival trails.

Although many small settlements declined as agriculture consolidated, their records — land patents, probate files, cemetery listings, school registers, and pioneer biographies — remain essential for tracing Sherman County ancestors.

Today, Sherman County preserves a legacy shaped by Indigenous heritage, pioneer homesteads, wheat‑country agriculture, and resilient rural communities. Its courthouse archives, land records, and local histories offer valuable resources for anyone researching families who lived on Oregon’s high plateau above the Columbia Gorge.