Oregon Blue Book: Union County

Union County

An abandoned shack near Union. (Oregon State Archives Photo No. uniD0002a)

Contact
County Seat: Union County Commissioners, 1106 K Ave., La Grande 97850
Phone: 541-963-1001 (General); 541-962-9500, ext. 232 (Court Administrator)
Fax: 541-963-1079
Web: www.union-county.org

About
Population (2011): 25,980
Established: Oct. 14, 1864
Elev. at La Grande: 2,788'
Area: 2,038 sq. mi.
Average Temp.: January 30.9° July 70.4°
Assessed Value: $1,582,852,956
Real Market Value: $3,198,450,880
Annual Precipitation: 18.79"
Economy: Agriculture, forest products, education and government

Union County map

Points of interest
Meacham and Tollgate winter sports areas, Grande Ronde Valley, Eastern Oregon University (La Grande)

History and general information
Union County was created in 1864 and named for the town of Union, which had been established two years before and named by its founders for patriotic reasons during the Civil War. The county comprised a part of the northern portion of Baker County and, in 1899, Union County gave up its eastern portion to Wallowa County.

The Grande Ronde Valley in Union County is nearly table flat and is covered with the rich silt of an old lake bed. Highly diversified, with a 160-day growing season and an annual rainfall of twenty inches, the valley boasts of never having had a general crop failure. The county’s 1,092 farms average 473 acres a unit.

Union County’s front door opens to the rugged Wallowa Mountains. Its back door faces the Blue Mountains, which attract hikers, skiers and hunters.

County officials
Commissioners—Mark Davidson (R) 2017, William D. Rosholt (R) 2015, Steve McClure (R) 2015; Dist. Atty. Timothy Thompson 2017; Assess. Linda Hill 2017; Clerk Robin Church 2017; Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen 2017; Surv. Rick Robinson 2017; Treas. Donna Marshall 2017; Co. Admin. and Chief Info. Officer Shelley Burgess

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