Washington County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally named Twality when created in 1843, the territorial legislature renamed it for the first president of the United States, George Washington, in 1849. The original boundaries included the entire northwest corner of Oregon before sections became new counties. Washington County contains only one river, the Tualatin River, and its drainage basin is almost entirely within the county. The county is nearly conterminous with the Tualatin Valley and is bordered on the west and north by the Northern Oregon Coast Range, on the south by the Chehalem Mountains, and on the north and east by the Tualatin Mountains (or West Hills).

In 2000 census, its population was 445,342. As of 2008, the estimate is 519,925, making it the second most populous county in the state. The seat and largest city is Hillsboro. Other cities include Beaverton, Tigard, and Forest Grove, the oldest city in the county. Major roads in the county include small sections of Interstate 5 and Interstate 205, the Sunset Highway, Oregon Route 217, Oregon Route 47, Oregon Route 10, and Oregon Route 8. Public transportation is primarily operated by TriMet and includes buses, the Westside Express Service commuter rail, and MAX Light Rail. Other transportation includes air travel at the Hillsboro Airport, several private airfields and heliports, and heavy rail cargo on several rail lines.

Government

The county is governed by an elected board of five commissioners. The county is divided into four commissioner districts. One commissioner sits for each district, and the fifth commissioner is "at large" and is the Chair of the board.

Economy

Washington County is centered on a fertile plain that attracted farmers before the first wagon trains. In 1997, orchards covered 8,403 acres (34 km²) of the county's lands and 1,163 acres (4.7 km²) were devoted to vineyards. Agriculture is still a major industry in Washington County, as are lumber, manufacturing, and food processing. (The county is home to Roloff Farms, featured in the TV show Little People, Big World.)

The development of a large electronics industry during the 1980s and 1990s is the dominating factor of the county economy. California-based Intel, Oregon's largest private for-profit employer, has its largest concentration of employees in the county, mainly in Hillsboro. Other technology companies include Lattice Semiconductor, FEI Company, Merix, TriQuint Semiconductor, Tektronix, SolarWorld, Planar Systems, and EPSON.

Nike, one of two Fortune 500 corporations based in Oregon, has its headquarters in Washington County. Until it was acquired by IBM, Sequent Computer Systems was headquartered right next door to Nike. The facility is now host to a number of software groups for IBM, including one of its Linux Technology Centers. Other companies with headquarters in Washington County include optical instruments manufacturer Leupold & Stevens, Columbia Sportswear, and Reser's Fine Foods.

Geography

Located approximately to the west of Portland, the county has a total area of 726 square miles (1,881 km²), of which, 724 square miles (1,874 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.36%) is water. The Portland Metro Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) bisects the county. The county's highest point is South Saddle Mountain at 3,464 feet (1,056 m) above sea level in the Northern Oregon Coast Range.

Most of the county is in the Tualatin Valley, which is surrounded by the Tualatin Mountains to the east and north, the Chehalem Mountains to the south, and the Northern Oregon Coast Range to the west and north. In the valley is the only river in the county, the Tualatin River, the Tualatin Plains, and several small hills. The northern and western portions of the county are forested, while the remainder of the county includes urban areas, agricultural lands, and floodplains.

Adjacent counties

Washington County is one of five Oregon counties making up the Portland metropolitan area. The other four are:

• Multnomah County, Oregon - (east)
• Clackamas County, Oregon - (southeast)
• Columbia County, Oregon - (north)
• Yamhill County, Oregon - (south)

Adjacent rural counties:

• Tillamook County, Oregon - (west)
• Clatsop County, Oregon - (northwest)

Major highways

• Interstate 5
• Interstate 205
• U.S. Route 26
• Oregon Route 6
• Oregon Route 8
• Oregon Route 10
• Oregon Route 47
• Oregon Route 99W
• Oregon Route 210
• Oregon Route 217
• Oregon Route 219

National protected area

• Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 445,342 people, 169,162 households, and 114,015 families residing in the county. The population density was 615 people per square mile (238/km²). There were 178,913 housing units at an average density of 247 per square mile (95/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.19% White, 1.15% Black or African American, 0.65% Native American, 6.68% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 5.86% from other races, and 3.17% from two or more races. 11.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.2% were of German, 9.9% English, 8.2% Irish and 6.7% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 81.7% spoke English, 9.6% Spanish and 1.2% Vietnamese as their first language.

There were 169,162 households out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 9.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.60% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.90% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 34.10% from 25 to 44, 20.90% from 45 to 64, and 8.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $52,122, and the median income for a family was $61,499. Males had a median income of $43,304 versus $31,074 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,969. About 4.90% of families and 7.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 5.30% of those age 65 or over.

History

The Provisional Legislature of Oregon created the county as Twality District on July 5, 1843. Twality was one of the original four districts of the Provisional Government of Oregon in Oregon Country along with Clackamas, Champooick (later Marion), and Yamhill counties. Columbia, later known as Hillsboro, was selected as the county seat in 1850. Washington County obtained its present boundaries in 1854 with the creation of Columbia County to the north and Multnomah County to the east.

The construction of Canyon Road to Beaverton helped Portland to consolidate its position as the primary port of Oregon, and defeat the rival efforts of settlements as Oregon City and Milwaukie.

In November 2004, the County and the City of Beaverton agreed to a plan where the city would annex both unincorporated residential neighborhoods as well as high-value areas of land. This would result with Cedar Hills, Garden Home, Raleigh Hills, West Slope being incorporated by 2010, and the communities of Aloha, Bethany, and Cedar Mill at some point after that.

Those plans have since been put on hold since after the City of Beaverton attempted to forcibly annex Nike, Inc.'s World Headquarters, which would have increased Nike's taxes substantially. Nike successfully lobbied for a law that would prohibit their annexation for 99 years. Since that decision, annexation plans have been halted and Washington County has started urban planning to provide city-level services to the unincorporated urban areas in the county.

See also

• David Hill
• Tabitha Brown
• Joseph Meek
• Washington County Jail
• Washington County Courthouse

Communities

Incorporated cities

City	2000 population	2008 population	Incorporated	Notes
Banks	1,286	1,435	1921
Beaverton	76,129	86,205	1893
Cornelius	9,652	10,955	1893
Durham	1,382	1,395	1966
Forest Grove	17,708	21,465	1872
Gaston	600	660	1914
Hillsboro	70,187	89,285	1876	County seat
King City	1,949	2,775	1966
Lake Oswego	35,278	36,590	1910	Small portion, most in Clackamas County
North Plains	1,605	1,905	1963
Portland	529,121	575,930	1851	Small portion, most in Multnomah County
Rivergrove	324	350	1971	Small portion, most in Clackamas County
Sherwood	11,791	16,420	1893
Tigard	41,223	47,150	1961
Tualatin	22,791	26,040	1913	Small portion also in Clackamas County
Wilsonville	13,991	17,940	1969	Small portion, most in Clackamas County

Unincorporated communities and CDPs

Aloha Bacona Balm Grove Bethany Blooming Bonita Bonny Slope Bradley Corner Buckheaven Bull Mountain Buxton

Carnation Cedar Hills Cedar Mill Chehalem Cherry Grove Cooper Mountain Dilley Elmonica Gales Creek Garden Home-Whitford Glencoe

Glenwood Hayward Hazeldale Helvetia Hillside Huber Jacktown Kansas City Kinton Laurel Laurelwood

Manning Marlene Village Metzger Middleton Midway Mountaindale Mulloy Norwood Oak Hills Orenco Patton

Progress Raleigh Hills Reedville Rockcreek Roy Scholls Six Corners Somerset West Tanasbourne Timber Tobias

Verboort Watts West Haven-Sylvan West Slope West Union Wilkesboro Witch Hazel

See also

• Washington County Museum
• L. L. "Stub" Stewart State Park
• Ki-a-Kuts Falls

References

External links

• Washington County Visitors Association