Deschutes County was created from the western portion of Crook County in 1916. It was named for the Deschutes River.
This county includes portions of the Cascade Mountains and the high desert. It is bounded by Jefferson County to the north, Crook County to the east, Klamath and Lake Counties to the south, and Lane and Linn counties to the west.
The county seat is located in the city of Bend which was incorporated in 1905. County offices were in two rooms of the O'Kane Building and later moved into an office building.
The county court met there from 1917 to 1935. A county jail was completed 1918. In 1935 the town purchase the old brick high school as a courthouse. In 1937 the courthouse with early county records burned.
A new courthouse was built in 1940 and an addition was added in 1978. The judge position was abolished in 1971. The Judge position was replaced by a three-member board of commissioners.
Volcano lovers should visit the Newberry National Volcanic Monument in Deschutes County. The centerpiece of the monument is Newberry Crater, a caldera that may have once looked much like Crater Lake. It is possible that at various times the caldera held a lake up to 1,600 feet deep. And the activity isn't over. Scientists think that Newberry Crater may produce the next volcanic eruption in the region.The monument also features Lava River Cave where visitors can walk through the lava tube cave for over a mile.
Principal industries in the county are tourism, timber, and agriculture, chiefly cattle and potatoes. The destination resort, Inn of the Seventh Mountain, and the resort communities of Black Butte and Sunriver, were developed during the 1970s. The Mount Bachelor ski area and High Desert Museum add to the tourism-based economy in the county as well. Numerous golf courses have been added in recent years.
The 2006 population of 152,615 represented an increase of 32.3% over 2000.
Early History:
Early Oregon Trail emigrants floated down the Columbia River or followed its south bank from Fort Walla Walla. In the 1840s travelers established an alternate route from the Umatilla River to The Dalles across the Columbia Plateau. The new route, 4 to 12 miles south of the river, shortened the journey to the Willamette Valley, but as William J. Watson noted in '49, emigrants found the road "very dusty" and traveled long distances "without water or wood," Emigrants reached the Columbia River a few miles to the east near Biggs, and some were disappointed by what they found.
"About midnight we reached the longed for Columbia River, but alas! what a disappointment. We had thought that we would find the Promised Land, we had set our hopes on a new Eden! Not so! We found a dry and arid land where there was not a piece of wood, not even a stick, and where a violent wind carried clouds of dust with it. That was it, that was all we found there. We had to take shelter behind our waggons to avoid being buried in the sand that the wind hurled at us with unbelievable violence. We ate a few biscuits and slept as best we could."
Honore-Timothee Lempfrit; September 21,1848
Oregon Trail emigrants reached the Columbia River after an arduous trek across the dry and dusty Columbia Plateau, where Harriet A. Loughary, emigrant of 1864, noted "nothing indicates life except an occasional Juniper tree." Weary emigrants found little comfort on the plateau: water, firewood, and browse for livestock was scarce. Honore-Timothee Lempfrit, emigrant of 1848, descended the bluffs to the Columbia River and exclaimed, "Our poor animals were exhausted by fatigue and were at the point of collapse from inanition." Some emigrants reached this site and were forced to lighten their loads before crossing the river.
" When we finally reached the Des Chutes region we were obliged to do exactly what those before us had done, doubtless with no lighter hearts than ours. We cast aside every article that we could possibly spare. One wagon was shaved and whittled down as much as was consistent with strength and safety. All of our belongings were then put into this one, and the other perfectly good wagon left standing disconsolately beside the road. Oh, it was truly heart-breaking! But it had to be done. There was no use repining. Here, too, we parted with our cheery little sheet-iron cook stove, which had been a real Jov and comfort to us all the way across the plains. Words cannot tell how I felt about leaving all these good things of ours, especially the stove, after we had carried them so far." Esther M. Lockhart; emigrant of 1851 (Recollection)
Oregon Trail emigrants traveling across the Columbia Plateau caught their first view of what William J. Watson, emigrant of 1849, called the "long - looked for Columbia" from the crest of a hill near Biggs. With Mt. Hood towering majestically to the southwest and the Columbia River below, the day was fast approaching when emigrants would part company to become settlers. Relief near journey's end was surely offset by melancholy.
"this morning our party is separated after months of toil and hardships, dangers and difficulties freely helping to bear each others burden, begets a friendship not easily severed. All of the wagons go over the mountains except our own. We start alone toward The Dalles..." Harriet A. Loughary; August 24, 1864
River crossings were difficult for Oregon Trail emigrant and the Deschutes River was no exception. John McAllister, emigrant of 1852, warned "danger attends the crosage here.. many large rocks and at the same time a very rapid current." Emigrants, wagons, and livestock all had to cross the river and casualties were common. Amelia Hadley, emigrant of 1851, noted a canoe "bottom side up, with a pair of boots tied in the capstern." Early emigrants often hired local Indians to assist at this river crossing. During the 1850s pioneer entrepeneurs seized control of the ford and offered expensive ferry service. A toll bridge was established by 1864.
"...we drove four miles to Des Chutes River, a rapid stream heading in the mountain and one hundred fifty yards wide. the wind being high we could not ferry. We then concl
uded to ford it. The ferryman declared all would be lost, telling enormous lies to alarm us, but we employed an Indian guide who rode before each wagon, giving us the course to the island, the ford being very crooked; he then rode in front of one team, the rest following in a string, the course being nearly straight across the second channel. We paid him $2 for his services, all being across safe and dry. Our ferriage would have been $15; thus we saved $13 by fording."
Basil Longworth,; September 17-18, 1853
After crossing the Deschutes most Oregon Trail emigrants traveled south of the Columbia and did not see the large Indian villages at nearby Celilo Falls. Indians were not scarce at this river crossing, however, Elizabeth Dixon Smith, emigrant of 1847 exclaimed "the Indians are as thick as hops here." Although emigrants often found native people helpful, if not essential to survival, cultural diferences were vast and ignorance rarely overcome.
Indians of the Deschutes
That Indian, whose untutored mind Sees God in the clouds, or hears him in the wind--Whose soul, proud science never taught to stray
Far as the glittereing sun, or other orbs of day, Lives far retird--a kanion deep, a solitary dell, A gloomy shade--'tis there he deigns to dwell.
What is his food, when naught but rocks around Are seen? No fields of plenty ther to clothe the ground. His raiment, also scant, to shield his naked form, No robes of beasts, nor pelts, nor furs, to guard from the storm. And when with food he chance to break his fast, He finds no wood to cook his limited repast. Alas, what then? The salmon and the salmon trout, In that mad stream are seen to gambol about. By him prepared upon the rocks, or hung on slender poles, Not far above, on steep decline, where furious water rolls, He dries his food, and thus 'tis savd from future harm..."
Riley Root; September 2, 1848
The Deschutes River drains the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range and flows from Central Oregon to the Columbia River. Here, near its confluence with the Columbia, the Deschutes flows through a chasm that Riley Root, emigrant of 1848, compared to "the valley of Sinbad the sailor." Oregon Trail emigrants usually arrived at this site in the late afternoon, and after a perilous river crossing they ascended the hill immediately to the west, camping at the summit. Amelia Hadley described this ascent in 1851 as "almost insurmountable."The emigrant's route is still visible across the river, particularly in early morning or late evening light.
"After we had got across the river we stopped for a few moments to debate whether we should push on further ahead. We were faced with a very steep hill to climb...the Captain was the first to get up the hill and to do so he had to use our four pairs of oxen as well as his own. Thus he had eight pairs and despite this long string of oxen he had the utmost difficulty in reaching the top of the hill. After this he came down for us and we managed to get up the hill quite well. When we arrived at thesummit we found a nice little spot to set up our camp."
Honore-Timothee Lempfrit; September 22,1848
History:
Scientific evidence indicates that the region has alternately been covered by shallow seas and reshaped by volcanic episodes. Vast amounts of lava flow have layered the area forming what is known as the Central Oregon Plateau.
The Deschutes river has carved through sedimentary and igneous rock ranging in age from more than 65 million years old too as young as 1,300 years old. The vast majority of these rocks are volcanic in origin. Most of the dark colored cliff walls consist of basalt from the large scale Columbia basin basalt flows 14 to 17 million years ago and younger more localized Deschutes and Dalles formation (6 to 10 million years ago).
The Deschutes canyon formed 1 to 4 million years ago through a series of
volcanic, tectonic and erosional processes. The legendary Missoula floods as well as periodic flooding and erosional processes also influenced the current appearance of the canyon during glacial periods. The combination of these events that scoured and gouged the land, reveal the pages that time has written during the last 65 million years.
Large scale flooding created many of the major rapids, including White River, Harris, Washout and Colorado. The event that created Washout rapids in 1995 was an intense, isolated thunderstorm that washed debris from a small tributary stream into the Deschutes.
Bibliography
Scholarly documents
Beckham, Stephen Dow. "In Their Own Words: Diaries and Reminiscences of the Oregon Trail in Oregon," Vol. 1, a report prepared for the Oregon Trail Coordinating Council, 1991.
McArthur, Lewis. Oregon Geographic Names. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1993.
Sherman Country Historical Museum. "Oregon Trails, Rails, and Roads in Sherman County," sesquicentennial exhibition guide. Moro, Oregon, 1993.
Government and management documents
Oregon and Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trails: Management and Use Plan Update. USDI National Park Service, 1998.
Sources: Oregon Geographic Names | Newberry National Volcanic Monument)
