State of Oregon - Baker County

Baker County. Bounded north by Union County, east by the Territory of Idaho, south by the State of Nevada, and west by Grant County. Area. 11,090 square miles; population, 4,000; assessed valuation of property in 1873, $639,038. County seat, Baker City.

Principal towns, Amelia, Auburn, Bridgeport, Clarksville, Conner Creek, El Dorado, Humboldt, Basin, Jordan Valley, Malheur, Pocahontas and Rye Valley.

The county is of large area, comprising all that portion of the State south of the north fork of Powder River, and east of the 118th meridian. Powder River, Burnt River, the Malheur, and Owyhee are considerable streams emptying into the Snake, or Lewis fork of the Columbia, which runs along the eastern border of the county. The southern portion is quite barren of vegetation, but possesses mines of value. The northern section is generally well adapted to grazing, the valleys of the rivers are very fertile, and mines of gold and silver exceedingly rich in those metals are found. Ores of copper and iron, and veins of coal abound.

The Blue and Eagle ranges of mountains cross the county and give rise to several large rivers. The climate is of the usual character of eastern Oregon, the winters sometimes being quite cold, but never the extreme experienced in the same latitude east of the Rocky Mountains. The extremes of heat and cold as shown by the thermometer are 105° in the summer to 15° in the winter, but these are rarely reached.

The general altitude is about 3,800 feet above the sea, and as usual in such regions, the climate is pleasant and healthy. The summers are dry, and snow falls in winter, but is seldom lasting, as the cold is not continuous. Game is abundant, consisting of elk, deer, bear, antelope, and birds of many varieties. The county is traversed by the stage road, from Salt Lake to the Dalles, and the great river along the eastern border affords cheap transportation for supplies and produces.

Officers: D. B. Scofield, County Judge; Luther B. Ison, Clerk, Recorder, and Auditor; W. B. Losswell, District Attorney; J. M. Boyd, Sheriff; W. H. Hull, Tax Collector, and Assessor; G. W. Parker, Treasurer; John Brattain, Surveyor; T. N. Snow, Coroner; W. F. Payton, Superintendent Public Schools.

Pacific Coast Business Directory | Oregon Territory Index

Oregon Directory and Gazetteer

Source: Pacific Coast Business Directory for 1876-78, Compiled by Henry G. Langley, San Francisco, 1875.