Malheur County (, ) is one of the 36 counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,571. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municip ...

, and its largest city is

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The county was named after the Malheur River, which runs through the county. The word "malheur" is French for misfortune or tragedy. Malheur County is included in the

Ontario, Oregon Ontario is the largest city in Malheur County, Oregon, Malheur County, Oregon, United States. It lies along the Snake River at the Idaho border. The population was 11,645 at the 2020 censusThe city is the largest community in the region of far ea ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

Combined Statistical Area. It is included in the eight-county definition of Eastern Oregon.

History

Malheur County was created , from the southern territory of Baker County. It was first settled by miners and stockmen in the early 1860s. The discovery of gold in 1863 attracted further development, including settlements and ranches.

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

settled in the region in the 1890s and were mainly engaged in sheep raising.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and , comprising 0.4%, is water. It is the second-largest county in Oregon by area and the only county in Oregon in the

Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when standard time ( UTC−07:00) is in effect, and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time ( UTC−06:00). The ...

Adjacent counties

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States * Grant County, Arkansas * Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern pa ...

- northwest/Pacific Time Border * Baker County - north/Pacific Time Border * Washington County,

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

- northeast * Payette County,

- east * Canyon County,

- east *

Owyhee County Owyhee County ( ) is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,913. The county seat is Murphy, and its largest city is Homedale. In area it is the second-largest county in I ...

- east * Humboldt County,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

- south * Harney County - west/Pacific Time Border

National protected areas

* Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge (part) *

Malheur National Forest The Malheur National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. It contains more than in the Blue Mountains (Pacific Northwest), Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. The forest consists of Great Basi ...

(part) * Whitman National Forest (part)

Highways

* * * * * * * * *

Railroads

The main railroad in Malheur County is the Oregon Eastern Railroad. This line goes from Ontario to the Celatom Plant in Vale. This railroad is all that remains of the Wyoming Colorado Railroad, a shot line between

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

and

Time zones

As with many cities, Malheur County's cities had functioned with both city time and railroad time. This changed by order of the Interstate Commerce Commission on May, 13th 1923 with cities adopting train time. Malheur County is still one of the few counties in the United States with two time zones. Most of the county is in the

, but a small portion in the south is in the

Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00 ...

, indicative of that area's proximity to its main service town,

Winnemucca, Nevada Winnemucca () is the only incorporated city in Humboldt County, Nevada, United States, of which it is also the county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 ...

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 31,571 people residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 31,313 people, 10,411 households, and 7,149 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 11,692 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 77.5% white, 1.7% Asian, 1.2% American Indian, 1.2% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 15.5% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 31.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.2% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 11.9% were English, 10.3% were Irish, and 9.9% were American. Of the 10,411 households, 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.3% were non-families, and 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.24. The median age was 36.2 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,144 and the median income for a family was $46,136. Males had a median income of $33,234 versus $27,883 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,335. About 15.2% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 31,615 people, 10,221 households, and 7,348 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 11,233 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was: * 75.78%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

* 1.22%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

* 1.02% Native American * 1.96% Asian * 0.08%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

* 17.38% from other races * 2.56% from two or more races 25.62% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 14.2% were of

, 10.5% English, 8.4% American and 6.9% Irish ancestry. 79.4% spoke English and 19.4% spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

as their first language. There were 10,221 households, out of which 36.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.28. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.60% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 21.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,241, and the median income for a family was $35,672. Males had a median income of $25,489 versus $21,764 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $13,895. About 14.60% of families and 18.60% of the population were below the

, including 25.80% of those under age 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or over. Malheur County is the poorest county in Oregon. As of 2008, 21% of its residents live in poverty.

Politics

Like most counties in eastern Oregon, the majority of registered voters who are part of a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in Malheur County are members of the Republican Party. In the 2008 presidential election, 69.10% of Malheur County voters voted for Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, while 28.47% voted for Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

and 2.42% of voters voted for a

third-party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a veh ...

candidate. These statistics do not include write-in votes. These numbers show a small shift towards the Democratic candidate when compared to the 2004 presidential election, in which 74.9% of Malheur Country voters voted for

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, while 23.8% voted for

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

, and 1.3% of voters either voted for a third-party candidate or wrote in a candidate. Malheur County is one of the dominant Republican counties in Oregon when it comes to presidential elections. It was one of only two counties in Oregon to give the majority of its vote to

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

and has favored the Republican candidate for decades. The last Democratic candidate to carry the county was

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

in 1940, and only by a margin of 29 votes. Further every Republican candidate since 1996 has received more than 60% of the county's vote. Malheur County is also one of the most reliably Republican counties in state elections, for example in the 1998 gubernatorial election it was the only county to vote for Bill Sizemore instead of John Kitzhaber, and in the 1998 U.S. Senate election, it was the only county to vote for state senator

John Lim John Lim (born December 23, 1935) is a South Korean-born American politician from the state of Oregon. He has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly and was the Oregon State Senate Majority Leader in 1995. He has unsuccessfully ...

over

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...

. As part of

Oregon's 2nd congressional district Oregon's 2nd congressional district is the largest of Oregon's Oregon's congressional districts, six districts, and is the List of United States congressional districts, seventh largest district in the nation. It is the second-largest congressi ...

it has been represented by Republican

Cliff Bentz Cliff Stewart Bentz (born January 12, 1952) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Oregon's 2nd congressional district since 2021. He previously served in the Oregon Sen ...

since 2021. In the Oregon Legislature, Malheur County is within Oregon's 30th Senate district, represented by Republican Lynn Findley. It's also within the 60th District in the Oregon House, which is represented by Republican Mark Owens.

Economy

The county is 94% rangeland, with the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

controlling 72% of the land.

Irrigated Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has be ...

fields in the county's northeast corner, known as Western

Treasure Valley The Treasure Valley is a valley in the western United States, primarily in southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, and Owyhee rivers drain into the Snake River. It includes all the lowland areas from Vale in rural east ...

, are the center of intensive and diversified farming. Malheur County's economy also depends on tourism. The county's two largest employers are

Heinz The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...

of Ontario, a potato processor branded as

Ore-Ida Ore-Ida (; ) is a brand of potato-based frozen foods owned by Kraft Heinz's, H.J. Heinz Company Brands LLC. based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ore-Ida's primary production facility is located in Ontario, Oregon, near the Idaho border where the co ...

, and the Snake River Correctional Institution, five miles northwest of Ontario.

Communities

Cities

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

* Jordan Valley * Nyssa *

(county seat)

Census-designated places

Annex Annex or annexe may refer to: Places * The Annex, a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. * The Annex (New Haven), a neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, United States. * Annex, Oregon, a census-designated place in the United ...

* Brogan * Harper * Juntura

Unincorporated communities

* Arock *

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

* Beulah * Burns Junction *

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

* Crowley * Danner * Harper * Ironside * Jamieson * McDermitt, Nevada-Oregon * Owyhee * Riverside * Rockville *

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

* Westfall * Willowcreek

Ghost towns

* Inskip Station * Jonesboro * Leslie Gulch * Malheur City * Payette Junction * Wildhorse

Education

K-12 schools

School districts include: * Adrian School District 61 * Annex School District 29 ** students who graduate from Annex attend Weiser High School, of the Weiser School District, in

Weiser, Idaho Weiser ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Idaho. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in the vicinity. The city sits at the confluence of the Weiser River with the great Snake Ri ...

. * Arock School District 81 * Burnt River School District 30J * Harper School District 66 * Huntington School District 16J * Jordan Valley School District 3 * Juntura School District 12 (elementary only) * McDermitt School District 51 (a.k.a. Malheur County School District #51) - A district with no employees, it sends all of its students to McDermitt Combined School in McDermitt, Nevada and Oregon, a school operated by the Humboldt County School District. * Nyssa School District 26 * Ontario School District 8 * Vale School District 84 There is a

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

in Ontario, Four Rivers Community School (4RCC). Private schools, both in Ontario, include: * Treasure Valley Christian School *St. Peter Catholic School of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baker Eldorado School, the first school in the county, was established in 1869. Previously

Crane Union High School Crane Union High School is a public high school in Crane, Oregon, United States. It is a boarding school that serves students from a large geographic area. Its district is known as the Harney County Union High School District 1J, and covers much ...

in Harney County served sections of Malheur County. Juntura area students could choose from multiple high schools, including Crane, Harper, Ontario High, and Vale High. Formerly there were the Vale Union High School District, Vale Elementary School District, Willowcreek School District, and the Brogan School District. A referendum was held in 1992, with the unofficial vote count pointing to an approval of the merger. Previously there was a separate Brogan School District 1, and a Rockville School District 2.

Tertiary education

Treasure Valley Community College is in Ontario. A portion of the county is in the TVCC district. The remainder is not in any community college district.

Public libraries

Vale has the Emma Humphrey Library. Ontario Community Library of the Ontario Library District is in Ontario.

References

External links

Malheur County
(official website)

from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

Malheur Experiment Station {{Coord, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OR_source:UScensus1990 Ontario, Oregon micropolitan area Counties in multiple time zones Basque-American culture in Oregon 1887 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1887