Clackamas County, Oregon

alt=Map of Clackamas County|thumb|Map of Clackamas County

Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the native people living in the area at the time of the coming of Europeans, the Clackamas people, who are part of the Chinookan peoples.

Clackamas County is part of the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is in the Willamette Valley.

History

Originally named Clackamas District, it was one of the four original Oregon districts created by Oregon's Provisional Legislature on July 5, 1843, along with Twality (later Washington), Champooick (later Marion), and Yamhill. At the time of its creation, Clackamas County covered portions of modern Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. The Columbia River became the northern boundary of the county in 1844. Soon after, John McLoughlin staked a land claim in Oregon City and built a house that in 2003 became a unit of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The four districts were ultimately redesignated as counties in 1845.

Most of the indigenous people of the Wil-lamet Valley were forcibly removed in February 1859, to the reservation of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Most were moved without treaty or compensation for lost lands or resources. Some 22 tribes were moved during the cold winter. It is estimated that 30% did not survive the first year. The tribes eventually prospered, but outside of Clackamas County. They also never received any revenue or compensation from the logging of their homeland forests.

In addition, the Tribes of the Cascades Mountains were isolated to a Reservation after the signing of a treaty in 1859. Confederated Tribes of Warmsprings was established and remains a strong and vital player in actions that concern the Federal forests of the Cascades Range.

Oregon City was also the site of the only federal court west of the Rockies in 1849, when San Francisco, California, was platted. The plat was filed in 1850 in the first plat book of the first office of records on the West Coast and is still in Oregon City.

Around 1900, the spa and resort at Wilthoit Springs was a popular tourist destination. In 1902, the Willamette Meteorite was removed from a field near present-day West Linn.

Geography

thumb|Forest west of [[Clackamas River Valley]]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water.

Major highways

20px Interstate 5
25px Interstate 205
20px U.S. Route 26
20px Oregon Route 35
25px Oregon Route 99E
25px Oregon Route 212
25px Oregon Route 213
25px Oregon Route 224

Adjacent counties

Multnomah County - north
Hood River County - northeast
Wasco County - east
Marion County - south
Yamhill County - west
Washington County - northwest

The county includes parts of two national forests: Mount Hood National Forest and Willamette National Forest.

Demographics

Economy

Since the county's creation, agriculture, timber, manufacturing, and commerce have been the principal economic activities. Mount Hood, the only year-round ski resort in the United States and the site of Timberline Lodge, is a major attraction for recreation and tourism, offering outdoor recreation activities from skiing and rafting to fishing and camping.

Infrastructure

The county supports the Library Information Network of Clackamas County. The urban areas of the county are also served by Metro.

Notable people

Bob Amsberry (1928–1957), original member of The Mickey Mouse Club
Rebecca Anderson (born 1991), beauty pageant titleholder
Debby Applegate (born 1968), biographer and historian
Jay Baller (born 1960), baseball player
Howard C. Belton (1893–1988), Oregon State Treasurer
William H. Boring (1841–1932), Union soldier; founder of Boring
Nan Britton (1896–1991), secretary and mistress of President Warren G. Harding
George Bruns (1914–1984), Walt Disney Pictures film composer
Ed Coleman (1901–1964), baseball player
Ralph Coleman (1895–1990), baseball coach
Ryan Crouser (born 1992), shot putter, discus thrower, Olympic Gold Medalist
Carson Ellis (born 1975), artist and illustrator
Philip Foster (1805–1884), pioneer
Alma Francis (1890–1968), stage actress and singer
Tom Gorman (born 1957), baseball pitcher
Tonya Harding (born 1970), Olympic figure skater
Joni Harms (born 1959), musician
Bill Johnson (1960–2016), Olympic skier
Edwin Markham (1852–1940), Poet Laureate of Oregon
Colin Meloy (born 1974), musician
Charis Michelsen (born 1974), actress, model, and makeup artist
Bill Morgan (1910–1985), football player
Ben Musa (1905–1974), Oregon state legislator
Alan Olsen (born 1948), Oregon State Senator
Ralph Patt (1929–2010), jazz-guitarist who invented major-thirds tuning; geological expert on groundwater contamination from the Hanford Site.
Burt Rutan (born 1943), aerospace engineer
Kurt Schrader (born 1951), U.S. Representative from Oregon
Martha Schrader (born 1953), Oregon State Senator
Chael Sonnen (born 1977), wrestler
Brenda Strong (born 1960), film and television actress
Maria Thayer (born 1975), actress and comedian
Mark Thorson (born 1983), football player
Aaron E. Waite (1813–1898), Oregon Supreme Court justice
Brian Wilbur (born 1986), Granada Lions quarterback