Malheur County, Oregon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Malheur County
U.S. county
Malheur County Courthouse in Vale
Location within the U.S. state of Oregon
Oregon's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Oregon
Founded	February 17, 1887
Named for	Malheur River
Seat	Vale
Largest city	Ontario
Area
• Total	9,930 sq mi (25,700 km2)
• Land	9,888 sq mi (25,610 km2)
• Water	42 sq mi (110 km2)  0.4%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	31,571
• Estimate  (2023)	32,044
• Density	3.1794/sq mi (1.2276/km2)
Time zones
primary	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
southern fifth	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Malheur County (/mælˈhɪər/ MAL-heer) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,571. Its county seat is Vale, and its largest city is Ontario. 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 Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boise Combined Statistical Area. It is included in the eight-county definition of Eastern Oregon.

History

Malheur County was created February 17, 1887, 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 settled in the region in the 1890s and were mainly engaged in sheep raising.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 9,930 square miles (25,700 km²), of which 9,888 square miles (25,610 km²) is land and 42 square miles (110 km²), 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.

Pillars of Rome, from US 95 near Rome

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

• Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Malheur National Forest (part)
• Whitman National Forest (part)

Highways

• I-84
• US 20
• US 26
• US 30
• 
  US 30 Bus.
• US 95
• OR 52
• OR 78
• OR 201

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, Wyoming and Oregon.

OERR locomotive at Vale

Time zones

Map of Malheur County

Most of Malheur County (shown in red) is in the Mountain Time Zone; a small portion in the southern part of the county is in the Pacific Time Zone along with the rest of the state of Oregon and neighboring Nevada.

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 Mountain Time Zone, but a small portion in the south is in the Pacific Time Zone, indicative of that area's proximity to its main service town, Winnemucca, Nevada.

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 3.2 inhabitants per square mile (1.2/km²). There were 11,692 housing units at an average density of 1.2 units per square mile (0.46 units/km²). 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, 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, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The county is 94% rangeland, with the Bureau of Land Management controlling 72% of the land. Irrigated fields in the county's northeast corner, known as Western Treasure Valley, are the center of intensive and diversified farming. Malheur County's economy also depends on tourism.

The county's two largest employers are Heinz of Ontario, a potato processor branded as Ore-Ida, and the Snake River Correctional Institution, five miles northwest of Ontario.

Communities

A sugar beet plant of the Amalgamated Sugar Company in Nyssa

Cities

• Adrian
• Jordan Valley
• Nyssa
• Ontario
• Vale (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Annex
• Brogan
• Harper
• Juntura

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

• Inskip Station
• Leslie Gulch
• Malheur
• Westfall

Education

K-12 schools

School districts include:

• Adrian School District 61
• Annex School District 29
  • As of 1998^[update] students who graduate from Annex attend Weiser High School, of the Weiser School District, in Weiser, Idaho.
• 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. Circa 2022, around 80% of the district's 64 residents are in the ranching industry. Circa 2006, 16 students, of all grade levels, lived in the district. In 2006 the district possessed a school building that was no longer used. About 33% of Malheur County in the southern part goes to McDermitt.
• Nyssa School District 26
• Ontario School District 8
• Vale School District 84

There is a charter school 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 in Harney County served sections of Malheur County.

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.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Malheur para niños