Hood River County, Oregon
| Hood River County, Oregon | |
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Hood River County Courthouse in Hood River
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 Location in the U.S. state of Oregon |
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 Oregon's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | June 23, 1908 |
| Seat | Hood River |
| Largest city | Hood River |
| Area | |
| • Total | 533 sq mi (1,380 km2) |
| • Land | 522 sq mi (1,352 km2) |
| • Water | 11 sq mi (28 km2), 2.1% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 23,137 |
| • Density | 43/sq mi (17/km²) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Time zone | Pacific: UTC-8/-7 |
| Website | www |
Hood River County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,346. The county seat is Hood River. The county was established in 1908 and is named for the Hood River, a tributary of the Columbia River.
Hood River County comprises the Hood River, OR Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Hood River Valley is a top producer of apples, pears, and cherries and is known for its famous Fruit Loop driving tour that stops at family farms and fruit stands. Situated between Mount Hood and the Columbia River in the middle of the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River County is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts, such as windsurfers, mountain-bikers, skiers, hikers, kayakers, and many more.
The first permanent settlers in present-day Hood River County filed a donation land claim in 1854. The first school was built in 1863 and a road from The Dalles was completed in 1867. By 1880 there were 17 families living in the valley. By the latter part of the nineteenth century farmers of Japanese, Finnish, German, and French ethnicity had settled in the valley.
At the turn of the twentieth century, the people of the Hood River region in the northwest portion of Wasco County expressed a desire for political separation from the parent county. The passage of a statewide initiative established Hood River as the thirty-fourth county of the state. It was made official by a governor's proclamation on June 23, 1908. The Columbia River Highway was completed in 1922 from Portland to The Dalles, improving access between both those cities as well as to Hood River.
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