Washington County, OR
Summer Camps

About Washington County, OR

Washington County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon . Originally named Twality when created in 1843, the territorial legislature renamed it for the first president of the United States, George Washington , in 1849. The original boundaries included the entire northwest corner of Oregon before sections became new counties. Washington County contains only one river, the Tualatin River , and its drainage basin is almost entirely within the county. The county is nearly coterminous with the Tualatin Valley and is bordered on the west and north by the Northern Oregon Coast Range , on the south by the Chehalem Mountains , and on the north and east by the Tualatin Mountains . In the 2010 census , its population was 529,710, making it the second most populous county in the state. The seat and largest city is Hillsboro . Other cities include Beaverton , Tigard , and Forest Grove , the oldest city in the county.

History of Washington County, OR

Current county jail in Hillsboro. The Provisional Legislature of Oregon created the county as Twality District on July 5, 1843. Twality was one of the original four districts of the Provisional Government of Oregon in Oregon Country along with Clackamas , Champooick , and Yamhill counties. Columbia, later known as Hillsboro , was selected as the county seat in 1850. Washington County obtained its present boundaries in 1854 with the creation of Columbia County to the north and Multnomah County to the east. The construction of Canyon Road to Beaverton helped Portland to consolidate its position as the primary port of Oregon, and defeat the rival efforts of settlements as Oregon City and Milwaukie . In November 2004, the County and the City of Beaverton agreed to a plan where the city would annex both unincorporated residential neighborhoods as well as high-value areas of land. This would result with Cedar Hills , Garden Home , Raleigh Hills , West Slope being incorporated by 2010, and the communities of Aloha , Bethany , and Cedar Mill at some point after that. Those plans have since been put on hold since after the City of Beaverton attempted to forcibly annex Nike, Inc. 's World Headquarters, which would have increased Nike's taxes substantially.

Washington County, OR Summer Camps