A Deeper Look: Praying for Washington County

For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:4

Washington County is one of the oldest counties in the state. Originally called Twality, it was established by the first Provisional government in 1843. Washington is one of the triumvirate of counties that make up the Portland Metropolitan Area and includes some of the larger communities and suburbs of the city of Portland such as Hillsboro (the county seat) and Beaverton. Forest Grove is the oldest city in the county, and therefore one of the oldest settlements in the state.

With all that rich history and current bustling activity in the county it would seem “going deeper” would not be hard, but it was difficult at first to find a focus. However, I eventually noticed that my research kept going back to the Sheriff’s Office. The current Sheriff of Washington County is Pat Garrett, who has been sheriff since 2011. The name “Pat Garrett” might sound familiar to history buffs as also being the name of the famous New Mexico sheriff who shot Billy the Kid. No idea if they are related, but how cool is that? Makes it easy to remember.

Sheriff Garrett’s predecessor, Rob Gordon, wrote a short history of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. He traces the history of the office itself from the medieval “shire reeves” of England, and explains the difference between the Sheriff, elected by the voters, and the city Chief of Police, appointed by the city council. There are differences in duties and jurisdiction as well. The first High Sheriff of Oregon was William Johnson in 1841, followed by Joe Meek in 1842. In August of 1845 Thomas Smith became the first sheriff of Washington County back when it was still Twality.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is the largest in the state with over 650 employees and a budget of over $100 million.

We wrote about the Old Scotch Church near Hillsboro here. Forest Grove, as one of the oldest settlements in the state also has a number of historic buildings, mostly residences along with a few churches and meeting halls. One historic building is Old College Hall on Pacific University campus in Forest Grove. Built in 1850, it is one of the oldest buildings that has been continuously used for education in the West. It is now home to the Pacific University Museum.

The earliest Indian training school was started in Forest Grove in 1880. In 1885 it was moved to the Salem area and eventually became Chemawa Indian School. The topic of the Indian Schools in Oregon is a chapter of its own and we plan to address it later. Pray for healing and forgiveness.

Indian Training School, Forest Grove, OR. 1882.

The County has a five-member Board of County Commissioners. Currently, Kathryn Harrington is Chair, with Nafisa Fai, Pam Treece, Roy Rogers, and Jerry Willey as the commissioners.

How do we pray for Washington County?

Thus says the Lord, “Stand in the way and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls…” Jeremiah 6:16.

Pray for the Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Pat Garrett. As the largest office in the state, it provides training and other resources for other sheriff's offices. Pray for their wisdom, protection and discernment as they deal with a variety of human behavior.

Pray for wisdom and insight for the county commissioners.

Pray the hearts of the people of Washington County will be filled with a hunger to know God, and a love for truth and righteousness.