Praying for Those in Authority: Yamhill County

Blockhouse in Dayton, in honor of General Palmer

There He makes the hungry dwell, that they may establish a city for a dwelling place, And sow fields and plant vineyards, that they may yield a fruitful harvest. Psalm 107:37-38  

Yamhill County, like Clackamas, Champooick, and Twality, was one of the first four districts created by the Oregon Provisional Government in 1843. It was, of course, huge, as the British and Americans has not yet determined who would control the Oregon territory, or where the boundaries should be. Ewing Young, whose untimely and intestate death in 1841 actually precipitated the creation of the Provisional Government (in order to settle his estate), settled in Yamhill County in the 1830’s.

As one of the earliest locations in Oregon to be settled, Yamhill County is rich in history. We have written a little about Yamhill and Lafayette here, but there is another small town in Yamhill that has an interesting backstory – Dayton.

General Joel Palmer was the first Indian Agent in the Oregon Territory, and was responsible for most of the treaties and the reservations created during the 1850’s. He did his best to be fair to the Native Americans, but was frustrated by bias among settlers, delays in Congress ratifying treaties and not following through on promises to the tribes. Joel Palmer came over the Oregon Trail in 1845.

Yamhill County

Dayton, Oregon in Yamhill County is a town of 2,500 people surrounded by farms and vineyards. General Joel Palmer and Andrew Smith filed land claims in the 1840’s and co-founded the town in the 1880’s.  There are 41 places in Dayton on the National Register of Historic Places, including a block house moved by wagon from Grande Ronde and placed in Courthouse Square Park in Dayton in honor of General Palmer. He had donated the land for the Courthouse Square. Another listed building is General Palmer’s home, a stately building built in 1852 and located in downtown Dayton. It has been restored and is now an acclaimed restaurant, The Joel Palmer House.

Dayton is in a lovely location, less than five miles from 47 vineyards and wineries, and also less than five miles from the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. It is 12 miles from the Willamette Mission State Park, the site of Jason Lee’s original mission, built in 1834 but washed away in a flood in 1861. This park is also on the National Register of Historic Places and has 1300 acres of woodlands and hiking trails.

You can’t escape history in Yamhill County, with Lafayette being the first county seat and one of the oldest settlements in the state. It was larger than Portland when it was the county seat, but Portland quickly caught up. The city of Newberg is the home of George Fox University and McMinnville is now the Yamhill County seat. The new mayor of Newberg is Bill Rossaker, a promising new addition to the government of that town. A special prayer focus for the area is the Newberg school board which has seen a lot of contention between progressive and conservative members. Keep board member Dave Brown in prayer. He has been subject to attempts for his removal.

There are three County Commissioners. Lindsay Berschauer was elected in 2020. She is active in local government and civic affairs and holds several committee and board positions including the Board President for Building Excellent Schools Together, and the Board Director for Timber Unity Association. She is a member of several organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce and Women in Timber. Kit Johnson is serving his first term in 2023. He’s a 5^th generation Oregonian, a lifelong farmer and an advocate for Yamhill agriculture. He graduated from Dayton High School. Mary Starrett was elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018. She has had a long career as a news anchor, investigative reporter, medical reporter, and talk show host on TV stations on both coasts, including working at KATU in Portland.

The County Sheriff is Tim Svenson. Pray for law enforcement in Yamhill County. There was a report of several people overdosing on fentanyl near McMinnville a month ago, with one fatality. More recently a county deputy and two middle-school children were treated at a hospital of the effects of fentanyl-laced smoke coming from a middle school bathroom.

Other county officials to keep in prayer include Assessor Derrick Wharff, Clerk Keri Hinton, District Attorney Brad Berry, and Treasurer Kris Beldsoe.