Praying for Those in Authority: Sherman County

Sherman County with Mt. Adams

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley…Deuteronomy 8:7-8

Around 1958 a man named Giles French published the book The Golden Land: A History of Sherman County, Oregon. He wrote:

The land that lies between the Deschutes and John Day rivers and north of township five south of the base line in Oregon is Sherman County. It slopes gently north to the Columbia River on what is called by geologists the Shaniko surface…Because of the deep gorges of the Deschutes and John Day rivers running north to the Columbia, Sherman County is a geological and geographical entity. The canyons make it to a marked extent a social and political entity as well.

Sherman County, Oregon

By the late 1880s the Willamette Valley seemed pretty settled and crowded to those seeking wide open spaces, so restless settlers from the west began moving inland, east of the Cascade Mountains. Others from around the country joined them, coming by train as well as the traditional wagons. As the population in the mid-northern region of Oregon grew, the independent-minded settlers began to want to separate from Wasco County. Sherman County was created in 1889 out of the northeast corner of Wasco. As Mr. French noted, the county is bordered by three rivers, the John Day River to the east (creating the border between Sherman and Gilliam Counties), the Deschutes River on the west, and the Columbia River on the north. Sherman County is mostly flat, due to its unique geographical features.

The high point for the population was in 1910 when there were 4, 242 residents. The county population is currently 1,870, making it the second-least populated county in the state. It has 831 square miles.

The economy is mostly agriculture with wheat and barley the main products, although, like the other counties in this area, it is home to wind farms, notably the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm.  

At what is now the junction of I-84 and Hwy 30 going east/west and U.S. 97 going north into Washington across the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge is a community and busy stopping place for travelers. It was originally called Spanish Hollow after a canyon that opens there, which in turn was named, it is said, after a Spanish ox that died there during the Oregon Trail days. This crossroads is also where those pioneers coming by the Oregon Trail got their first glimpse of the Columbia River.

Now this crossroads is a census-designated place called Biggs Junction, population 22. The incorporated communities in Sherman County are Grass Valley, Rufus, Wasco, and Moro, the county seat.

As with most places in Oregon, as soon as settlers built their houses and barns, they turned their efforts to schools and churches. Churches often met in schools or homes until separate buildings could be built. Even before the settlers began arriving in the later 1800s, the area that became part of Sherman County was part of the Walla Walla District served by a Methodist circuit rider. The first Methodist Episcopal Church in Sherman County was built in Wasco by Rev. Frank R. Spaulding in 1883. There is a Methodist church still on that site; the current one was built in 1902.

The Church of Christ (Christian) in Wasco was the second church in the county, and another congregation was started in Rufus soon after. Baptists established churches in Rufus, Moro, Grass Valley, and Kent. Other denominations soon appeared including United Brethren, Catholic, and Presbyterian.

The Catholic Church of Sherman County was also served by circuit riders. When first organized, the congregations in what became Sherman County were missions of St. Peter’s church in The Dalles. The Catholic circuit riders celebrated Mass once or twice a month in each of the communities, often in people’s homes.

Sherman County is one of the handful of counties under the County Court system of government. The Court is made up of two elected Commissioners and the County Court Judge. The commissioners serve four years, and the Judge serves a six-year term. Currently, Joan Bird and Justin Miller are the County Commissioners, Joe Dabuiskis is the County and Juvenile Court Judge.

The Sherman County Sheriff is Brad Lohrey.