Praying for Those in Authority: Wheeler County

 First Baptist Church of Fossil. 
Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives
O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup: You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. Psalm 16: 5-6

The North Central Region of Oregon contains some of the least populated counties in the state. Wheeler has the distinction of being the county with the lowest population in Oregon at 1,451. Ranchers and farmers originally settled the area, and cattle ranching, agriculture, and timber remain the mainstay of the economy. Fittingly, the county was named for a rancher, Henry H. Wheeler, who owned farmland near the town of Mitchell.

Wheeler County lies just to the south of Gilliam County and touches Sherman County on the northwest corner.

Wheeler County, Oregon
The John Day River is 284 miles long and the original people of the area, the Cayuse, called it the Mah-Hah. It is the fourth-longest free-flowing river in the contiguous United States, undammed along its entire length and home to steelhead and Chinook salmon. The various forks that become the John Day River begin mostly in the Strawberry Mountains of Grant County off to the southeast of this region. The river cuts across Wheeler County in the middle when it takes a turn toward the west, then continues along Wheeler’s northwestern and all of Sherman’s eastern boundaries until it flows into the Columbia River.

What really sets Wheeler County apart from other Oregon counties are the fossils. The county is home to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and has the largest deposit of fossils in the state. Fossil, a town of 447 and the county seat, is about 18 miles east of the Clarno Unit of the fossil monument and is known for having the only public fossil bed in Oregon, located in town behind the Wheeler High School.  The town of Fossil sits at the intersection of OR highways 19 and 218, and is about two hours from Bend, and three from Portland.

At the Clarno Unit, one can see mud flows from millions of years ago that contain the fossilized remains of all sorts of creatures, including tiny four-toed horses, brontotheres that resemble giant rhinos, and creodonts that were carnivorous and roamed the ancient terrain that was jungle and is now rock. The Clarno Unit also contains a vast number of diverse plant fossils.

Wheeler County also contains parts of the Ochoco National Forest and the Umatilla National Forest. And, of course, the Painted Hills are a unique and fascinating place to visit and hike.

Fossil School District 21J, which includes Wheeler High School, serves K- 12 in the Fossil area of the county.

Wheeler is also under the County Court system, with County Judge N. Lynn Morley elected for six years, and the two County Commissioners, Clinton Dyer, and Ben Logan, elected for four. The County Court sets the policies and manages the business affairs of the county.

The County Clerk is Brenda Snow Potter, and the Justice of the Peace is Robin Ordway Campbell. The County Sheriff is Mike Smith. A concern for the Sheriff’s Office is travelers who are not prepared for the high desert heat and the isolation. The distances are long and cell service is patchy, so visitors are advised to take precautions when driving through the area.


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