Standing in the Gap for Oregon

Highway 207-Wheeler County Oregon The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; Isaiah 35:1 The population of Wheeler County, just south of Gilliam County, hovers around 1400 making it the least populated county in the state. In addition to that, it has an aging population with the young folks leaving the area for better opportunities elsewhere. It is, however, a popular tourist destination with fossil beds and national forests for recreation. The county seat is the town of Fossil. We’ve talked about Wheeler’s beautiful high desert areas here , here , and here. Wheeler County, Oregon Wheeler County is governed by the County Court system. The current Judge is N. Lynn Morley who serves with commissioners Clinton Dyer and Ben Logan . Sherrif Mike Smith was elected in 2020 and his term ends in 2024. Three deputies and some reserve officers make up the law enforcement in Wheeler County. Back in 2012, Wheeler County e...

 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 Sta...

Painted Hills, Oregon For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, expect our God? Psalm 18:31 Known as a “Geologic Wonderland,” Wheeler County is the least populated county in the state with only about 1500 residents. Three hours from Portland, in North Central Oregon, it is a popular tourist destination famous for the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument, the John Day River and two National Forests: the Ochoco and the Umatilla. About one-third of the county is BLM land. Wheeler County was created in 1899 from parts of Grant, Gilliam and Crook Counties. It’s three main communities are Mitchell, Spray, and Fossil, the county seat. The economy is based on tourism - which includes fossil digging, fishing, rafting, hiking, camping, photography and winter sports in the mountains - and ranching. From 1928 until 1978 the Kinzua Pine Mills Company which later became the Eastern Oregon Logging Company, was a major employer in the county. When it closed in 1978 the county populatio...