Standing in the Gap for Oregon

Western Oregon University Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 Polk County was created in 1845, partitioned off from Yamhill County and named after the 11 th President of the United States, James K. Polk. The county seat is Dallas, named after Polk’s vice president. The Board of Commissioners are Craig Pope, Lyle Mordhorst , and Jeremy Gordon . The County Sheriff is Mark Garton . Towns in addition to Dallas, the county seat, include Grand Ronde, Rickreall, Eola, Fort Hill, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City, and some of Salem and Willamina. You can find more information on Polk County here , here , and here . Polk County, Oregon Polk County, as well as much of this region of western Oregon, was settled quite early by the pioneers who came over on the very first wagon trains of the 1840s. Polk County is home to Western Oregon University at Monmouth, and the history of that instit...

Dallas House, Polk County, OR Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15. We looked at Yamhill County last week. Moving south we find ourselves in Polk County which was created from a portion of Yamhill on December 22, 1845. It was named for the 11 th President of the U.S., James K. Polk. The county seat is Dallas, named for Polk’s Vice-president. Polk County includes the towns and communities of Grande Ronde, Rickreall, Eola, Fort Hill, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and parts of Salem and Willamina. Forestry and agriculture are strong economic forces in Polk County with the western half or two-thirds heavily forested. The eastern half is in the Willamette Valley and has a lot of farms and vineyards. Polk County was settled early, along with most of this portion of the state, so there is much history here. While some historical research has been done on the impact  of the secon...

Polk County, Oregon Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:6 When we wrote about Polk County in an earlier post, we mentioned The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the reservation with headquarters in Polk County, and lands mainly in Yamhill. The tribe has been expanding their lands whenever possible. The Willamette Falls site has been an important location to the various tribes of the Pacific Northwest, and in 2019 the Grand Ronde tribes purchased the 23 acres where the former Blue Heron paper mill operated, on the edge of the Willamette Falls. Work continues for that site. The original reservation of over 60,000 acres was established in 1858. In the 1950’s the federal government terminated many tribes and reservations, under the misguided belief that the Native Americans would benefit by assimilation into American culture. However, that was not the case, and this...

Ritner Creek Bridge, Polk County, OR And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The  restore r of paths to dwell in .   Isaiah 58:12     Of the counties that make up the Willamette Valley, Polk county has the smallest population. My personal impression of Polk County is that it is the beautiful stretch we drive through to reach the ocean beaches. We’ve stopped to eat in charming places like Dallas along the way, but have not spent much time sight-seeing, although there is actually a lot to explore in Polk County.     First, huge Yamhill County was created, then in 1845 they partitioned off Polk County, named after President James K. Polk. Originally Polk County went all the way to the California border. As the southern portion of the state was settled, additional counties were created until Polk became the size and shape it is...