Editing Wasco County, Oregon (section)

==History==
[[Celilo Falls]] on the Columbia River served as a gathering place and major trading center for the local Native Americans, including the [[Wasco-Wishram|Wasco]], [[Northern Paiute|Paiute]], and Warm Springs tribes, for thousands of years. These rapids came to be named ''Les Grandes Dalles de la Columbia'' or "The Great Falls of the Columbia" by the French Canadian fur traders.

The Dalles initially served as a way station on the [[Oregon Trail]] as it approached the [[Willamette Valley]]. The construction of the [[Barlow Road]] over the [[Cascade Range]] in 1845, and the [[Donation Land Claim Act of 1850]] encouraged families to settle in the area. Over the following years, Wasco County was a major transportation hub for both river and inland traffic.

[[File:Wasco Co courthouse - Aug 12 1916.jpg|thumb|The Wasco County courthouse was shown on this postcard mailed on August 12, 1916.]]

The [[Oregon Territorial Legislature]] created Wasco County on January 11, 1854, from the parts of [[Clackamas County, Oregon|Clackamas]], [[Lane County, Oregon|Lane]], [[Linn County, Oregon|Linn]] and [[Marion County, Oregon|Marion]] counties, that were east of the Cascade Range. At the time of its creation, it was the largest county in the United States, consisting of {{convert|130000|sqmi|km2}} that stretched clear to the [[Rocky Mountains]]. Its northern border was the [[Washington Territory]] line (the [[Columbia River]]). When [[Dakota Territory]] (including present-day [[Wyoming]]) was created in 1861, [[Idaho Territory]] in 1863, and [[Montana Territory]] in 1864, the parts of Wasco County east of the present Oregon boundaries were ceded to those territories. Other Oregon counties were split away, and Wasco was reduced to its current size.
[[Image:Wpdms oregon washington territories 1853.png|thumb|250px|Oregon Territory is shown in blue. Everything east of the Cascades was part of the original Wasco County.]]

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#ffcccc"
|colspan=2|'''Dates of Secession of Other Eastern Oregon Counties'''
|- bgcolor="ecdddd"
| County || align="center"| Secession Date
|- 
| [[Baker County, Oregon|Baker]] || align="center"| 1862
|-
| [[Umatilla County, Oregon|Umatilla]] || align="center"| 1862
|-
| [[Grant County, Oregon|Grant]] || align="center"| 1864
|-
| [[Lake County, Oregon|Lake]] || align="center"| 1874
|-
| [[Crook County, Oregon|Crook]] || align="center"| 1882
|-
| [[Morrow County, Oregon|Morrow]] || align="center"| 1884
|-
| [[Gilliam County, Oregon|Gilliam]] || align="center"| 1885
|-
| [[Sherman County, Oregon|Sherman]] || align="center"| 1889
|-
| [[Hood River County|Hood River]] || align="center"| 1908
|}

The Dalles was designated the county seat with the creation of the county, and has been its only location.

The river traffic on the Columbia River was profoundly affected in 1935 by the building of [[Bonneville Dam]] in [[Multnomah County, Oregon|Multnomah County]] and by [[The Dalles Dam]] in 1957 in Wasco County (which submerged Celilo Falls).

Wasco County attracted international attention in the 1980s, when [[Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)|Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh]] established the [[Rajneeshpuram]] movement at a marginal ranch originally called "The Big Muddy". Disagreements with the county government and other residents over zoning rules and building codes escalated, while his followers, known as Rajneeshees, settled ''en bloc'' in [[Antelope, Oregon]] and were able to elect a majority of the town councillors. When the Rajneeshees subsequently recruited [[Homelessness|homeless people]] from across the United States to settle at Rajneeshpuram, it was widely seen as an attempt to use the ballot box to seize control of the county. An [[1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack|intentional outbreak]] of [[salmonella]] in salad bars at ten restaurants in The Dalles in 1984 was traced to the acts of Rajneeshees.

Rajneesh was arrested as he was fleeing the U.S. in 1985 and he was subsequently indicted along with seven followers for immigration crimes by a federal grand jury. A separate grand jury in Wasco County charged three Rajneeshees of attempted murder, while Rajneesh entered an [[Alford plea]] and was given a suspended sentence on condition that he leave the country.

The former Rajneesh ranch is now known as "Washington Family Ranch". It is owned and operated by [[Young Life|Young Life Ministries]], a [[Christianity|Christian]] organization providing camp services for youth.