Umpqua County was a county located in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. It was created on January 24, 1851, by the
Oregon Territorial Legislature
Oregon's Territorial Legislature was a bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1848 as the legislative branch of the government of the Oregon Territory. The upper chamber Council and lower chamber House of Representati ...
embracing the lands along the
Umpqua River
The Umpqua River ( ) on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west ...
in southwestern Oregon.
Gold had been discovered in the Umpqua region, which brought a rapid increase of settlers to the new county. The first meeting of the Umpqua County Court was in
Elkton in 1852; later the county government was moved to Green Valley and
Yoncalla.
On January 7, 1852, the territorial legislature created
Douglas County from the eastern part of Umpqua County.
[ On December 22, 1853, part of the western portion of the county was included in the newly formed Coos County.][ Finally, on October 16, 1862, the remainder of Umpqua county was incorporated into Douglas County.
Some accounts state this was because of decreased population following the end of the local gold rush; other accounts]["Douglas County" in ] state that politics caused the county's end.
See also
* List of former United States counties
This is a list of former United States counties, a list of United States counties (administrative subunits of a U.S. state) that no longer exist.
They were established by a state, provincial, colonial, or territorial government. Most of these ...
* List of counties in Oregon
There are 36 counties in the U.S. State of Oregon. The Oregon Constitution does not explicitly provide for county seats; Article VI, covering the "Administrative Department" of the state of Oregon, simply states that:
:''All county and city off ...
References
External links
''Hand-Book Almanac for the Pacific States''Douglas County History
from the ''Oregon Historical County Records Guide''
Former counties of the United States
Douglas County, Oregon
History of Oregon
Lane County, Oregon
1851 establishments in Oregon Territory
1862 disestablishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1851
Populated places disestablished in 1862
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