Columbia County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,952, making it the second-least populous county in Washington. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. The county was created out of Walla Walla County on November 11, 1875, and is named after the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

(which does not flow through the county). Columbia County is included in the Walla Walla, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. It is part of the

Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of North Central Idaho, north central Idaho, southeastern Washington (part of eastern Washington), and by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. ...

, a wide and rolling prairie-like region of the middle Columbia basin.

Geographic features

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

* Blue Mountains * Touchet River * Tucannon River

Major highways

* U.S. Route 12

Adjacent counties

* Whitman County - north * Garfield County - east *

Wallowa County, Oregon Wallowa County () is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to '' Oregon Geographic N ...

- southeast *

Umatilla County, Oregon Umatilla County () is one of the List of counties in Oregon, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The population of 81,826 ranks it as the 14th largest in Oregon, and largest in Eastern Oregon. Hermiston, Oregon, Hermiston is the largest ci ...

- southwest * Walla Walla County - west * Franklin County - northwest

National protected area

Umatilla National Forest The Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains (Oregon), Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington (U.S. state), Washington, covers an area of 1.4 million acres (5,700 km2). In descending order of land area the forest ...

(part)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,078 people, 1,762 households, and 1,156 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 2,136 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.0% white, 1.4% American Indian, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% Pacific islander, 0.3% black or African American, 1.7% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 24.7% were German, 18.3% were English, 12.3% were Irish, and 7.0% were American. Of the 1,762 households, 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.4% were non-families, and 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.76. The median age was 48.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $43,611 and the median income for a family was $53,452. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $35,357 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,810. About 9.8% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 4,064 people, 1,687 households, and 1,138 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,018 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.73%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.22%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.96% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 2.73% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. 6.35% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 19.6% were of German, 18.2%

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

or American, 14.3% English and 8.3% Irish ancestry. 94.3% spoke English and 5.7% Spanish at home. There were 1,687 households, out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.00% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.90% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 22.80% from 25 to 44, 27.70% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,500, and the median income for a family was $44,038. Males had a median income of $33,690 versus $21,367 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $17,374. About 8.60% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the

, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 11.10% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

(county seat)

Town

* Starbuck

Unincorporated communities

* Covello, Washington * Jackson, Washington * Huntsville * Marengo *

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

Ghost towns

* Grange City, Washington

Politics

Columbia County is one of the most conservative counties in Washington state. It has not been carried by a Democrat for President since

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

's 1964 landslide victory. The last time it backed a Democrat for Governor was in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

when conservative Democrat Clarence D. Martin swept every county in the state and the last Democratic Senator was "Scoop" Jackson, who carried the county in five consecutive county sweeps (the last in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

Education

Schools

School districts including parts of the county are: * Dayton School District * Pomeroy School District * Prescott School District * Starbuck School District * Waitsburg School District

Library

The Columbia County Rural Library District operates a library in Dayton. People living in Dayton are in the library's taxation base, but not in the library's voting base; the voting area for the library only consists of

unincorporated areas An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

. The library was established in 1919 as a small reading room while a women's civics club fundraised for a permanent building. The raised funds were transferred to the Dayton city government in 1935 and used to construct a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

in 1937 using

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

funding; the building was later expanded in 1947. It is the only

in Columbia County. A November 2023 ballot measure proposes to close the rural library district, and therefore the library itself, entirely due to the placement and availability of children's books on racial issues and

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

topics. The library collection would be received by the Washington State Library if the rural library district is dissolved.

References

External links

Official County Website

Columbia County Library

Columbia County Heritage
{{authority control 1875 establishments in Washington Territory Populated places established in 1875 Eastern Washington