Orondo is an

unincorporated community 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 ...

in Douglas County,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

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 ...

, located alongside the eastern part of 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 ...

. It is part of the

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. Located in the north-central part of the stat ...

–

East Wenatchee East Wenatchee is a city in Douglas County, Washington, Douglas County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census was 13,190, a 129.1% increase on the 2000 census, having annexed ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area is well known for its robust agriculture industry, and produce fruits such as apples, cherries and pears. The name was derived from a mythical Great Lake Indian and was first settled in the late 19th century by late Washington politician, John B. Smith. The Auvil Fruit Company is located in Orondo. With the help of founder Grady Auvil, the company introduced the apple cultivar

Granny Smith The Granny Smith is an List of apple cultivars, apple cultivar that originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who Fruit tree propagation, propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a Hybri ...

, thus establishing th
M26 root stock
and fostering quality production of Fuji Apples in Washington State. The town supports a

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

, an elementary school, and a multitude of fruit stands along U.S. Highway 97. According to United States Census, the population is estimated to be 1995 with a marginal error of 338 as of 2017.

Parks

Daroga State Park: A 127-acre camping park with 1.5 miles of Columbia River shoreline on the elevated edge of the desert scab-lands. First established as an orchard/ranch site in 1928, the name derived as the first letters of Auvil brother: Dave, Robert, and Grandy. A new peach was developed cataloged as the Daroga Peach. In 1981, Grady Auvil sold the property to the state of Washington and is now currently owned by the Chelan County PUD but operated by

Washington State Parks The U.S. state of Washington has over 140 state parks that are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. These include 19 marine parks and 11 Historical Parks. The park system was established in 1913 by the creation of the ...

. Orondo River Park: established in 1972, the park has been a recreational site since 1976. The port of Douglas and Chelan County PUD own property within the park boundaries. In October 2017, the port of Douglas has asked the Chelan PUD take over operation and ownership of the facility due to the park losing money for years.

Education

The town has one school district that operates the preschool, elementary and middle school. The district is a "non-high" school district and has no high school opportunity in the town. As a result, the neighboring schools provide high school education for Freshman through Senior students.

History

1887, the townsite of Orondo was established by J.B Smith. 1888, Smith donated a plot of land to attract more settlers to Orondo

Climate

Literature

In '' East of the Mountains'' (1999), Orondo is mentioned when one of two Spanish speaking brothers on a bus asked Catherine Donnelly, where they are and wondering how long till they arrive at Orondo. The brothers then mentioned that they work at Orondo picking apples. Orondo is mentioned by a band of outlaws in the second novel by author D.F Bissonnette " The Smoke Road" (2017), while they flee from the US Cavalry after a spate of crimes along the Columbia River during the Yakima Wars.

References

{{Coord, 47, 37, 33, N, 120, 13, 31, W, type:city_region:US-WA, display=title Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) Unincorporated communities in Douglas County, Washington Wenatchee–East Wenatchee metropolitan area Washington (state) populated places on the Columbia River