My
name is Bob
Jenkins and
I created this website to provide genealogy
information and links to genealogy
information to assist people in
researching
their Wasco County Oregon ancestors.
I would appreciate any contribution that
you would like to make to this site:
biographies, obituaries, birth, marriage,
death info, grave info, photographs....etc
Wasco
County, Oregon
During the mid‑1800s, The Dalles emerged as a major stopping point on the Oregon Trail, serving as a way station for emigrant families before they continued toward the Willamette Valley. The opening of the Barlow Road in 1845 and the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 encouraged settlement, drawing homesteaders who established farms, river landings, and early communities across the region.
As river traffic expanded, Wasco County became a transportation hub for both Columbia River travel and inland routes. Towns such as Antelope, Dufur, Maupin, Mosier, Shaniko, and The Dalles grew around agriculture, trade, and river commerce. Many of these communities generated the land, probate, school, and church records that genealogists rely on today.
The county seat, The Dalles, remains the center of local government and record‑keeping. The Wasco County Courthouse holds marriage and land records beginning in 1854, while the Circuit Court maintains probate records dating back to 1848, offering some of the earliest documentation of pioneer families in the region.
Today, Wasco County’s blend of Columbia Gorge geography, pioneer settlement, river commerce, and diverse rural communities provides a rich archival landscape. Its courthouse records, cemetery listings, census schedules, and local histories offer valuable resources for anyone researching families who lived in The Dalles and the surrounding county.