Columbia

Formed January 16, 1854 (15^th county)

Columbia County (52,603), Saint Helens (13,836)

A stone 1906 Neo-Classical Revival courthouse is on Strand Street at Plaza Square.  United States Highway 30 is 1 ½ miles to the west of the riverside site.  The bell tower was added in 1911.  Hendricks and Tobey are the architects.  An Annex was added in 1969.  The county was established on January 16, 1854 from Washington County as the 15^th county.  Columbia County is named for the Columbia River.  The county seat was originally at Milton and moved to Saint Helens in 1857.  Saint Helens is named for the mountain in Washington State. 

Columbia County government consists of a treasurer, a sheriff, an attorney, an administrator, and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Four District Court Judges serve Columbia County (judicial.)  The county is on the northwest border with Washington.  The Columbia River forms its northern border.  Portland, Oregon is southeast and Tacoma, Washington is northeast of the county.  The county center is 17.3 miles West-Northwest of Saint Helens nearer Veronia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Washington and Multnomah, Washington, Tillamook, and Clatsop counties. 

The area of the county is 657 square miles.  It is 34 out of 36 in the state.  It ranks 17 out of 36 in population in the state.  It has a density of 80.1 persons per square mile making it 10 out of 36 in the state.  Columbia County has 56.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 30 comes into the county from the west, Clatsop County, and goes to the south, Washington County.  The county looks like a fat comma.  Saint Helens is located on the southeast border of the county.  Saint Helens is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 26.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Vernonia