Linn County, Oregon

Linn County Education, Geography, and History

Linn County is a county located in the state of Oregon. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 116,672. The county seat is Albany. The county is named in honor of Lewis F. Linn, a US Senator from Missouri who advocated the American settlement of the Oregon Country.

Linn County comprises the Albany, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Portland-Vancouver-Salem, OR-WA Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the Willamette Valley.

Etymology - Origin of Linn County Name

Linn County was named for US Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri who was the author of the Donation Land Act that gave free land to settlers in the West.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Linn County History

On December 28, 1847 the Provisional Legislature created Linn County from the southern portion of Champoeg (later Marion) County. The boundaries were altered in 1851 and 1854 with the creation of Lane and Wasco Counties. The county consists of 2,297 square miles and is bounded on the north by Marion County; on the east by Deschutes and Jefferson Counties; on the south by Lane County; and on the west by Benton County. Linn County was named for US Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri who was the author of the Donation Land Act that gave free land to settlers in the West.

The county seat was originally located in Calapooia (Brownsville), but in 1851 the Territorial Legislature passed an act establishing Albany as the county seat. A special election in 1856 reaffirmed Albany as the county seat. The Spaulding school in Brownsville served as the first courthouse. A new courthouse was erected in Albany in 1853 but was destroyed by fire in 1861. A third courthouse was built in 1865 and remodeled in 1890 and 1899. The present courthouse was constructed in 1940 adjacent to the earlier courthouses.

The general administration of Linn County business was placed in the county court, composed of two elected commissioners and a county judge. The county court met for the first time in December, 1849. In 1970 the county court was replaced by a board of county commissioners. Current county officials include three commissioners, district attorney, assessor, clerk, sheriff, surveyor, and treasurer.

The population in 2000 was 103,069. This represented an increase of 12.98% over 1990.

The climate and soil conditions provide one of Oregon's most diversified agriculture areas, allowing a wide variety of specialty crops and leading the nation in the production of common and perennial ryegrass. Linn County is also home to major producers of rare and primary metals, processed food, manufactured homes and motor homes as well as the traditional logging and wood products industries.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,309 square miles (5,980 km²), of which 2,290 square miles (5,900 km²) is land and 19 square miles (49 km²) (0.8%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Marion County (north)
• Benton County (west)
• Lane County (south)
• Deschutes County (southeast)
• Jefferson County (east)
• Polk County (northwest)

Education

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