Pend Oreille (say Pondoray) County Washington, WAGenWeb Project. Washington State, Genealogy and History

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From the great deep Pend Oreille lake in the northern Idaho panhandle, the river flows westward until it comes to the Washington state line. There it turns northward as it eases in to Washington and Pend Oreille County. It runs north to Canada and then turns west to join the Columbia River. In the 1800s, they called the river Clarks Fork, now it is called the Pend Oreille. About one hundred years ago, Pend d’ Oreille was the common spelling.

It is a county of natural beauty and hardy, friendly people. A place to visit (especially in the summer time). The winter can be downright cold, often accompanied by a goodly amount of snow.

Pend Oreille County was the last county to be erected in Washington State. That event did not happen until 11 November 1911. In that year, Pend Oreille was separated from it’s parent county, Stevens. Newport is the county seat and is located on the Washington, Idaho state line. The population of Pend Oreille county was 6,025 in 1970, estimated to be 11,526 in 1998. The name Pend Oreille is said to have come from a French trapper’s description of the dangling earring pendants worn by a local Indian tribe.

P. O. County Museum

Queries

Resources

Online Records

Surnames

Regional Links

1909 Map (280k)

Early Logging Train

Current Weather

Last updated Saturday, 07-Jun-2008 12:09:57 CDT

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