Misplaced Pages

#216783

60-443: Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon , United States. It was named after Edward Dickinson Baker , the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census . Platted in 1865, Baker City grew slowly in the beginning. A post office was established on March 27, 1866, but Baker City was not incorporated until 1874. Even so, it supplanted Auburn as

120-531: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending

180-432: A sister city relationship with Zeya, Russia . In that same year, Baker School District 5J agreed to support development of a student exchange program between the two communities. County seat In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below the provincial level, and thus county seats. In

240-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in

300-706: A former Carnegie library ; the downtown U.S. Bank , featuring a gold display that includes the Armstrong Nugget , weighing 80.4 ounces (2.28 kg); the Eltrym, Baker City's only movie theater, housed in a single-story structure built in the late 1940s. The Baker City Cycling Classic is a set of bicycle races held in Baker City and the surrounding region. Similar bicycle races, the Elkhorn Classic, were based in Baker City through 2011. The city hosts

360-722: A mountain range located in the Columbia Plateau of northeastern Oregon in the United States . The range runs approximately 40 miles (64 km) northwest to southeast in southwestern Wallowa County and eastern Union County between the Blue Mountains to the west and the Snake River to the east. The range is sometimes considered to be an eastern spur of the Blue Mountains, and it is known as

420-836: Is Sacajawea Peak , which is 9,838 feet (2,999 m) above sea level . Sacajawea is the sixth highest mountain in Oregon and the state's highest peak outside of the Cascade Range . Many geologists believe that the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon are a displaced fragment of the Insular Belt . The core of the Wallowas is composed of the Wallowa Batholith surrounded by Columbia River basalt . In addition there are many older terranes between

480-478: Is also a common feature of the valleys. The melting of the glaciers produced a large quantity of water, which carried sediment to the valley bottoms, leaving delta deposits on top of the former deposits. In the mountains, much precipitation falls as snow . Total snowfall peaks around March. Most precipitation in the area is orographic precipitation . Near the tops of the mountains, total annual precipitation can exceed 100 inches (250 cm) per year, while in

540-1186: Is constructed from local tuff and is a stripped classical style. As of 2011 the building was unoccupied and was on the Most Endangered Places in Oregon list of the Historic Preservation League of Oregon . The main branch of the Baker County Library system is in downtown Baker City. The other branches are in Haines, Huntington, Halfway, Richland, and Sumpter. Baker City has one newspaper: the Baker City Herald , published on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It has five radio stations: KBKR ( 1490 AM ); KKBC ( 95.3 FM ); KWRL ( 102.3 FM ); KCMB ( 104.7 FM ); and KANL ( 90.7 FM ). KATU ABC Portland, Oregon KOIN CBS Portland, Oregon KTVB NBC Boise, Idaho KTVB NBC Boise, Idaho KGW NBC Portland, Oregon KPTV FOX Portland, Oregon KTVR PBS Lagrande, Oregon In 1996, Baker City established

600-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of

660-489: Is served by Baker School District 5J. It includes Baker High School , Eagle Cap Innovative Jr/Sr High School Baker Middle School, Brooklyn Primary, and South Baker Intermediate as well as Keating Elementary and Haines Elementary in rural Baker County. Serving about 1,800 students, 5J is the largest of three school districts in Baker County. Baker Middle School was designed by Ellis F. Lawrence and completed in 1917. It

SECTION 10

#1732788096217

720-818: Is served by the Union Pacific Railroad (UP), originally the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company (OR&N). In 1887, the UP acquired a long-term lease on the OR&;N, which connected to existing UP track and the Oregon Short Line at Huntington . The UP provides freight service but not passenger service to Baker City. Between 1977 and 1997 the city was a regular stop along the former route of Amtrak 's Pioneer between Chicago , Salt Lake City , Boise , Portland , and Seattle . Baker City

780-442: Is the coldest month, with a normal mean temperature of 28.6 °F (−1.9 °C). On December 23, 1983, the temperature fell to −34 °F (−36.7 °C), the lowest recorded in the city. May is typically the month of highest precipitation, averaging 1.46 inches (37 mm). Snowfall averages about 27.3 inches (69 cm) a year. As of the census of 2010, there were 9,828 people, 4,212 households, and 2,529 families residing in

840-628: Is topped by an octagonal observation center with an eight-sided hip roof and a flagpole. Also in the historic district is the Geiser Grand Hotel , a three-story, stucco-clad, brick structure that at the time of its opening in 1889 had plate glass windows, electric lights, baths, an elevator, and a dining room that seated 200. Originally called the Washauer Hotel, it became the Geiser Grand in about 1895 after its purchase by

900-516: The 1918 solar eclipse took place and the U.S. Naval Observatory based its observations there. The path of totality of the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 , included Baker City as well. One of its former councilors, Adam Nilsson, who also served for the Baker City Public Arts Commission, was charged with criminal mischief for graffiti on August 1, 2017, while holding office. A police officer made connections through

960-463: The Nez Perce War . Logging came in the late 1880s, using streams and rivers to transport the wood. A dam was constructed on Wallowa Lake in 1884 to help irrigate the valley. In 1908, the first railroad into the valley was completed. Rail lines were built to the upper valley by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1919, allowing for safer transportation of logs. The dam beneath Wallowa Lake

1020-595: The North Powder River , and the purchase of sugar beet farms led to the migration of Latter-day Saint families to the Baker area. The first branch in Oregon was created in Baker City on July 23, 1893. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baker was established on June 19, 1903, after which the Saint Francis de Sales Cathedral was built in Baker City. In 1918, Baker was the subject of national interest when

1080-892: The Oregon School Activities Association Class 1A girls and boys basketball tournaments at Baker High School in March. The Oregon East−West Shrine Game (high school football) is held here in July. The Hell's Canyon Motorcycle Rally is also held in Baker City, in July. Sections of the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest are to the west and to the northeast of Baker City, which serves as the forest headquarters. Possible forest activities include hiking, biking, winter sports, fishing, hunting, mineral prospecting, camping, wildlife viewing, and other forms of recreation. Interstate 84 (I-84) runs along

1140-555: The sedimentary deposits of oceans during the Triassic . At the center of the Batholith are granodioritic rocks, while the outer limits of the range are tonalitic . The granite batholith is cut by dikes ; however, these are uncommon. Glaciers carved out the valleys during the late Pleistocene , which left a number of moraines . The series of moraines is formed by a series of glacial advances and retreats. Glacial till

1200-599: The " Alps of Oregon". Much of the range is designated as the Eagle Cap Wilderness , part of the Wallowa–Whitman National Forest . The range is drained by the Wallowa River , which flows from the north side of the mountains, and its tributary the Minam River , which flows through the west side of the range. The Imnaha River flows from the east side of the range. The highest point in the range

1260-668: The Baker County Chamber of Commerce. The Baker Historic District , on the National Register of Historic Places , is located on about 42 acres (17 ha) centered on Main Street in downtown Baker City. Within its boundaries are more than 130 properties, about half of which include structures built between the late 1880s and about 1915. Many of these as well as others built as early as 1870 are two-story masonry commercial buildings. The city hall, county courthouse,

SECTION 20

#1732788096217

1320-489: The Cascades. At low elevations, Douglas fir is the most common tree for slopes, whereas Engelmann spruce and lodgepole pine occur in valley bottoms, with grand fir common below 5,300 feet (1,600 m). In meadows and around springs and seeps , willows and sedge grow. Above 7,000 feet (2,100 m), subalpine fir is dominant, and whitebark pine is often found on ridges and south-facing slopes. The area

1380-610: The John Geiser family, which had large mining investments in Baker County and elsewhere. Baker Heritage Museum, previously the Oregon Trail Regional Museum, is housed in the Natatorium built in 1920 on Grove street across from the city park. The exhibits interpret the history of the region including mining, ranching, timber, early Baker City life, Chinese culture, and wildlife. The Adler House Museum,

1440-947: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of

1500-408: The average family size was 2.85. In the city, the population was 23.7% under the age of 19, 5.0% from 20 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males. In 2005, the median income for a household in the city was $ 29,020, and

1560-486: The batholith and basalt flows. The Wallowa Batholith is formed of granite from a magma upwelling in Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous time (between 160 million and 120 million years ago). The placement of this rock caused uplift of the surface, which at the time was tropical sea. This is evident from the slate , quartzite , and marble present in the mountains, which come from metamorphism of

1620-500: The center of downtown on its way to the Snake River . Baker City has a cool semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSk ), with a large diurnal temperature variation most of the year, peaking at 39.3 °F (21.8 °C) in August. July is generally the warmest month, with a normal mean temperature of 65.1 °F (18.4 °C). The highest recorded temperature, 109 °F (43 °C), occurred on August 10, 2018 and August 2, 2024. December

1680-413: The city council but mayoralship was given to Matt Diaz. Diaz resigned in July, following a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ meme claiming he was moving out of town with the city council reinstating Calder as the city's mayor. Beginning in August additional city councilors began resigning their posts, culminating in the entire city council, including Calder, resigning leaving all positions vacant. Before resigning,

1740-533: The city, offers exhibits, theater performances, workshops, and other events and activities related to the Oregon Trail , the ruts of which pass through the center's 500-acre (200 ha) site. Established in 1992, the site is managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management and Trail Tenders, a group of volunteers. Other points of interest in Baker City include the Crossroads Art Center, in

1800-674: The city. The councilors select one of their members to serve as mayor for a two-year term. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total land area of 7.16 square miles (18.54 km). The city is situated in a valley between the Wallowa Mountains to the east and the Elkhorn Mountains , part of the Blue Mountains to the west, with the Powder River running through

1860-442: The city. The population density was 1,372.1 inhabitants per square mile (529.8/km). There were 4,653 housing units at an average density of 674.3 units per square mile (260.3 units/km). The racial makeup of the city was 94.57% White , 1.12% Native American , 0.53% Asian , 0.44% African American , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.97% from other races , and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.52% of

Baker City, Oregon - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-526: The counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under the Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of

1980-468: The county seat in 1868. The city and county were named in honor of U.S. Senator Edward D. Baker, the only sitting senator to be killed in a military engagement. He died in 1861 while leading a charge of 1,700 Union Army soldiers up a ridge at Ball's Bluff, Virginia , during the American Civil War . The Oregon Short Line Railroad came to Baker City in 1884, prompting growth; by 1900 it was

2040-418: The county sheriff in August 2019. In this lawsuit, Nilsson wrote that he was negotiating with the artist, whose moniker is "Thrashbird" to obtain art as "public art" for Baker City. By September 27, 2023, all claims by Nilsson were dismissed. In Spring 2023, the city council voted to remove mayor Beverly Calder as a result of an op-ed piece she had written in the Baker City Herald . She retained her seat on

2100-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in

2160-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for

2220-753: The eastern edge of Baker City, while U.S. Route 30 passes through its downtown. Oregon Route 7 runs between I-84 in Baker City and Sumpter and Austin to the west. Oregon Route 86 heads north and east past the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and on to the cities of Richland and Halfway . The city owns and operates the 398-acre (161 ha) Baker City Municipal Airport , located about 3 miles (5 km) north of downtown in rural Baker County. Northeast Oregon Public Transit provides hourly trolley service around Baker City, as well as twice daily bus service to La Grande, on weekdays. Baker City

2280-472: The former home of Leo Adler is now the Baker Heritage Museum's largest artifact. Learn the story of Leo Adler, Baker City philanthropist who donated millions to the people of Baker County in his will. The Adler house has been restored to his original splendor with original furnishings and interiors. The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center , about 5 miles (8.0 km) east of

2340-551: The former post office, former library, former social clubs, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and an Episcopal Church are among notable buildings within the district. Baker City Tower , a nine-story structure in the historic district, is the tallest building east of the Cascade Range in Oregon. Opening in 1929 as the Baker Community Hotel, it was converted to other uses in 1970. The concrete Art Deco structure features terracotta eagles at each ground-floor entrance and

2400-424: The imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of

2460-585: The increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan

Baker City, Oregon - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-625: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford

2580-473: The largest city between Salt Lake City and Portland and a trading center for a broad region. In 1910, Baker City residents voted to shorten the name of the city to simply Baker, the name change becoming official in 1911; Another vote in 1989 restored the name to Baker City. The establishment of the Oregon Lumber Company by Charles W. Nibley , the creation of a lumber mill by David Eccles on

2640-758: The later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With

2700-541: The local avalanche center director, Kip Rand, was killed backcountry skiing near the Hurwal Divide and Chief Joseph Mountain in an avalanche following the collapse of a large cornice. The higher precipitation of the mountains compared with the surrounding country has created a mesic habitat in the Wallowas. Vegetation in the region contains combinations of plants found in both the Rocky Mountains and

2760-486: The median income for a family was $ 34,790. Males had a median income of $ 26,638 versus $ 20,313 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 14,179. About 10.7% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over. Baker City hosts many annual festivals, including the Miners' Jubilee on the third weekend of July, which celebrates

2820-514: The mining history of the area and the filming of the 1969 Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood musical comedy Paint Your Wagon in the city. The Miners' Jubilee was originally launched in 1934 as the Baker Mining Jubilee, but lapsed after 1941 because of World War II and a declining interest in mining. The event was revived by Richard and Marge Haynes in 1975. The couple organized the celebration for two years before handing it over to

2880-590: The mountains was built in 1861. In 1863, a new treaty was signed that relinquished lands that granted by an 1855 treaty, turning them over to the American government. This same year, the settlers in the mountains moved to present-day La Grande . These lands included the Wallowa Valley, home of Chief Joseph . The government first opened the Wallowa Valley to settlement in 1867. Surveyors began to come through and would continue until 1869. The Wallowa Valley

2940-407: The population. There were 4,212 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1.2% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and

3000-727: The provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized

3060-777: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of

SECTION 50

#1732788096217

3120-456: The tag "Provolotus" which has been found in graffiti complaints as well as on Nilsson's Instagram profile. The graffiti was on a Baker County owned property when Nilsson and his friend Ashley E. Schroder were cited. Nilsson, who has pled guilty to spray painting graffiti at the Lime plant contends his constitutional rights were violated and has filed a $ 1.3 million lawsuit against Baker County and

3180-467: The three remaining city councilors in September made an attempt to appoint new people to fill the vacancies but they were not able to satisfy quorum requirements, after which they resigned in an attempt to force a special election but Oregon state law requires the vacancies to be filled by the county commissioners. Baker City's city council consists of seven councilors who are elected by the residents of

3240-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of

3300-544: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,

3360-438: The valleys it can be as low as 10 inches (250 mm). The Wallowa Mountains are a popular destination for backcountry skiers and snowmobilers. However, avalanches are a consistent threat to backcountry skiers and snowmobilers. In February 2014, two backcountry skiers were killed and two others were serious injured in the southern Wallowas on Cornucopia Peak when an avalanche swept into a mountainside gully. On 8 March 2016,

3420-409: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Wallowa Mountains The Wallowa Mountains ( / w ə ˈ l aʊ w ə / ) are

3480-573: Was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after the Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government

3540-625: Was home to the Wallowa band of the Lower Nez Perce . The Nez Perce lived in the canyons and burned trees to create meadows for the horses that they obtained around 1730. In 1834, Captain Bonneville crossed through the mountains and met with the lower Nez Perce on his way to Fort Walla Walla . In the 1840s, people began to move west, bringing settlers through the land. The Nez Perce began to trade with these settlers. A settlement in

3600-465: Was partitioned in 1873, with one half for the Nez Perce and the other for settlers. Two years later, in 1875, the government banned the Nez Perce from the valley. The first road into the valley, a toll road , was constructed the same year. The U.S. Government attempted to force the removal of the Nez Perce in 1877; however, this angered the natives, who chose instead to raid the settlers, leading to

#216783