Established: June 22, 1844

Elev. at Astoria: 19'

Area: 1085 sq. mi.

Average Temp.: January 41.9° July 60.1°

Assessed Value: $7,084,305,859

Real Market Value: $11,702,910,802

(includes the value of non-taxed properties)

Annual Precipitation: 66.40"

Economy: Fishing, tourism and forest products

Clatsop County was created from the original Tuality District in 1844 and named for the Clatsop Tribe, one of the many Chinook tribes living in Oregon. The Journals of Lewis and Clark mention the tribe. Fort Clatsop, Lewis and Clark’s winter headquarters in 1805 and now a national memorial near the mouth of the Columbia River, also took the tribe’s name.

Astoria, Oregon’s oldest city, was established as a fur trading post in 1811 and named after John Jacob Astor. The first U.S. Post Office west of the Rocky Mountains was also established in Astoria in 1847. The first county courthouse was completed in 1855, and the present courthouse was erected in 1904. Records show that the summer resort of Seaside was founded by Ben Holladay, pioneer Oregon railroad builder, in the early 1870s when he constructed the Seaside House, a famous luxury hotel for which the city was finally named. The Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Pacific Ocean at this spot.