Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe who live on the south side of the Columbia River. It is near the Washington state line. Wasco County comprises The Dalles Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Dalles, formally the City of The Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city in Oregon along the Columbia River outside the Portland Metropolitan Area. The Dalles is 75 miles east of Portland, within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Maupin is a city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. Located on the Deschutes River, much of the city's economy is related to the river through outdoor activities, such as fishing and rafting. The population was 418 at the 2010 census.
Shaniko is a city located in Wasco County, Oregon, United States, on U.S. Route 97 and about 8 miles (13 km) north of Antelope. The population was 30 at the 2020 census.
Tygh Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 224 at the 2000 census.
The Deschutes River in central Oregon is a major tributary of the Columbia River. The river provides much of the drainage on the eastern side of the Cascade Range in Oregon, gathering many of the tributaries that descend from the drier, eastern flank of the mountains. The Deschutes provided an important route to and from the Columbia for Native Americans for thousands of years, and then in the 19th century for pioneers on the Oregon Trail. The river flows mostly through rugged and arid country, and its valley provides a cultural heart for central Oregon. Today the river supplies water for irrigation and is popular in the summer for whitewater rafting and fishing.
U.S. Route 197 (US 197) is a north–south United States Highway, of which all but 2.76 miles of its 69.93 miles are within the state of Oregon. The highway starts in rural Wasco County in Central Oregon at an intersection with US 97. US 197 travels north as a continuation of The Dalles-California Highway No. 4 through the cities of Maupin, Tygh Valley, and Dufur to The Dalles. Within The Dalles, the highway becomes concurrent with US 30 and intersects Interstate 84 (I-84) before it crosses over the Columbia River on The Dalles Bridge into Washington. The highway continues through the neighboring city of Dallesport in Klickitat County and terminates at a junction with State Route 14 (SR 14).
Rajneeshpuram was a religious intentional community in the northwest United States, located in Wasco County, Oregon. Incorporated as a city between 1981 and 1988, its population consisted entirely of Rajneeshees, followers of the spiritual teacher Rajneesh, later known as Osho.
The Rajneesh movement is a religious movement inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990), also known as Osho. They used to be known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People" because of the orange they used from 1970 until 1985. Members of the movement are sometimes called Oshoites in the Indian press.
Ma Anand Sheela is an Indian-Swiss woman who was the spokesperson of the Rajneesh movement. In 1986, she was convicted for attempted murder and assault for her role in the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack.
Oregon Route 216 is an Oregon state highway running from U.S. Route 26 at Warm Springs Junction to U.S. Route 97 in Grass Valley. OR 216 is 61.30 miles (98.65 km) long and runs east–west.
In 1984, 751 people suffered food poisoning in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, due to the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with Salmonella. A group of prominent followers of Rajneesh led by Ma Anand Sheela had hoped to incapacitate the voting population of the city so that their own candidates would win the 1984 Wasco County elections. The incident was the first and is still the single largest bioterrorist attack in U.S. history.
In 1985, a group of high-ranking Rajneeshees, followers of the Indian mystic Shree Rajneesh, conspired to assassinate Charles Turner, the then-United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Rajneesh's personal secretary and second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela, assembled the group after Turner was appointed to investigate illegal activity at the followers' community, Rajneeshpuram. Turner investigated charges of immigration fraud and sham marriages, and later headed the federal prosecution of the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack in The Dalles, Oregon.
Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International was a 1985 lawsuit filed by Helen Byron in Portland, Oregon, against Rajneesh Foundation International, the organization of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Byron had been recruited to join the Rajneesh movement by her daughter, Barbara. She traveled to India to join her daughter and the organization. Byron provided over US$300,000 to the organization, and some of the money was used to buy an armored Rolls-Royce for Rajneesh. Byron spoke to the legal leader of the organization, Ma Anand Sheela, and requested that her money be returned, asserting that it was a loan. Sheela reportedly told her that the money would be returned to her once the group moved to Oregon. Byron followed the organization to its location in Oregon, known as Rajneeshpuram, and requested through an attorney that her money be returned. In 1985, she filed a lawsuit against the organization in federal court, in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.
Charles H. Turner was an American lawyer who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. Prior to his presidential appointment as U.S. Attorney, Turner worked under his predecessor, Sidney I. Lezak, for 14 years. He was appointed as Lezak's replacement by President Ronald Reagan.
Sherar's Falls, is a small waterfall along the Deschutes River shortly before emptying into the Columbia River. It is a place considered a sacred fishing ground by local native tribes. It is located just north of the city of Maupin on Oregon Route 216 at Sherar's Bridge in Wasco County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It totals 15 feet fall in a single drop and is the last waterfall along the Deschutes River before the Columbia River. The waterfall is rated as a class 6 whitewater and has an administrative closure to boaters because of the danger. It was named after Joseph Sherar, a 19th-century wagon road builder.
Joseph Sherar was a 19th-century wagon road builder who, with his wife, Jane, owned and operated a Deschutes River toll bridge and a nearby stagecoach station and hotel in Wasco County in the U.S. state of Oregon. The bridge and buildings were slightly downstream of Sherars Falls, the river's lowermost waterfall, and a traditional fishing spot for the native inhabitants of the region.
Bakeoven is an unincorporated community in Wasco County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is southeast of Maupin and northwest of Shaniko along Bakeoven Creek, a tributary of the Deschutes River.
Criterion is an historic unincorporated community in Wasco County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It lies along U.S. Route 197 between Maupin and Madras. Nearby is Criterion Summit, which at about 3,360 feet (1,020 m) above sea level is the highest point along the highway between The Dalles to the north and Redmond to the south. In the late 19th century, the route over the summit was a wagon road linking The Dalles to Lakeview and California.
Air Rajneesh was a carrier based at Big Muddy Ranch Airport from 1981 to 1985.
