Eastern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity;thus,the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost counties in the state;in other contexts,it includes the entire area east of the Cascade Range. Cities in the basic eight-county definition include Baker City,Burns,Hermiston,Pendleton,Boardman,John Day,La Grande,and Ontario. Umatilla County is home to the largest population base in Eastern Oregon,accounting for 42% of the region's residents. Hermiston,located in Umatilla County,is the largest city in the region,accounting for 10% of the population. Major industries include transportation/warehousing,timber,agriculture and tourism. The main transportation corridors are I-84,U.S. Route 395,U.S. Route 97,U.S. Route 26,U.S. Route 30,and U.S. Route 20.
Upper Klamath Lake is a large,shallow freshwater lake east of the Cascade Range in south-central Oregon in the United States. The largest body of fresh water by surface area in Oregon,it is approximately 25 miles (40 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) wide and extends northwest from the city of Klamath Falls. It sits at an average elevation of 4,140 feet (1,260 m).
Earl Wilcox Snell was an American politician,businessman,and member of the Republican Party,serving in the Oregon House of Representatives,as the Oregon Secretary of State,and as the 23rd Governor of Oregon. American journalist John Gunther described Snell as "genial,mediocre,and perpetually on the fence."
Jason Atkinson is an American politician in the US state of Oregon. The Republican grew up in the Southern Oregon city of Ashland. He served as a senator in the Oregon State Senate from 2001 to 2013. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Governor of Oregon in 2006. He stated his intention to run in the 2010 Oregon gubernatorial election,but withdrew from the race in 2009.
George Gilman was a politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as the state representative for District 55 of the Oregon House of Representatives,the second largest House district in Oregon,from 2003 to 2011. A Republican,he served as vice-chair of the Transportation Committee as vice-chair and the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development.
Harry Dolan Boivin was an American lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives for four terms,from 1935 through 1942. He also served in the Oregon State Senate from 1955 to 1972. He held the position of Speaker of the House during the 1937 legislative session,and was President of the Oregon Senate during the 1961 and 1965 sessions. Boivin was known as "The Fox" for his expertise in parliamentary procedures and ability to build coalitions within legislature. For almost a decade in the 1960s and early 1970s,Boivin and a small group of rural conservative Democrats joined Republicans to control the state senate.
Gail Whitsett is a former member of the Oregon House of Representatives representing District 56 including Klamath Falls and surrounding sections of southern Klamath County and southern Lake County,Oregon. She is married to Doug Whitsett,a veterinarian who formerly served as a member of the Oregon State Senate. Gail was his chief of staff before being elected to office. The couple owns farmland in the Klamath Basin where they raise horses. They have been involved in policy negotiations over water issues.
Warner Buck Snider,also known as W. B. Snider or Buck Snider,was a city recorder,county sheriff,rancher,and Oregon state legislator. He was a Republican member of the Oregon House of Representatives for two terms,from 1933 through 1936. After leaving the legislature,Snider returned to cattle ranching. He served as president of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association and actively advocated for grazing rights and highway construction in eastern Oregon.
Boyd Richey Overhulse was an American politician and attorney from Oregon. He served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives followed by two terms in the Oregon State Senate. A conservative Democrat from a rural district,Overhulse was known for his ability to work with Republicans as well as fellow Democrats in the state legislature. He was elected President of the Oregon Senate eleven days after taking his seat in the state senate,the first Democrat elected to that position in 79 years.
William Lair Thompson,known as Lair Thompson or W. Lair Thompson,was an American politician and lawyer from the state of Oregon. He served one term in the Oregon House of Representatives followed by a four-year term in the Oregon State Senate. Thompson was a conservative Republican who represented a large rural district. He served as President of the Oregon Senate during the 1915 legislative session. Thompson was one of Oregon's most prominent trial attorneys,handling a number of high-profile cases including one,Bunting v. Oregon,that required him to present arguments before the United States Supreme Court.
Charles Amos Cogswell was an American politician and attorney from the state of Oregon. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war,he moved to Lakeview,Oregon,where he became the area's first practicing attorney and was co-founder of the Lake County Examiner. Cogswell was elected to two four-year terms in the Oregon State Senate. During his tenure in the legislature,he was known as a conservative Democrat;however,near the end of his second term in the senate,he became a Republican. After retiring from his law practice,Cogswell moved to Portland,Oregon,where he was active in business and engaged in public service.
Edward Andrew Geary was an American politician and farmer from the state of Oregon. He was a Republican who served eight years in the Oregon House of Representatives. In the house,Geary represented a large rural district in southern Oregon. He served as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives during the 1955 legislative session. He also served as acting governor of Oregon for several brief periods in the mid-1950s.
Henry Semon,also known as Hank Semon,was a potato farmer and politician from Oregon. He served twelve terms in the Oregon House of Representatives,making him one of the longest serving members of that body. A conservative Democrat from a rural district,Semon was known for his ability to work with Republicans in the state legislature. As a result,he served as chairman of the powerful ways and means committee for nine terms,serving in that position under both Democratic and Republican majorities. He was also an innovative farmer,who brought a new potato variety into common use in south central Oregon.
George Harris Merryman was a country doctor,businessman,and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. A Republican,he served two non-consecutive terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. In between those terms,he was elected to the Oregon State Senate for one term. In both the house and senate,the districts he represented were large and rural. Merryman was also a pioneer doctor who made house calls by horse and buggy for many years. He later built the first modern hospital in Klamath Falls,Oregon.
Gordon William McKay was an American politician and businessman from Oregon. He was a Republican who served two four-year terms in the Oregon State Senate. In the senate,McKay represented a large rural district in Central Oregon. While serving in the state senate,he was a champion of tax relief and helped modernize the state's criminal code. In the private sector,he was president of a title insurance company in Bend,Oregon.
Wesley Oliver Smith,commonly known as W. O. Smith,was an American newspaper publisher and businessman from southern Oregon. He owned the Klamath Republican and later the Evening Herald,both Klamath Falls newspapers. Smith was a Republican who served two two-year terms in the Oregon House of Representatives,representing what are today Crook,Deschutes,Grant,Jefferson,Klamath,and Lake counties.
Virgil Conn was an American businessman and state legislator from the state of Oregon. He served two two-year terms in the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican legislator,representing a large rural district in south-central Oregon. He also ran a general store in Paisley,Oregon,and was that town's postmaster for many years. Later in his life,he owned a dairy farm near Roseburg,Oregon.
Robert Albert Emmitt,also known as Bob Emmitt or Judge Emmitt,was an American farmer and politician. He served two two-year terms in the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican legislator,representing a large rural district in eastern Oregon. He was also a justice of the peace in Klamath County and later the postmaster and justice of the peace for the city of Klamath Falls,Oregon.
Nathaniel Holly Gates,also known as Colonel Gates for most of his life,(1811–1889) was an American pioneer lawyer and Oregon state legislator. He was an active Democrat throughout his life. He served four terms in Oregon's territorial legislature. This included one term as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives during the 1858 legislative session. After Oregon became a state in 1859,he served one two-year term in the Oregon House of Representatives and one four-year term in the Oregon State Senate. Before immigrating to Oregon,Gates lived and worked as a lawyer in Ohio and Iowa. After moving to Oregon,he settled in The Dalles and opened a law practice there. He helped develop that community and served as the city's mayor five times in non-consecutive terms.
William Hoover Steiwer was an American rancher,banker,and legislator. He served ten years in the Oregon State Senate from 1935 through 1944. Steiwer was a conservative Republican who represented three rural Eastern Oregon counties in the state senate. He was President of the Oregon State Senate during the 1943 legislative session. His election to that post took 45 ballots. Throughout his adult life,Steiwer operated a 35,000-acre (14,000 ha) sheep and cattle ranch in Wheeler County,Oregon. He also served as a director of the Steiwer and Carpenter Bank for many years. Later,he was appointed a director of the Portland Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In addition,he served as president of both the Oregon Wool Growers Association and the National Wool Growers Associations.
