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Oregon County
Malheur County, Oregon
The 2016 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation - from the armed occupation (the 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters by the Bundy-led militia in January-February 2016 - protesting federal land management and the imprisonment of Harney County ranchers - drew international media attention to the remote southeast Oregon high desert and reignited the Sagebrush Rebellion debate over federal land ownership in the West, ending with the shooting death of occupier LaVoy Finicum and the acquittal of most participants) and Ontario's significant Basque immigrant community (the Basque sheepherders who came to eastern Oregon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries established one of the most significant Basque communities in the American West).
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Office: Malheur County Emergency Services – 151 B Street West, Vale, OR 97918 | (541) 473-5126; Emergency Manager Rich Harriman; part of the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Travis Johnson serves as Director.
Sheriff/Dispatch: Malheur County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center – 151 B St W, Vale, OR 97918 | handles all county 911, police, fire, and medical dispatch for 18 agencies/divisions; jail commissioned in 1887.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-20/26 and OR-201 serve Vale, the county seat, and Ontario, the county’s largest city, in Oregon’s far southeastern corner along the Idaho border.
Notes: Malheur County, established February 17, 1887 from Baker County, is Oregon’s second-largest county by land mass (9,926 sq mi) – behind Harney County. IMPORTANT NAMING NOTE: the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (site of the widely reported 2016 armed occupation) is actually located in neighboring Harney County, not Malheur County, despite the shared name – don’t confuse the two.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Malheur County Building/Planning – 251 B St. W., Vale, OR 97918 | (541) 473-5151.
Notes: Malheur County is genuinely a major Oregon Trail heritage corridor, with real sites including Keeney Pass, the Vale Oregon Trail Murals, and the grave of trapper Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (son of Sacagawea). The county is also home to significant agricultural production – onions, potatoes, sugar beets, and dairy – as part of the Treasure Valley farming region. Ontario is also home to Oregon’s largest correctional facility, the Snake River Correctional Institution (777 Stanton Blvd, opened 1991, capacity 3,050, operated by ODOC) – directly InmateAid-relevant.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Malheur County Veterans Service Office – 316 NE Goodfellow St, Suite 4, Ontario, OR 97914 | (541) 889-6649 | Fax: (541) 889-3367 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Thu 8:30 AM-5 PM, Fri by appointment; CVSO Connie Tanaka.
Federal: Boise VA Medical Center (nearby, across the Idaho border).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Ontario: Ontario Community Library – 388 SW 2nd Avenue, Ontario, OR 97914 | (541) 889-6371; ~112,600-volume collection, circulating over 80,000 items annually, serving roughly 26,300 residents; part of the Ontario Library District.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Lake Owyhee State Park (Owyhee Reservoir), Succor Creek State Park, Leslie Gulch Canyon, and Jordan Craters are the county’s premier natural attractions. The Four Rivers Cultural Center (Ontario) documents local heritage including the area’s Japanese-American, Basque, and Hispanic communities.
Notes: The genuine Oregon Trail heritage and Snake River Correctional Institution’s status as Oregon’s largest prison are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Malheur County Assessor – confirm current phone via malheurco.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
County: Ontario Animal Control – SW 4th Street, Ontario, OR; confirm current phone via ontariooregon.org.
Shelter: Atherton Kennels & Shelter – official animal shelter for Malheur County, serving Ontario, Nyssa, Vale, and Payette, Idaho; family-owned and operated for over 30 years.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Malheur County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via malheurco.org.
NOTES: Malheur County is the second county in the Oregon v2 redo’s fourth batch (Linn, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman). The Snake River Correctional Institution – Oregon’s largest prison – makes this county especially relevant for InmateAid readers. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge naming overlap with Harney County is an important distinction. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Malheur County
Malheur County is the Sagebrush Rebellion’s front line – the 2016 Bundy militia occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters brought the federal land ownership debate to international attention, and Ontario’s Basque community preserves one of the American West’s most distinctive immigrant pastoral traditions.
Ontario (population ~11,000) is the county’s largest city on the Idaho border. Vale (the county seat, population ~1,800) serves the surrounding ranching and agricultural communities.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Malheur County Assessor at 251 B Street W., Vale, OR 97918, phone 541-473-5105. OR Measure 50 limits assessed value increases.
Courts & Legal
Malheur County Circuit Court at 251 B Street W., Vale, OR 97918, phone 541-473-5171, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
251 B St West, Vale, OR 97918
(541) 473-5151
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Malheur County Court, Vale (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Malheur County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Malheur County Court 251 B Street West, Vale, OR 97918 (541) 473-5171
Malheur County is in southeastern Oregon along the Idaho border, seated in Vale. IMPORTANT: Malheur is one of six eastern Oregon counties where probate jurisdiction is vested in the COUNTY COURT rather than the Circuit Court – an exception to Oregon’s usual probate structure.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Oregon has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code, maintaining its own independent probate code under ORS Chapters 111 through 117. In most counties, probate is handled in the probate department of the Circuit Court, but Malheur County is one of six eastern Oregon counties (along with Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Sherman, and Wheeler) where the COUNTY COURT holds probate jurisdiction instead. Oregon does not offer a separate unsupervised/informal probate track – its “simple estate” process and formal administration are the two paths.
Simple Estate Affidavit (ORS 114.505–114.560) – available when the total fair market value of the estate is $275,000 or less, made up of no more than $75,000 in personal property and no more than $200,000 in real property. The affidavit (“Affidavit of Claiming Successor”) cannot be filed until at least 30 days after death and must be filed with the clerk of the probate court. It requires a detailed asset description, a list of known creditors, and notice that claims are barred unless presented within 4 months of filing.
Full Probate Administration – required for estates that exceed the simple estate limits or don’t otherwise qualify. A personal representative is appointed by the court and administers the estate under ongoing court oversight.
Step 2: filing for administration
A petition for probate is filed in the County Court in Malheur County (or, for simple estates, an Affidavit of Claiming Successor is filed with the probate clerk at least 30 days after death).
If a will exists, it’s filed with the petition or affidavit.
For full administration, the court appoints a personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Notice is given to heirs, devisees, and creditors; claims against the estate must generally be presented within the statutory period.
The personal representative (or affiant, for simple estates) inventories assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes what remains according to the will or Oregon’s intestacy laws.
Full administration closes once a final account is filed and approved by the court; simple estates close once assets are distributed and any required notices are filed.
What it costs
Filing fees vary; check with Malheur County directly for current fees.
Oregon imposes a state estate tax on estates exceeding approximately $1,000,000, with rates ranging from 10% to 16%. No state inheritance tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
232 D St West, Vale, OR 97918
(541) 473-5126
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
251 B St West, Vale, OR 97918
(541) 473-5151
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1108 SW 4th Ave, Ontario, OR 97914
(541) 889-7279
Department of Human Services
715 SW 5th Ave, Ontario, OR 97914
(541) 889-9194
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Malheur County Health Department – confirm current contact via malheurco.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Vale
Population: 31,000
Established: 1887
Tier: 3
Public Records
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