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Oregon County
Umatilla County, Oregon
Pendleton Round-Up and Cayuse wheat country - from the Pendleton Round-Up (one of the oldest and most celebrated rodeos in the United States, the Pendleton Round-Up has been held every September since 1910 and draws over 50,000 visitors annually to watch world-class rodeo competition, the Happy Canyon Pageant depicting Indigenous and frontier history, and the Westward Ho! Parade - the Round-Up is Oregon's most iconic annual event and Pendleton's defining cultural institution) to the Palouse-Blue Mountain wheat belt (Umatilla County's rolling hills produce exceptional dryland wheat in the vast wheat farming region extending from Oregon into Washington, and the Pendleton Woolen Mills - famous for its Native-inspired blankets and shirts - has operated in Pendleton since 1909, drawing on the county's wool and agricultural heritage).
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Office: Umatilla County Emergency Management – 4700 NW Pioneer Place, Pendleton, OR 97801 | (541) 278-3706 | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM; sign up for the Umatilla County Emergency Alert System.
911/Dispatch: Umatilla County Regional Dispatch Center – 4700 NW Pioneer Place, Pendleton, OR 97801; housed at the Criminal Justice Center; dispatches for 18-27 public safety agencies across the region including Union Pacific Railroad and US Forest Service officers.
Tribal partner: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Emergency Management – 46411 Ti’mine Way, Pendleton, OR 97801 | Dispatch (541) 278-0550.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-84 and US-395 serve Pendleton, the county seat, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in northeastern Oregon.
Notes: Umatilla County’s economy is anchored by wheat farming, livestock, and ranching, following the 1862 gold rush and 1881 railroad expansion.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Umatilla County Planning – confirm current phone via co.umatilla.or.us.
Notes: Pendleton is genuinely, nationally significant as the home of the Pendleton Round-Up, an annual rodeo held every September since 1910, drawing over 50,000 attendees and ranking among the ten largest rodeos in the world; the Round-Up has always featured participation from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla peoples), including a historic teepee encampment adjacent to the arena grounds. The city is also home to Pendleton Woolen Mills, a real wool-processing and blanket manufacturer founded from an earlier wool-scouring plant. Pendleton is also home to the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, a state prison whose incarcerated population (roughly 1,600) is counted within the city’s official census total – directly InmateAid-relevant.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Umatilla County Veterans Service Office – 125 SE Court Ave, Suite 7, Pendleton, OR 97801 | (541) 278-6363 | Fax: (541) 278-5484 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Thu 8 AM-6 PM, Fri 8 AM-12 PM; CVSOs Lola Lopez and Sunshine Mason; also holds hours in Hermiston and Milton-Freewater (Wednesdays, appointment only).
Federal: Jonathan M. Wainwright VA Medical Center service area (Walla Walla, WA); Supportive Services for Veteran Families via Blue Mountain Action Council, (541) 276-1926.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Umatilla County Special Library District – countywide, tax-supported library district. Pendleton Public Library – confirm current address via pendletonor.gov/library; the original 1915 Carnegie library building at 214 N. Main Street is now the Pendleton Center for the Arts (NRHP-listed 1997), having served as the library until 1996.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Pendleton Round-Up Grounds, Pendleton Woolen Mills tours, and the Blue Mountains (Umatilla National Forest) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Pendleton Round-Up heritage – one of the world’s ten largest rodeos – is one of the most nationally recognized facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Umatilla County Assessor – confirm current phone via co.umatilla.or.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: PAWS (Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter) / Pioneer Humane Society – a private, no-kill nonprofit founded 1975, serving Umatilla County; contracted with the City of Pendleton to care for impounded stray dogs; offers spay/neuter assistance and a pet food program.
Tribal: Umatilla Tribal Police Department – 73303 July Grounds Lane, Pendleton, OR 97801 | (541) 278-0550.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Umatilla County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via co.umatilla.or.us.
NOTES: Umatilla County is the second county in the Oregon v2 redo’s fifth and final batch (Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, Washington, Wheeler, Yamhill). The genuine Pendleton Round-Up – one of the largest rodeos in the world – and the presence of the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution make this a distinctive and InmateAid-relevant county. 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 Umatilla County
Umatilla County is northeast Oregon’s Pendleton Round-Up and wheat country county – the legendary September rodeo and the rolling wheat fields of the Blue Mountain foothills define a county whose cowboy and Indigenous heritage, Pendleton Woolen Mills, and Umatilla tribal presence give it one of Oregon’s most distinctively Western identities.
Pendleton (the county seat, population ~17,000) is Umatilla County’s governmental and cultural hub, an Oregon rodeo city whose Round-Up heritage, woolen mills, and wheat country character make it one of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic small cities.
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Umatilla County Assessor at 216 SE 4th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801, phone 541-278-6219. OR assessed with Measure 50 limitations.
Courts & Legal
Umatilla County Circuit Court at 216 SE 4th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801, phone 541-278-0341, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
216 SE 4th St, Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 278-6254
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Umatilla County Circuit Court, Pendleton (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are headquartered nearby, making tribal genealogical resources especially relevant.
Local societies
No dedicated Umatilla 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
Umatilla County Circuit Court 216 SE 4th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801 (541) 278-0341 Umatilla County is in northeastern Oregon, seated in Pendleton – home of the Pendleton Round-Up.
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. Probate is handled in the probate department of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent lived (ORS 111.085). 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 Circuit Court in the county where the decedent resided (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 Umatilla 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
4700 NW Pioneer Pl, Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 966-3651
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
216 SE 4th St, Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 278-6254
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
331 SE 4th St, Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 966-3800
Department of Human Services
700 SE Emigrant Ave, Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 278-5960
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Umatilla County Public Health – confirm current contact via co.umatilla.or.us.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Pendleton
Population: 78,000
Established: 1862
Tier: 2
Public Records
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