Built upon the hills of the Columbia Gorge,
The Dalles terrain is a combination of
forests, orchards, and high desert, offering
great outdoor recreation and an area rich
in history and resources.
Less than an hour away, the majestic
Mt. Hood, 11,235 feet high, provides a
winter paradise for skiers, hikers, mountain
climbers or those who just want to
experience its grandeur. Grand vista views
also include Mt. Adams, the Klickitats and
the Columbia River.
In about 45 minutes you can find
yourself whitewater rafting on the
Deschutes River or salmon fishing at the
mouth of any of the tributaries that spill
into the Columbia. The Dalles has served
as a center of trade for more than 10,000 years and is the Wasco County seat,
providing service to over 70,000 residents of Wasco, Sherman and Hood River counties in Oregon, as well as Klickitat
and Skamania counties in Washington. Our downtown area is a registered
historic district featuring architecture
from the late 1800s and the early 1900s.
Climate
Located east of the Cascade Mountain
Range, The Dalles experiences four
distinct seasons, yet finds sunny skies
throughout most of each. Precipitation
annually averages 14.41 inches. The
average for the period from November
through March is 10.89 inches, with only 3.62 inches of precipitation in the other seven months of the year.
The average high/low temperatures
for the month of January are 41.1º/28.2º
and July, 99.1º/61º.
Population
The population of The Dalles was listed
in 2005 at 12,503. This is about half of population for Wasco County, which is 23,669.
Education
North Wasco County School District #21
3632 West 10th St.,The Dalles
541-296-6149 I www.nwasco.k12.or.us
Chenowith Elementary
922 Chenowith Loop W.
541-296-9127
Colonel Wright
Elementary
610 West 14th St.
541-296-6197
Dry Hollow Elementary
1314 East 19th St.
541-296-4624
Mosier Community
School Charter
541-478-3321
The Dalles Middle
School
1100 East 12th St.
541-296-4616
Wahtonka Campus,
9th grade
3601 West 10th St.
541-296-4633
The Dalles-Wahtonka
Union High School
220 East 10th St.
541-296-4601
This district serves approximately 3,000
students in Kindergarten through grade 12.
Three elementary schools serve grades
Kindergarten through fifth. The sixth
through eighth grades are located at The
Dalles Middle School. The two high schools
have been unified to form one 4A high
school. The ninth grade is located on the
Wahtonka campus and grades 10 through 12
are located on The Dalles campus. The
district is organized with a seven-member
elected board of directors and a board appointed
budget committee. The district
employs over 160 teachers, counselors and
librarians, with an additional 185 support staff.
One Charter School, Mosier
Community School, serves approximately
100 students in grades K through 6. A
strong connection with Region 9 ESD
and Columbia Gorge Community College
exists to support an effective educational environment. There is strong support from
the administrative team, as well as the school
board, to establish a systemic and comprehensive
approach to teaching and learning.
Columbia Gorge Community College
400 East Scenic Drive
541-506-6000
www.cgcc.cc.or.us
Located at the southern edge of town on
the highest point overlooking the Columbia
River Gorge, CGCC actively participates in
moving the community successfully into
the 21st century through educational
leadership, workforce training, economic
development and community partnerships.
The school is accredited through its
association with Portland Community
College by the Northwest Association of
Schools and Colleges. Specific college
course work is approved for transfer to
other colleges and universities. In addition,
CGCC college courses are offered in Hood
River County in cooperation with Hood
River County School District and other
college partners. Today the college serves
over 6,000 students who chose CGCC from
all over the Mid-Columbia region from both
Oregon and Washington. CGCC offers a
supportive environment focused on
“Building Dreams and Transforming Lives.”
St. Mary’s Academy
1112 Cherry Heights, The Dalles
541 296-6004, 541-296-2312, Day Care
www.stmarysacademythedalles.com
Founded in 1864 by the Sisters of The Holy
Names, St. Mary’s Academy has had a direct
impact on education and our community for
140 years. The academy currently has 199 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth
grade, half of whom are Catholic. St. Mary’s
firmly believes in teaching the whole child.
Religion, language arts, social studies, science,
math, computers, art, music and physical
education make up the body of the students’
education. In addition, many activities are offered
that are not based on the primary curricula,
yet add to the student’s overall development.
After-school sports and band are available to
students in the fifth through eighth grades.
History of The Dalles
The first white men documented to have
set foot on the site of the present city
were Lewis and Clark in October 1805.
Here they encountered the largest
gathering of Native Americans and the first
“wood” constructed homes since leaving
St. Louis. They had arrived during the
traditional gathering time of the bands for
the purpose of fishing, trade and family
reunions. The party spent October 25 and
26, 1805, at the camp near the present core
area and named it “Fort Rock.” On the
return trip, April 1806, they again
encamped in The Dalles, this time a little
further up Mill Creek.
The first organized wagon train
crossed the continent in 1843, arriving at
The Dalles in the late fall, establishing this
point as the end of the main lines of the
old Oregon Trail, the most historic
migration of people during peacetime.
Early 1848, directly following the
Whitman massacre, volunteer militia
raised by the Provisional Territorial
Government occupied the abandoned Wascopam Mission buildings. In the
autumn of 1849, The Rifle Regiment, the
first U.S. Army presence, passed through
The Dalles on their way to Vancouver. Two
companies returned in May 1850 to
establish Camp Drum, which became Fort
Drum and then Fort Dalles, in 1853.
Having signed treaties with the Indians
in 1855, the U.S. government was faced
with enforcing them. Colonel George
Wright arrived in May 1856 with several
companies of the U.S. 9th Infantry, and the
resulting “Yakama Indian War” lasted until
autumn 1858, when the Indians were finally
defeated and forced onto reservations.
Today, the remnants of Fort Dalles
still stands including “The Surgeon’s
Quarters,” one of the finest examples of
gothic architecture west of the Mississippi.
Once established, Wasco County
included all of eastern Oregon, eastern
Washington, parts of Idaho, Montana and
Wyoming. It was the largest county ever
created in the United States.
