Umatilla County is named for Umatilla City on the Umatilla River, and Umatilla is the name of a Sahapin speaking Native American group who resided in the area.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Columbia County, Washington
E – Wallowa County and Union County
S – Union County and Grant County
W – Morrow County
Created: September 27, 1862
County Seat:
Marshall Station 1862 – 1865
Umatilla City 1865 – 1868
Pendleton 1868 – present
County Courthouse – Pendleton
Location: 216 SE 4th Street / SE Court Avenue
Built: 1954 – 1956
Style: Modern
Architect: Roald, Schmeer & Harrington of Portland
Contractor: McCormack Construction Company
Description: The building faces west and is a three story red-orange colored brick and concrete structure. The first story has red colored stone facing with a central recessed entrance. The windows on the second and third stories are vertical with a light colored panel between the upper and lower windows. There are north and south one story wings which extend from the main building. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County Circuit of the 7th Judicial District. At the northwest corner is the clock tower with the clock from the old 1889 courthouse.
Note: When the 1889 Umatilla County Courthouse was torn down in 1954 to make way for the present building, the 4-faced clock was salvaged by a crane from its fancy French tower. The County donated the clock to the City of Pendleton, if they would install the old timepiece in a tower to be built atop City Hall. For whatever reasons, no doubt financial in nature, the City never made the necessary modifications to City Hall to accommodate the clock. So it sat in a warehouse at the City Shops, for nearly thirty years.
County Government Center – Hermiston
Location: 915 SE Columbia Drive / Port Drive
Built: 2006 – 2007
Style: Modern
Architect: Gail Sargent Architects of Umatilla
Contractor: Walker Construction of Spokane, Washington
Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story steel, red-orange colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the southeast of the center of Hermiston. The second story is recessed with a one story section extending south. The main entrance is located towards the east side of the southeast front. A vertical concrete band runs above the first and second stories. The roof line is flat. In the interior there is an exposed stained concrete radius staircase and entrance lobby. The two County Circuit Court courtrooms with ornate woodwork are located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit of the 7th Judicial District. The building is named as the Stafford Hansell Government Center.
Note: The old courthouse was burned by arson in 2005.
See: The 6th Judicial District includes Morrow County.
History: The county was created in 1862 and Marshall Station was designated as the county seat. The county seat was moved to Umatilla Cityn in 1865. The first courthouse was built in 1866. The county seat was the moved to Pendleton in The second courthouse was a two story frame structure built in 1869. The third courthouse was a three story brick structure designed by George W Babcock and constructed by E R Parks in 1889. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1953 to 1954.
County Courthouse – Pendleton
County Government Center – Hermiston
Photos taken 2012 and 2025
Images 11