Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for the Columbia River, which forms its eastern and northern borders. As of 2000, its population was 43,560. The county seat is St. Helens.
The primary industries are wood products and paper manufacturing, trade, construction and horticulture. The extensive stands of old growth timber, which had attracted many of the early settlers to the area, were completely logged ov...
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Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for the Columbia River, which forms its eastern and northern borders. As of 2000, its population was 43,560. The county seat is St. Helens.
The primary industries are wood products and paper manufacturing, trade, construction and horticulture. The extensive stands of old growth timber, which had attracted many of the early settlers to the area, were completely logged over by the 1950s. Second-growth timber provides the raw material for local lumber and paper mills. About half the county's workforce commutes out of the county to work, most to the nearby Portland, Oregon metro area. Columbia County's average nonfarm employment was 10,740 in 2007.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 688 square miles (1,783 km²), of which 657 square miles (1,701 km²) is land and 32 square miles (82 km²) (4.59%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,560 people, 16,375 households, and 12...
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