Links to Okanogan County, Washington

Chelan County was formed from Okanogan County (the area around Lake Chelan) and Kittitas Counties (the area around Wenatchee) in 1899. Stevens County and Yakima County were grandparents of Chelan County. For a brief time, just at the taking of the 1880 Federal Census, there was a military outpost on Lake Chelan. The soldiers at Camp Chelan and some of their families were enumerated on the census of Stevens County.

Douglas County was formed in 1883 from Lincoln County and included what is now Grant County. Briefly a townsite and precinct named Okanogan existed in Douglas County (7 miles east of present-day Waterville). Okanogan was the first county seat of Douglas County but soon died for lack of water. Okanogan townsite and precinct were never part of Okanogan County.

Ferry County was formed in 1899 from Stevens County. Okanogan County has close ties with Ferry County.

Grant County was formed in 1909 from Douglas County. An Okanogan County couple in the Grand Coulee Dam area may have decided it was easier to go to Grant County to get a marriage license than to go all the way to the Okanogan court house.

Lincoln County was formed in 1883 from Spokane County. An Okanogan County couple in the Grand Coulee Dam area may have decided it was easier to go to Lincoln County to get a marriage license than to go all the way to the Okanogan court house.

Skagit County was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County. Skagit County is adjacent to Okanogan County. However, their mutual border is the high Cascade Mountain Range. Indians established a trail to the Puget Sound Region ("the Coast" as residents of the Okanogan Country now call it). If an occasional miner crossed into Skagit County, it was probably not to create records but to find gold. Today the Methow (METT-HOW) Valley in Okanogan County connects to Skagit County and the Puget Sound Region by the 27-year-old rugged North Cascades Highway, which is closed during winter months.

Stevens County was created from Walla Walla County (an original county 1854) in 1863 and became the parent county of Okanogan in 1888. Stevens was also the parent county of Whitman County (1871), Ferry County (1899) and Pend Oreille County (1911) and the grandparent of Chelan County. Even in the earliest times of settlement, the people of the Okanogan Country went over the Okanogan Highlands to Fort Colville in the Kettle Valley in what is present-day Stevens County. The scene at Fort Colville was part of the social life of early Okanogan Country settlers.

Whatcom County is adjacent to Okanogan County. However, their mutual border is the high Cascade Mountain Range. If anyone crossed the county border there, it was probably not to leave records.

See the Okanagan-Similkameen and Kootenay areas of British Columbia, which are adjacent to Okanogan County, Washington, at the 49th parallel.

Okanogan County lovebirds, like many other Washington residents, eloped to Idaho after Washington State instituted a 3-day waiting period.

Check its holdings list for Okanogan County items created on the state, county, municipal, school district, and individual level. Call ahead for an appointment with the archivist.

The North Central Washington Regional Library System covers 5 counties (Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas, Ferry, and Grant), 15,000 square miles, and 145,000 people. There is a regional map and an individual map for each county.

This Salish Indian word, meaning "rendezvous," has at least 54 variant spellings.

Cyndi Howells of Tacoma, Washington, compiles a comprehensive, well-organized list of over 40,150 genealogical sites online, categorized and cross-referenced, in over 90 categories.

More to follow.

Return to Okanogan County