Wheeler County, Oregon

Founding: 1899
Parent counties: Crook, Gilliam, and Grant

Namesake: Henry Wheeler, local resident
Seat: Fossil (1899–)

Land area: 1,715 square miles

Population (2020): 1,451

Population (historic): 2,443 (1900); 2,484 (1910); 2,791 (1920); 2,799 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1900–1950; 1990s

Subdivisions: Three cities

National Register listings: Two

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 259 (26.2%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 26.3%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 35.8%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 26.9%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,241
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,097
Average farmhouse size (1940): 5.1 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 359
Average farm size (1920): 111.7 acres
Sources of settlement: Missouri, Tennessee, California, Iowa, and Illinois
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Fossil

Namesake: Fossil deposits near the city site

Founding: 1876 (post office); 1881 (platting); 1891 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 447

Population (historic): 100 (1880); 288 (1900); 538 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1881–1930; 1940–1960; 1970s; 1990s
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 129 (45.4%)
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