Grant County Juvenile Dept.
201S. Humbolt
Canyon City, OR 97820

www.grantcounty.cc

Grant County was created October 14, 1864, from parts of Wasco and Umatilla Counties, and was named for General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was assigned to help protect the early settlers in Oregon in the 1850's before becoming famous for leading the Union Army to victory in the Civil War.

The County consists of 4,528 Square miles, and is drained primarily by the four forks of the John Day River, which eventually flows into the Columbia River. Population of the County in 1985 was 8,230 people.

Any history of John Day would be incomplete without mention of the John Day Fossil Beds. Since the late 1800s, scientists have been sifting through the unique record of ancient life preserved in the volcanic ash of the fossil beds. Over 14,000 acres of the fossil beds are now a part of our National Park system, having been designated a National Monument in 1974. The beds contain bones, leaves, wood, nuts and seeds which paint a fascinating picture of the Age of Mammals - the time between the extinction of the dinosaurs and the beginning of the Ice Age.