Grant County
County seat
Canyon City
Judicial district
24th Judicial District (Grant and Harney counties). Grant County Circuit Court, Grant County Courthouse.
County website
Population, 2020 Census
7,233
Area
4,528 square miles of land
Federal land
| 61.2% | All federal agencies |
| 54.9% | Forest Service |
| 6.0% | BLM |
| 0.2% | National Park Service |
Land and economy
About 7,200 people live in Grant County, just over half of them in John Day, Canyon City, Prairie City and Mount Vernon. Forest products, agriculture, hunting, livestock and recreation are the principal industries (Oregon Blue Book). The Malheur National Forest supervisor’s office is in John Day, and the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds draws visitors. U.S. 26 and U.S. 395 are the main highways (Grant County). The John Day Industrial Park is beside the Grant County Regional Airport.
The valley floor along the John Day River and its forks is irrigated ranch and farm ground, framed by National Forest. About three-fifths of the county is federal, nearly all of it Forest Service. Outside the cities, the county’s 2019 Land Development Code governs what can be built or divided. The county surveyor keeps survey and corner records, and irrigation water is administered from the watermaster’s office in Canyon City.
Cities
| City | Population, 2020 |
|---|---|
| John Day. The county's largest city, on the John Day River. Malheur National Forest headquarters and the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site are here. City hall: 450 E Main Street, John Day, OR 97845, 541-575-0028. | 1,664 |
| Prairie City. At the upper end of the John Day Valley below Strawberry Mountain on U.S. 26. The DeWitt Museum is in the restored depot. City hall: 133 S Bridge Street, Prairie City, OR 97869, 541-820-3605. | 841 |
| Canyon City, county seat. Two miles south of John Day. The county courthouse and the Grant County Historical Museum are here. City hall: 123 S Washington Street, Canyon City, OR 97820, 541-575-0509. | 660 |
| Mount Vernon. On the John Day River west of John Day, at the junction of Highways 26 and 395. A ranching community. City hall: 290 W Main Street, Mount Vernon, OR 97865, 541-932-4688. | 548 |
| Long Creek. In a ranching valley in the north of the county, on Highway 395. City hall: 250 Hardisty Street, Long Creek, OR 97856, 541-421-3601. | 173 |
| Seneca. In Bear Valley on Highway 395 between John Day and Burns, at about 4,600 feet in the Malheur National Forest. City hall: 106 A Avenue, Seneca, OR 97873, 541-542-2161. | 165 |
| Dayville. On the John Day River at the South Fork on U.S. 26, near the Sheep Rock Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. City hall: 3 Park Lane, Dayville, OR 97825, 541-987-2188. | 132 |
| Monument. At the confluence of the North Fork and the main stem of the John Day River, on Highway 402. City hall: 291 Main Street, Monument, OR 97864, 541-934-2025. | 115 |
| Granite. A former gold camp in the Blue Mountains at 4,695 feet. City hall: 1378 Main Street, Granite, OR 97877, 541-755-5100. | 32 |
Unincorporated communities: Austin, Bates, Beech Creek, Cabell City, Courtrock, Dale, Fox, Galena, Hamilton, Izee, Kimberly, Range, Ritter, Robinsonville, Silvies, Susanville, Three Forks.
2020 Census, P.L. 94-171 Redistricting File, place level. City hall addresses, phone numbers and incorporation years from the Oregon Blue Book city pages, read 2026-09-05. Blurb facts from the Oregon Encyclopedia (Kam Wah Chung and Co., Long Creek, Seneca) and the sources cited in the narrative and further reading.
Courts and public offices
Appeals go to the Oregon Court of Appeals in Salem. Federal cases from the county are filed in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon and heard in the Pendleton Division.
- Grant County Circuit CourtGrant County Courthouse, 201 S Humbolt Street, Canyon City, OR 97820 · 541-575-1438 · courts.oregon.gov. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday, excluding holidays. Grant and Harney counties share one elected circuit judge.
- County Clerk (recording, elections, passports, Property Value Appeals Board)201 S Humbolt Street, Suite 290, Canyon City, OR 97820 · 541-575-1675 · grantcountyoregon.net · Recording. Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 5 (open through lunch), Friday 8 to 12
- County Assessor and Tax Collector (property records, tax maps, tax statements)201 S Humbolt Street, Canyon City, OR 97820 · 541-575-0107 · grantcountyoregon.net · Property search · Tax lot maps. Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 5, Friday 8 to 12
- County Surveyor (survey records, corner records, road petitions)217 N Canyon Boulevard, John Day, OR 97845 · 541-575-1251 · grantcountyoregon.net · Survey records. The county surveyor is in private practice (Benchmark Land Surveying, Inc.) and keeps a separate office, as in most rural Oregon counties.
- Planning Department (zoning, partitions, subdivisions, land use applications, building permits)201 S Humbolt Street, Suite 170, Canyon City, OR 97820 · 541-575-1519 · grantcountyoregon.net. Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 5 (open through lunch), Friday 8 to 12
- Sheriff, civil division (service and enforcement of civil process)205 S Humbolt Street, Canyon City, OR 97820 · 541-575-1131 · grantcountyoregon.net
- County Court (county governing body: a county judge and two commissioners, meeting the first and third Wednesday of the month)201 S Humbolt Street, Suite 280, Canyon City, OR 97820 · 541-575-0059 · grantcountyoregon.net. Monday to Thursday 8 to 3:30, Friday 8 to 12. Grant County is governed by a three-member County Court rather than a board of commissioners, a form several rural Oregon counties still use.
- Watermaster, Oregon Water Resources Department (water rights regulation and distribution)201 S Humbolt Street, Canyon City, OR 97820 · 541-575-0119 or 541-620-0447 · oregon.gov. Address and phone from the county directory; confirm the watermaster district number from the OWRD directory.
- United States District Court, District of Oregon, Pendleton Division (federal cases from Grant County)John F. Kilkenny U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, 104 SW Dorion Avenue, Pendleton, OR 97801 · Clerk's office, Portland, 503-326-8000 · ord.uscourts.gov. The Pendleton courthouse is not staffed; filings go to the Portland clerk.
National forests and public land
- Malheur National ForestSupervisor's office in John Day, combined with the Blue Mountain Ranger District.
- Malheur National Forest Headquarters / Blue Mountain Ranger District431 Patterson Bridge Road, John Day, OR 97845 · 541-575-3000
- Prairie City Ranger District, Malheur National Forest327 SW Front Street, Prairie City, OR 97869 · 541-820-3800
- Strawberry Mountain WildernessAbout 68,700 acres east of John Day, headwaters of Canyon, Strawberry and other creeks.
- Monument Rock WildernessAbout 19,620 acres at the southern edge of the Blue Mountains, spanning the Malheur and Wallowa-Whitman national forests.
- Umatilla National ForestThe forest's ground in the northeast of the county, around the Greenhorn Mountains, is administered from the North Fork John Day Ranger District.
- North Fork John Day Ranger District, Umatilla National Forest401 Main Street, Ukiah, OR 97880 · 541-427-3231
- North Fork John Day WildernessIn the Greenhorn Mountains at the forest's southeast corner; the highest peaks on the Umatilla National Forest.
- Wallowa-Whitman National ForestA small part of the county lies in this forest, which is headquartered in Baker City.
- BLM Prineville District Office3050 NE 3rd Street, Prineville, OR 97754 · 541-416-6700 · BLM ground in Grant County is managed from the Prineville District.
- John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Sheep Rock Unit32651 Highway 19, Kimberly, OR 97848 · 541-987-2333 · National Park Service; the Thomas Condon Visitor Center and Cant Ranch Museum are here, between Dayville and Kimberly. The monument's other two units, Painted Hills and Clarno, are in Wheeler County.
Maps and property records
- Grant County Assessor Map SearchArcGIS parcel viewer; not linked from the county's own pages, verified live 2026-09-05.
- Grant County Surveyor's WebsiteRecorded surveys and tax lot maps by township, range and section.
- Assessor property searchReal property values, ownership and current taxes by account, name or address.
- ORMAPStatewide tax maps; linked from the county's own Maps page.
- Grant County road mapCounty roads, from the Road Department.
Laws and land use rules
- Grant County 2019 Land Development Code and Comprehensive Land Use PlanLand Development Code by chapter and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, from the Planning Department.
- John Day Code of Ordinances and Land Development CodeOn Municode; the only Grant County city code found there.
Development
- Grant County Economic DevelopmentBusiness resources and the Grant County Enterprise Zone; office at 201 S Humbolt Street, Suite 280, Canyon City.
- John Day Industrial ParkAirport-based industrial lots for sale from the City of John Day, 541-575-0028.
- Grant County Regional AirportAbout a mile southwest of John Day, beside the industrial park; also a Forest Service helibase.
- Grant County Chamber of Commerce301 W. Main Street, John Day; business directory and events.
- Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative Economic DevelopmentRegional help for Baker, Grant, Harney and Union counties: incentives, a revolving loan fund, available properties.
Resources
- Oregon Judicial Department self-helpForms, fee waivers, representing yourself in circuit court.
- OJD eFileElectronic filing in Oregon circuit courts.
- OJCIN OnlineCase records and calendars.
- BLM General Land Office RecordsOriginal patents and survey plats from the 1860s.
- Oregon Water Resources Department water rightsCertificates, permits, points of diversion.
- Oregon Water Resources Department watermaster directory
- Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
History
Gold found at Whiskey Flat on Canyon Creek in 1862 brought about a thousand miners within ten days, and the legislature created Grant County from Wasco and Umatilla counties on October 14, 1864, with the seat at Canyon City (Oregon Blue Book). Stock raising and farming became the main work as mining declined (Oregon Blue Book).
Further reading
- Oregon Blue Book: Grant CountyOregon Secretary of State
- HistoryGrant County
- Grant County Historical MuseumGrant County Historical Society101 S Canyon Boulevard, Canyon City, OR 97820101 S Canyon Boulevard, Canyon City.
- Kam Wah Chung State Heritage SiteOregon Parks and Recreation Department125 NW Canton Street, John Day, OR 97845125 NW Canton Street, John Day; the historic building and interpretive center.
- Kam Wah Chung and Co.Jodi Varon, Oregon Encyclopedia, 2024
- John Day River (north-central Oregon)Gregory P. Shine, Oregon Encyclopedia
Sources for the figures
- Population: 2020 Census, P.L. 94-171 Redistricting File, Oregon, table P1
- Area: Census Bureau 2020 Gazetteer, Oregon counties: 4,527.79 sq mi land, 0.73 water; matches the Oregon Blue Book's own figure of 4,528 sq mi
- Federal land: BLM National Surface Management Agency dataset, clipped to the Census county boundary and measured in Albers equal-area by maps/fedland.py; SMA data edited 2026-07-03; computed 2026-09-05. State of Oregon 29,900 acres (1.0 percent); private 1,094,200 acres (37.8 percent); 100 acres coded undetermined. The Oregon Blue Book states that more than 60 percent of the county is in public ownership, consistent with this figure.
- Unincorporated places: USGS Geographic Names Information System, Oregon populated places, downloaded 2026-09-05; historical entries and Porterville (historical) and Caverhill (historical) omitted
- County, court and city addresses checked Sat Sep 05.