John Day

History

The first homestead staked in what is now Grant County (then part of Wasco County), in 1862 by B. C. Trowbridge, was within the limits of the present city of John Day. The Eastern Oregon community was not as quick to grow as neighboring Canyon City, which was the county seat and center of the bustling mining industry in the area. Incrementally, local merchants and residents began relocating to John Day—primarily each time after severe fires in Canyon City: the Grant County Courthouse burned in 1870, Chinatown burned in 1885, and fires in 1898 and 1937 each devastated Canyon City's downtown. The first post office at "John Day City" was established in 1865, but was discontinued in 1871. It was reestablished in 1879 with the name John Day.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. John Day is surrounded by the Strawberry Mountains to the south and the Blue Mountains to the east. The bedrock geology of the John Day area is a complex assemblage of Permian to Triassic age metamorphic and igneous rocks which were added to the western North American continental margin by tectonic activity in the Triassic and Jurassic periods. Cenozoic age volcanic rocks related to the long-lived Columbia River Basalt emplacement were deposited above these bedrock units. The area around John Day contains some of the most important paleontological resources known. From about the time the dinosaurs disappeared right up until the Pleistocene, the region was subjected to significant volcanism and other processes that preserved many fossils. Because the matrix in which the fossils are entombed is datable, the fossils themselves can be dated with excellent precision. This gives paleontologists the ability to study how species changed over time and also how the relationship between ecosystems and climate changed. Despite its dry climate and inland location, John Day has as an oceanic climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system. However, it nearly qualifies as a steppe climate (Köppen BSk) due to its relative aridity, and as a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) due to its cold winter temperatures.

Race & ethnicity