Klickitat County, located in south central Washington, has a geographic area of 1,904 square miles and ranks 30th in size among Washington's 39 counties. The area was once home to the Klickitat and Wishram tribes, both of which ceded the land to the U.S. government in 1855. Bordering Klickitat County are Skamania County to the west, Yakima County to the north, and Benton County to the east. The Columbia River forms the southern border. The southernmost portion of the Yakima Indian Reservation extends into northern Klickitat County. The Klickitat and White Salmon rivers, both tributaries of the Columbia, flow through Klickitat County. The county's economy has been based on sheep and cattle raising, wheat, orchards, timber, and aluminum, Windmills and the county is home to the Maryhill Museum.
Goldendale, established by John J. Golden in 1872, was Klickitat County's first town. As of 2013, the Population of Goldendale was 3,452, making it the largest town. Klickitat County's population is 20,866, two-thirds of whom live in unincorporated portions of the county.
On November 5, 1878, Klickitat County residents voted to make Goldendale their county seat. The following year the town incorporated under Washington Territorial laws and on April 15, 1902, re-incorporated under Washington state laws. The Goldendale Sentinel, which in the 1910's ran with a banner summing up Klickitat County's charms as "Where The Rain And Sunshine Meet," was founded in 1879 and remains the County's main newspaper.
