Very little is known about the actual history of the town of North Powder. It is known that from 1840 through the 1870´s, more than 300,000 emigrants passed westward on the Oregon Trail that crossed the Powder River and entered a stage station at the present site of North Powder.

At the time of incorporation, North Powder was a fair size town boasting twelve businesses, three churches, a local school servicing all grades and a local newspaper, "The Powder Valley Echo". The city also housed an ice plant, harvesting ice from an artificial lake, for more than forty years.  The North Powder ice plant provided ice to the Pacific Fruit and Express Company for use in their rail cars until the plant burned down in 1937.  Today, timber and agriculture are the two major industries for the town.

North Powder sits at the heart of a recreational area containing Pilcher Creek Reservoir, Wolf Creek reservoir and thief Valley Reservoir.  This little town is just a hop and a skip from accessing a ton of outdoor activities including skiing (Anthony Lakes Ski Resort), fishing, boating, camping and snowmobiling.

Demographics

• Population - 448
• Approximate Number of Families - 206
• Elevation - 3,256 ft.
• Mean travel time to work - 30.6 minutes
• Nearest major highway ? I-84
• Nearest city with population of 50,000 +: Kennewick, WA (117.6 miles)
• Nearest city with population of 200,000 +: Portland, OR (326 miles)
• Nearest cities: Haines (8.3 miles), Union (13.0 miles), Baker City (18.5 miles)
• Nearest University - Eastern Oregon University (24 miles, La Grande)

Climate

• Average low temperature - 24 degrees F.
• Average high temperature - 84 degrees F.
• Hottest month is August, coldest month is January
• Driest month is July, wettest month is May
• Average annual precipitation 13.79 inches