Moro, Oregon
A Tiny Town with Deep Roots
By Steve Lent, Crook County Historian
Set high on the golden plains of north-central Oregon, Moro is more than just the smallest county seat in the state—it’s a place where wheat waves in the wind, history lives in century-old buildings, and the community ties run deep across generations. Though it covers less than half a square mile and has never counted more than 420 residents, Moro has quietly played a central role in the life of Sherman County for well over a century.
The surrounding landscape is classic Columbia Plateau—wide-open skies, rolling wheat fields, and rugged canyons carved by the John Day and Deschutes Rivers. Sherman County itself is a narrow rectangle, about 20 miles wide and 42 miles long, bordered by deep river gorges and steep canyons like Buck Hollow to the south. With six small towns spaced like mile markers across its length, Sherman County is home to around 1,900 people—many of whom can trace their roots back to the first families who staked claims here in the 19th century.
Moro’s story begins in the 1860s, when Euro-American settlers first arrived in the area. Among them was Henry Barnum, who built a homestead in 1868 and later ran a trading post that became the nucleus of what would become Moro. Exactly how the town got its name remains a bit of a mystery. Some say it was named after Moro, Illinois, the hometown of Judge O.M. Scott. Others believe it was a nod to the Moore brothers—timbermen from southern Oregon—who invested in the early development of the town.
The name “Moro” officially appeared in 1884 with the establishment of a post office, and Andrew F. Zumwalt was appointed the first postmaster. Shortly after, a pair of local merchants, Scott and McCoy, laid out the original townsite. The Moore brothers later took over the property in 1887, opening a major general store and spurring further growth. While Moro had yet to be incorporated, its fortunes shifted in 1889 when Sherman County was carved from the northeast corner of Wasco County. Though the town of Wasco initially became the county seat, that changed two years later when state legislators redrew the county’s southern boundary. That adjustment made Moro a more central location—and the new county seat.
By the time the courthouse was completed in 1899, Moro had become a bustling hub for the surrounding wheat country. That same year, the town was officially incorporated. The arrival of the Columbia Southern Railroad in 1898 had turned Moro into a key shipping point for the region’s most valuable commodities: wheat and livestock. At its turn-of-the-century peak, Moro boasted hotels, a blacksmith, a flour mill, dry goods and mercantile stores, churches, schools, a newspaper office, and a proud county courthouse—one of only three in Oregon still operating in its original 19th-century building.
Today, Moro still stands at the heart of Sherman County, both geographically and culturally. The Sherman County Museum, located in town, keeps the community’s stories alive and showcases the resilience of the people who made their lives on this windswept plateau. Though small in size, Moro’s history—and its spirit—run deep.