Echo Map
Echo is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 650 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The original Oregon Trail passed just south of Echo. When the Columbia Plateau Route opened in 1847, it passed directly through Echo, crossing the Umatilla River. This eventually became the primary route of the Oregon Trail. Frequently pioneers would stay in Lower Crossing Camp, also located in Echo (the Upper Crossing being at Pendleton). In the 1860s, settlers began moving into the area, and built a ferry crossing the Umatilla River at Echo. The city of Echo is named after Echo Koontz, daughter of JH Koontz and W (Brassfield) Koontz, who were town promoters. Agriculture was the first draw, with alfalfa and corn being the main crops. A town was platted by 1880, and the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company built a railroad through the Echo by 1883, which made the town a shipping point for wool, cattle and sheep during the early 1900s. Echo was incorporated in 1904.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.
Nearby cities include Umatilla, Irrigon, Stanfield, Hermiston.