Oregon County /

Oregon County is a county located in South Central Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county's population was 10,344. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 10,264. Its county seat is Alton. The county was officially organized on February 14, 1845, and was named for the Oregon Territory in the northwestern United States. Home to a large area of the Mark Twain National Forest, Oregon County contains more National Forest land than any other county in Missouri. It also contains the Irish Wilderness, the largest federally protected wilderness area in the state. Hiking and backpacking opportunities abound on the Ozark Trail and the White's Creek Trail. Canoeing and fishing are popular on the Eleven Point River, which is Missouri's only National Wild and Scenic River. Grand Gulf State Park is a Missouri state park just west of Thayer which includes a collapsed karst canyon. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 792 square miles (2,050 km²), of which, 791 square miles (2,050 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.02%) is water. During the American Civil War, men from Oregon County marched off to fight