Echo is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 699 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Mi…Echo is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 699 at the 2010 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. 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 Cynthia and J. H. Koontz. 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 Echo by 1883, which made the town a shipping point for wool, cattle and sheep during the early 1900s. Echo was incorporated in 1904. On December 22, 1927, William Edward Hickman, the murderer of Marion Parker in Los Angeles on December 17, was arrested by police near the town. The place of Hickman's arrest was commemorated by a billboard.
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