Tumalo is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 community in Deschutes County

Deschutes County, Oregon

-National protected areas:* Deschutes National Forest * Newberry National Volcanic Monument-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 115,367 people, 45,595 households, and 31,962 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 54,583...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 on U.S. Route 20

U.S. Route 20 in Oregon

U.S. Route 20 in Oregon is a major east–west cross-state highway, especially east of the Cascade Mountains. It connects U.S. Route 101 in Newport on the central Oregon Coast to the Idaho state line east of Nyssa.- Route description :...

 between Sisters

Sisters, Oregon

Sisters is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 959 at the 2000 census, but more than doubled to 2038 as of the 2010 census.- History :...

 and Bend

Bend, Oregon

Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States, and the principal city of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, and, despite its modest size, is the de facto metropolis of the region, owing to the low population...

. It is eight miles south of Eagle Crest Resort

Eagle Crest Resort

Eagle Crest Resort is a destination resort complex in the U.S. state of Oregon. The resort has a large hotel, a conference center, three golf courses, and three major housing developments each with multiple subdivisions. The resort is located west of Redmond in Central Oregon...

. In the Klamath language, tumolo means "wild plum," a plentiful shrub in south central Oregon. Tumola means "ground fog," which may have described Tumalo Creek. Tumallowa, the original name of Tumalo Creek, means "icy water." [see 2 below]

The town was originally called Laidlaw, after W. A. Laidlaw, the town promoter. The Tumalo Irrigation Project

Tumalo Irrigation Project

The Tumalo Irrigation Project was a privately funded corporation begun to provide water to late-19th century farms in the area of Tumalo Creek, Oregon. The Three Sisters Irrigation Company and its successors owned and managed the project, under the provisions of the Carey Act. Controversy arose...

and Tumalo post office had been established in 1904. Although the project ended and the Tumalo post office closed in 1913, by 1915 residents of Laidlaw changed the town name to Tumalo.