Bandon, Oregon

Bandon, Oregon
—  City  —
Location in Oregon
Coordinates: 43°7′8″N 124°24′43″W
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Coos
Incorporated	1891
Government
• Mayor	Mary Schamehorn
Area
• Total	3.1 sq mi (8.0 km2)
• Land	2.8 sq mi (7.1 km2)
• Water	0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2)
Elevation	20 ft (6.10 m)
Population (2007)
• Total	3,066
• Density	1,029.4/sq mi (397.8/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
ZIP code	97411
Area code(s)	541
Twin cities
• Bandon	Ireland
FIPS code	41-03800
GNIS feature ID	1117219
Website	www.ci.bandon.or.us

Bandon ( /ˈbændən/) is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States, on the south side of the mouth of the Coquille River. It was named by George Bennet, an Irish peer, who settled nearby in 1873 and named the town after Bandon, Ireland, his native home. The population was 3,066 at the 2010 census. In 2010 Bandon was named one of the "Coolest Small Towns in America" by BudgetTravel.

History

Rock formations along the coast in Bandon (1994)

Before 1850, the Coquille Indians lived in the area. Then in 1851, gold was discovered at nearby Whiskey Run Beach by French Canadian trappers, though the gold rush did not have much of an impact on the area. In 1852, Henry Baldwin, from County Cork, Ireland, was shipwrecked on the Coos Bay bar and walked into this area. The first permanent settlers came in 1853 and established the present town site. In 1856, the first conflicts with Native Americans arose and the Native Americans were sent to the Siletz Reservation. In 1859, the boat Twin Sisters sailed into the Coquille River and opened the outlet for all inland produce and resources.

Bandon was founded by the Irish peer George Bennett in 1873. George Bennett, his sons Joseph and George, and George Sealey came from Bandon, Ireland. The following year the town's previous name of Averille was changed to Bandon after the town of the same name in Ireland. The next year, Joseph Williams and his three sons arrived, also from Bandon, Ireland. In 1877, the post office was established. In 1880, cheese making began. That same year, Congress appropriated money to build the jetty. In 1883, the first sawmill, school house, and Catholic church were built. In 1884, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the jetty.

George Bennett also introduced gorse (Ulex europaeus) into the local area, which in the following decades went wild and became a nuisance in both the town and in the neighboring countryside. Gorse, a spiny plant, grows so thickly a person cannot walk through it. It's a very oily plant. If a fire strikes, the gorse flares up quickly.

Cranberries have been grown in Bandon since 1885, when Charles McFarlin planted vines he brought from Massachusetts. McFarlin had originally come to pan for gold in California. He did not make his fortune, or even a living, so he turned to what he knew best. He brought vines from Cape Cod and planted them in the state's first cranberry bog near Hauser. This bog produced cranberries for eight decades. His variety adapted to growing conditions on the west coast. The variety was named McFarlin in his honor and was the principal variety grown on the west coast until overtaken by the Stevens variety. Bandon is also the location of the first cranberry bogs to be wet harvested, which is done by building dikes around the bogs then flooding them.

Fire

On September 26, 1936 a fire burned several miles of forest east of town. But a sudden shift in the wind drove the flames swiftly westward. Ignited by the forest fire, the town’s abundant gorse became engulfed in flames, Bandon resident D.H. Woomer told The Coos Bay Times. Bandon's entire commercial district was destroyed. The total loss stated at the time was $3 million USD, with 11 fatalities.

Ironically, the gorse was first introduced to the Oregon Coast by the founder of Bandon, Lord George Bennett, from his native Ireland.

Firefighters found that burning gorse reacted to having water squirted on it like a kitchen grease fire -- it simply spread burning gobs of gorse everywhere. Stewart Holbrook described this conflagration in his essay "The Gorse of Bandon."

Part of the commercial district had been erected on wooden pilings jutting out over the Coquille River not far from the South Jetty, accommodating river traffic at the merchants' doors. After the 1936 fire, when Bandon began to be rebuilt, the new perimeter of the business district did not extend beyond the available land.^{[citation needed]}

Today, there is still gorse in Bandon, but municipal codes strictly regulate how high and thick it may be allowed to get.

Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²), of which, 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) of it (10.97%) is water.

Climate

Climate data for Bandon, Oregon
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °F (°C)	54.3 (12.4)	55.6 (13.1)	56.2 (13.4)	58.2 (14.6)	61.1 (16.2)	64.3 (17.9)	66.9 (19.4)	67.7 (19.8)	67.6 (19.8)	63.7 (17.6)	57.3 (14.1)	54.0 (12.2)	55.8 (13.2)
Average low °F (°C)	38.2 (3.4)	39.3 (4.1)	39.7 (4.3)	41.3 (5.2)	44.7 (7.1)	48.5 (9.2)	51.0 (10.6)	50.8 (10.4)	48.0 (8.9)	44.0 (6.7)	41.4 (5.2)	38.2 (3.4)	43.8 (6.6)
Precipitation inches (mm)	9.22 (234.2)	7.76 (197.1)	7.39 (187.7)	4.61 (117.1)	3.16 (80.3)	1.63 (41.4)	0.43 (10.9)	0.90 (22.9)	1.63 (41.4)	3.88 (98.6)	9.13 (231.9)	9.71 (246.6)	59.45 (1,510)
Source:

Economy

Like many communities on the Oregon coast, Bandon had significant fishing and timber industries, which were greatly diminished by the 1980s, though some remnants still exist. Bandon's current economy revolves around wood products, fishing, tourism, and agriculture. The five largest employers in the area include Bandon Dunes Golf Course, Southern Coos Health District, School District #54C, Oregon Overseas Timber, and Hardin Optical.

Tourism

In tourism literature the city is often referred to as Bandon-by-the-Sea.

One popular tourist activity is storm watching.

West Coast Game Park Safari is located just south of Bandon.

Cranberry industry

Currently, Bandon is a center of cranberry production. More than 100 growers harvest about 1,600 acres (6.5 km²) around Bandon, raising 95 percent of Oregon's cranberries, and about 5% of the national crop. Production averages about 30 million pounds of berries. Harvest is in the fall. In 1994, 304,000 barrels (48,300 m³) were harvested—a record for Bandon. Some berries are trucked to Eugene and Albany. Others are taken to an Ocean Spray facility in Prosser, Washington, to be concentrated. This crop was introduced in 1855 by Charles McFarlin, for whom the McFarlin hybrid is named.

Cranberry Festival

The Annual Cranberry Festival takes place in the second weekend of September to celebrate the Cranberry harvest. The event draws tourists and participants from all areas of the Oregon coast, Washington and California. Begun in 1946, to honor the cranberry industry, 2010 will mark the 64th year of the event. Bandon has long been known as the "Cranberry Capital of Oregon".

Bandon cheese

In the past, dairy production and cheese making were an integral part of Bandon's economy. There is no longer a cheese production facility in Bandon, but the Bandon Cheese name lives on through the Tillamook County Creamery Association.

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Main article: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort

Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is a complex of four golf courses located just north of the city of Bandon.

Demographics

2000 Census data

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,833 people, 1,287 households, and 736 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,029.4 people per square mile (397.8/km²). There were 1,535 housing units at an average density of 557.8 per square mile (215.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.48% White, 0.25% African American, 1.94% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 3.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.75% of the population.

There were 1,287 households out of which 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the city the population dispersal was 19.1% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 29.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,492, and the median income for a family was $37,188. Males had a median income of $28,636 versus $22,722 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,051. About 11.9% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.1% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Lighthouse in Bandon, Oregon

• Bandon is known for its beaches and rock formations, including Face Rock.
• The Coquille River Lighthouse is on Coquille River's north jetty at Bullards Beach State Park.
• The Bandon Cranberry Festival is celebrated every fall as the cranberry harvest begins.
• Bandon State Airport

Notable people

• Bill Bradbury, Oregon Secretary of State
• Randal O'Toole, economist
• James V. Scotti, astronomer
• Timothy Zahn, Author

Media

• Bandon Western World - weekly newspaper

Sister cities

Bandon has one sister city:

• Bandon, Ireland

See also

• Port of Bandon
• Steamboats of the Coquille River (historical)

External links

• City of Bandon official website
• Bandon Chamber of Commerce
• Bandon Historical Museum
• Offbeat Oregon History article on gorse and the Bandon fire