Cottage Grove, Oregon

Cottage Grove, Oregon
—  City  —
Nickname(s): Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon
Location in Oregon
Coordinates: 43°47′41″N 123°3′9″W
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Lane
Incorporated	1887
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• City Manager	Richard Meyers
• Mayor	Gary Williams
Area
• Total	3.3 sq mi (8.6 km2)
• Land	3.2 sq mi (8.56 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation	640 ft (195 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	9,686
• Density	2,917/sq mi (1,126.3/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	97424, 97472
Area code(s)	541
FIPS code	41-15950
GNIS feature ID	1166636
Website	www.cottagegrove.org

Cottage Grove is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It received its name from its first postmaster, G. C. Pierce, in September 1861. Pierce's home at the time was in an oak grove. The population was 9,686 at the 2010 census. Cottage Grove is the the third largest city in Lane County.

History

Dorothea Lange photographed this Cottage Grove house being moved across town on October 1, 1939

The first white settlers came to Cottage Grove in 1848 via the Oregon Trail and then the Applegate Trail. Until that time, only the Kalapuya Native Americans occupied the southern territory of the Willamette Valley. The first post office was established in the house of Greenbery C. Pearce, who lived near Creswell, in 1855. As was common in Oregon pioneer days, post offices for locations would move with each new postmaster, and it wasn't until the later 1860s that the Cottage Grove post office arrived at its final location, in the extreme southwest of present-day Cottage Grove. When the Southern Pacific Railroad built their line through the area, they built their station more than half a mile to the northeast of the post office, starting a bitter neighborhood disagreement. Since the inhabitants near the post office would not allow it to be moved next to the railroad station, a post office was established near the station, called Lemati, after the Chinook word lemiti for mountain. In 1887, Cottage Grove was incorporated as a city, but the eastern community still used the name Lemati intermittently until both communities were merged on July 12, 1898.^{[citation needed]}

In 1863, gold was discovered in what became known as the Bohemia mining district on the Calapooya Divide southeast of the town, which was named after James "Bohemia" Johnson. Gold mining activities died down in the 1920s. A small mining village was built on the top of Bohemia Mountain. Later abandoned as mining dwindled, the Bohemia Saddle became a ghost town. The Cottage Grove Prospectors group now host a pancake breakfast each year at the top of the Bohemia Saddle.

Originally, the town of Cottage Grove ran alongside the west side of the Coast Fork of the Willamette River. Early settlers referred to the area as "Slab Town", due to the slabs of wood that were used to cover deep ruts in the muddy roads along the Applegate Trail. The wood planks allowed the wagons to continue safe passage during the rainy season. The railroad came in 1872 and helped develop the downtown business district along Main Street. In 1902, the Oregon Pacific and eastern Railroad hauled logs, ore, supplies, and passengers along the tracks that once ran beside Dorena Lake. Then in 1971, that stretch of tracks was known for scenic excursions, taking passengers along the lakeside, in a train called “the Goose”. Economic factors in the late eighties terminated rides on the Goose. In 1994 BLM acquired the abandoned stretch of tracks. Under the “Rails to Trails” program, 16 miles of former railway were paved to create the current Row River cycle trails. The City of Cottage Grove later acquired a three-mile stretch of land linking the Row River Trail to the historic downtown district.^{[citation needed]}

In 1926, Buster Keaton's The General was filmed in Cottage Grove and the surrounding countryside. The movie included a spectacular locomotive crash, and the wrecked train became a minor tourist attraction until it was dismantled for scrap during World War II. The 1973 movie Emperor of the North Pole was filmed in and around Cottage Grove, as were parts of the 1978 movie Animal House. The 25th anniversary of Animal House's release was celebrated by the citizens with a toga party on August 30, 2003, on Main Street. Main Street is where the climactic parade sequence from the movie was filmed. Portions of the movie Stand By Me were filmed along the railroad tracks east of Cottage Grove, which are now the Row River National Recreation Trail, a bicycle and walking trail. Ricochet River (2001), starring Kate Hudson, was filmed along the rivers surrounding Cottage Grove and the downtown area.^{[citation needed]}

The only existing covered railroad bridge west of the Mississippi River, the National Register of Historic Places-listed Chambers Railroad Bridge, is located in Cottage Grove. The City of Cottage Grove recently restored the Chambers Railroad Bridge.^{[citation needed]}

Cottage Grove has been awarded the All-America City Award by the National Civic League twice, in 1968 and 2004. Cottage Grove has been recognized as a Tree City USA by The Arbor Day Foundation for over a decade. In October of 2008, Cottage Grove was also the 17th city in the United States to be recognized as a Green Power Community.^{[citation needed]}

Attractions

Cottage Grove is known as the "Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon" with seven covered bridges near the city.^{[citation needed]} The city is also home to 21 murals located throughout downtown that reflect the history of the community.^{[citation needed]}

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²), of which 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²), or 0.60%, is water. Cottage Grove lies at the confluence of the Row River and the Coast Fork Willamette River. This confluence effectively marks the southern end of the Willamette Valley.

Demographics

Centennial Bridge and Veterans Memorial

2000 Census data

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,445 people, 3,264 households, and 2,183 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,561.6 people per square mile (988.1/km²). There were 3,430 housing units at an average density of 1,040.4 per square mile (401.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.84% White, 0.15% African American, 1.21% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 3.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.94% of the population. There were 3,264 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population dispersal was 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,442, and the median income for a family was $37,457. Males had a median income of $30,775 versus $23,485 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,550. About 15.6% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The Cottage Grove Sentinel is the city's weekly newspaper and has a circulation of 3,331.KKND is the local radio station.

Transportation

Air

Jim Wright Field is a public airport serving small general aviation aircraft, located one mile (1.6 km) east of Cottage Grove. Lane Transit District runs bus service to nearby Eugene/Springfield. South Lane Wheels runs shuttle service in downtown Cottage Grove.

See also

• List of Oregon covered bridges

External links

• City of Cottage Grove official website
• Cottage Grove in the Oregon Blue Book