Rainier, Oregon

Rainier, Oregon
—  City  —
Location in Oregon
Coordinates: 46°5′24″N 122°56′33″W
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Columbia
Incorporated	1885
Government
• Mayor	Jerry Cole
Area
• Total	2.6 sq mi (6.8 km2)
• Land	1.6 sq mi (4.2 km2)
• Water	1.0 sq mi (2.6 km2)
Elevation	51 ft (15.5 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	1,687
• Density	1,044.8/sq mi (404.6/km2)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
ZIP code	97048
Area code(s)	503 and 971
FIPS code	41-60850
GNIS feature ID	1125788

Rainier is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,687 at the 2000 census. Rainier is located on the south bank of the Columbia River across from Kelso and Longview, Washington

History

Rainier was founded in 1851 on the south bank of the Columbia River by Charles E. Fox, the town's first postman. First called Eminence, its name was later changed to Fox's Landing and finally to Rainier. The name Rainier was taken from Mount Rainier in Washington, which can be seen from hills above the city. Rainier was incorporated in 1881.

For much of the last quarter of the twentieth century, Rainier was known to the rest of Oregon as home to Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, the only commercial nuclear reactor in the state, which supplied electricity to Portland and its suburbs starting in March 1976. This reactor was closed periodically due to structural problems, and in January 1993, it was decommissioned after cracks developed in the steam tubes. On May 21, 2006, the cooling tower was demolished.

The closing of the Trojan plant set off a decline in the number of businesses in the city. While some retail and services are available in the city, there is currently, for example, no supermarket remaining in the city. Services are available in neighboring Clatskanie, St. Helens, and in Longview, Washington.

A panorama of Rainier, Oregon from Longview, Washington. This is a montage of eight separate photographs and can be scrolled.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), of which 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²) (38.40%) is water.

Rainier is surrounded by a number of rural communities. In the past, these places acted as separate communities. Today, most businesses and services have left these rural sites, and the communities are part of a large unincorporated area that receive services out of Rainier. These communities include Fern Hill, Hudson, Alston, Apiary, Goble, and Prescott. Except for Prescott, which is an incorporated city (despite having neither a post office nor a separate telephone exchange), little remains to identify these places today other than left-over identifying signs or historic landmarks, such as an abandoned or converted school buildings. Residents here may say they live in Rainier or will alternatively use the name of the individual community.^{[citation needed]}

The Lewis and Clark Bridge spans the Columbia River, linking Rainier to Longview, Washington. It is the only bridge spanning the river between Portland and Astoria, Oregon.

Demographics

View across the Columbia River in 1973

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,687 people, 667 households, and 460 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,044.8 people per square mile (404.6/km²). There were 733 housing units at an average density of 453.9 per square mile (175.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.83% White, 0.06% African American, 1.48% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.24% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 3.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.85% of the population. 24.1% were of German, 11.3% Irish and 11.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 667 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,949, and the median income for a family was $46,759. Males had a median income of $45,179 versus $23,036 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,511. About 8.4% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.9% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Railroad

The Portland and Western Railroad runs through Rainier. Amtrak passenger rail service is available across the Columbia River in Kelso at the Kelso Multimodal Transportation Center.

External links

• Oregon Blue Book entry for Rainier
• Olive Jane Malcom (1840-1931), Rainier, Oregon, pioneer woman
• Rainier history from Vannatta Bros. Logging