Silverton, Oregon
| Silverton, Oregon | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
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| Nickname(s): Gateway to Silver Falls | |
| Motto: Oregon's Garden City | |
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| Coordinates: 45°0′24″N 122°46′57″W / 45.00667°N 122.7825°WCoordinates: 45°0′24″N 122°46′57″W / 45.00667°N 122.7825°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Marion |
| Incorporated | 1885 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Stu Rasmussen |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.7 sq mi (7.1 km2) |
| • Land | 2.7 sq mi (7.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 252 ft (76.8 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 7,414 |
| • Density | 2,716.3/sq mi (1,048.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 97381 |
| Area code(s) | 503 |
| FIPS code | 41-67650[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1126975[2] |
| Website | www.silverton.or.us |
Silverton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 7,414 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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[edit] Geography
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011) |
Unlike most small communities[citation needed] in Western Oregon in the nineteenth century, Silverton was laid out largely around its local environment.[clarification needed] Instead of the rigid north-south grid of the township and range system, in 1854, Silverton's founder Polly Coon Price,[3] planned the town around a large old Oregon White Oak, locating the town square around it. She named the town Silverton after Silver Creek, which flowed by the several hundred yards to the west of the oak. The tree had been a meeting spot along the Santiam Trail[clarification needed] for the local Native Americans. Silverton is located on the eastern edge of the Willamette Valley, at the base of the Waldo Hills, which are foothills of the Cascade Range.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2011, there were 15,988 people, and 5,517 households in the city. The population density was 90 people per square mile (1,048.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.33% White, 0.26% African American, 1.14% Native American, 12.53% Hispanic, and 9.73% claim Other.
There were 5,517 households out of which 52.29% were married couples living together, and 41.71% were non-families. The average household size is 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,429, and the median income for a family was $46,196. Males had a median income of $34,707 versus $24,479 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,062. About 10.4% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Silverton is the population core of the Silver Falls School District. In 1994, voters passed a bond levy for construction of Phase I of a two-phase project to build a new high school. The new Silverton High School was constructed on Pine Street. It was completed in 1997, with a capacity for approximately 500 students. The bond levy for Phase II, failed, however, leaving the Silver Falls School District with two high school campuses. As of 1997, the roughly 350 freshmen attended the new campus, and were routinely bussed to the old campus for some higher level classes and electives. As of November 2006, a new bond levy passed and Phase II of the high school was slated to begin. The second phase was completed in the summer of 2009, and in the fall of 2009 the old campus moved into the new campus. All of the students are now in the same building together.
[edit] Points of interest
Silverton is the gateway to Silver Falls State Park, Oregon's largest state park. It is also the home of the Oregon Garden, an 80 acre (320,000 m²) botanical park. Located next door to the Oregon Garden is the Gordon House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed home open to the public in the Pacific Northwest. Each summer, Silvertonians celebrate their most famous citizen in the Homer Davenport Days festival and parade. Also notable is the farmers market on Saturdays where local farmers and artisans sell their wares. The first bank robbery and chase scene in the movie Bandits (starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton) was filmed in Silverton.[4]
[edit] Notable people
- Bobbie the Wonder Dog
- Greg Craven, climate change activist who produced a viral video on YouTube[5]
- Homer Davenport, political cartoonist
- Scott Gragg, NFL tackle, Silverton High School varsity football coach
- Bill Grier, head men's basketball coach at the University of San Diego
- Donald Pettit, astronaut
- Stu Rasmussen, first openly transgender mayor in the United States[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ McEachern, Phillip D. Silverton: Evolution of an Oregon Town, 1989. University of Oregon Press.
- ^ "Bandits (2001) filming locations". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219965/locations. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ "Teacher's video on global warming a hit online", Newhouse News Service via Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 20, 2007 (accessed 21 June 2009)
- ^ Penning, Jack (November 7, 2008). "Transgender man elected mayor of Silverton". KGW (Portland, Oregon: Belo Corp). http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_110608_news_transgender_mayor.18a1f2fa7.html. Retrieved 2008-11-07.[dead link]
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Silverton, Oregon |
- Entry for Silverton in the Oregon Blue Book
- Silverton Chamber of Commerce
- Homer Davenport Community Festival
- June Drake's recollections of Silverton's beginnings
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