Aloha, Oregon

Aloha is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Its name is similar to the Hawaiian word, aloha, although the place name is pronounced /ə lo ə/ instead of /a lo ha/. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 41,741.

History

Name etymology

According to Oregon Geographic Names, the origin of the name Aloha is disputed. Some sources say it was named by Robert Caples, a railroad worker, but it is unknown why the name was chosen. Aloha post office was established in 1912. In 1983 Joseph H. Buck claimed that his uncle, the first postmaster Julius Buck, named the office "Aloah" after a small resort on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. Supposedly the last two letters were transposed by the Post Office Department during the application process. However, the local pronunciation has remained Ah-lowwa rather than Ah-lo-ha.

Another story comes from Frithjof G. Tollefsen, a former postmaster of Aloha. According to him, the name may have come about during a dinner party at which several of the more prominent citizens as well as some railroad men were gathered. During the party, one of the guests sang "Aloha Oe". Then a suggestion was made to call the town Aloha. This source also says that it was Julius Buck's sister, Dora Buck, who submitted the name "Aloah" (an Indian word), which is where the Buck family came from, as per above.

In the year 2000, the nickname ADX was given to Aloha. While not an officially recognized acronym for the city of aloha, ADX is recognized by a large majority of Aloha's youth as a popular slang term for their hometown.

Urban growth

Aloha has been, for most of its existence, a rural community. With the increase of suburban development in eastern Washington County starting in the 1950s, Aloha would have become another indistinguishable block of housing when Intel bought land in 1974 at the intersection of the Tualatin Valley Highway and 198th Ave, which became the first of several plants Intel has built in Washington County between Hillsboro and Beaverton.

An attempt at incorporation in the early 1980s failed at the ballot box. Since then, Aloha's location between the cities of Hillsboro and Beaverton has made it vulnerable to annexation battles between the two cities. Agreements in 2005 between Beaverton and Washington County have limited Beaverton annexations in the Aloha area for 10 years.

Geography

Location of Aloha, Oregon

Aloha is located at 45°29′25″N 122°52′19″W (45.490239, -122.872007)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 19.1 km² (7.4 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 41,741 people, 14,228 households, and 10,841 families residing in the community. The population density was 2,186.7/km² (5,660.5/mi²). There were 14,851 housing units at an average density of 778.0/km² (2,013.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 79.40% White, 1.35% African American, 0.78% Native American, 7.69% Asian, 0.37% Pacific Islander, 6.70% from other races, and 3.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.93% of the population.

There were 14,228 households out of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the community the population is spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.

The median income for a household in the community is $52,299, and the median income for a family was $56,566. Males had a median income of $40,369 versus $29,921 for females. The per capita income for the community is $19,685. About 5.6% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Aloha High School opened in 1965, and received its first major remodeling/expansion in 2006.

Aloha is also home to the Magee Brothers Beauty School.