Grants Pass, Oregon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grants Pass, Oregon |
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| Motto: Where the Rogue River Runs; It's the Climate! | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| County | Josephine County |
| Incorporated | 1887 |
| Mayor | Len Holzinger |
| Area | |
| - City | 19.9 km² (7.7 sq mi) |
| - Land | 19.6 km² (7.6 sq mi) |
| - Water | 0.3 km² (0.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 292.61 m (960 ft) |
| Population | |
| - City (2000) | 23,003 |
| - Density | 1,171.7/km² (3,032.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
| Website: http://www.ci.grants-pass.or.us | |
Grants Pass is a city and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States GR6. It is believed that its name is somehow related to general Ulysses S. Grant's capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1863. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 23,003 and the total population is estimated at 26,087 as of 2005.
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[edit] History
Early Hudson's Bay Company hunters and trappers, following the Siskiyou Trail, passed through the site beginning in the 1820s. In the late 1840s, settlers (mostly American) following the Applegate Trail began traveling through the area on their way to the Willamette Valley. Although a post office with the name Grants Pass was established on March 22, 1865, the city of Grants Pass was not incorporated until 1887, a year after when it had become the county seat.
In 1922, a group of local businessmen incorporated the Grants Pass Cavemen. Taking their name from the nearby Oregon Caves National Monument, this group was one of many groups of boosterism common in the United States at the time. For decades afterwards, this group would represent their city in countless public gatherings, dressed in furs and bearing clubs, performing such uncivilized acts as capturing female crowd members and politicians and putting them in their cages. To honor this group, in 1971 a fiberglass statue of a caveman was erected at the corner of Morgan Lane and Sixth Street. The town's high school mascot is also the caveman. The original monument was damaged in 2004 as the result of vandalism that burnt the mascot. It was repaired in 2005.
[edit] Economy
Historically the city's economy has been based on timber. However, in recent years the importance of timber on the local economy has decreased and has subsequently been replaced by tourism as the most prominent source of revenue for the city.
[edit] Geography
Grants Pass is located at (42.438969, -123.328249)GR1. U.S. Highway 199 passes through the city, and joins I-5.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.9 km² (7.7 mi²). 19.6 km² (7.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.56%) is water.
The Rogue River runs through the city.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 23,003 people, 9,376 households, and 5,925 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,171.7/km² (3,032.8/mi²). There were 9,885 housing units at an average density of 503.5/km² (1,303.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.97% White, 0.33% African American, 1.09% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.63% from other races, and 2.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.37% of the population.
There were 9,376 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $19,197, and the median income for a family was $16,284. Males had a median income of $11,128 versus $13,579 for females. The per capita income for the city was $6,234. About 12.2% of families and 34.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 50.8% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
[edit] Sister City
[edit] External links
- City of Grants Pass
- Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce
- Grants Pass sister city website
- Oregon Blue Book entry for Grants Pass
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Oregon Cavemen - Oregon Cavemen Inc of Grants Pass
