Silverton, Oregon

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Coordinates: 45°0′24″N, 122°46′57″W
Silverton, Oregon
Nickname: "Gateway to Silver Falls"
Motto: Oregon's Garden City
Location in Oregon
County	Marion County
Incorporated	1885
Mayor	Kenneth J. Hector
Area
- City	7.1 km² (2.7 sq mi)
- Land	7.1 km² (2.7 sq mi)
- Water	0 km² (0 sq mi)
Elevation	76.81 m (252 ft)
Population
- City (2000)	7,414
- Density	1,048.6/km² (2,716.3/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
Website: http://www.silverton.or.us

Silverton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 7,414 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Attractions
4 Education
5 Trivia
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Silverton is located at 45°0′24″N, 122°46′57″W (45.006657, -122.782484)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.1 km² (2.7 mi²), all land.

Silver Creek runs through the center of town.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,414 people, 2,707 households, and 1,886 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,048.6/km² (2,716.3/mi²). There were 2,865 housing units at an average density of 405.2/km² (1,049.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.29% White, 0.22% African American, 1.11% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.56% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.56% of the population.

There were 2,707 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.

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.

A frog kite hangs from the ceiling of O'Briens, a coffee house on Water Street

[edit] Attractions

Silverton is the gateway to Silver Falls State Park, Oregon's largest state park. It is also the home of the Oregon Gardens, an 80 acre (320,000 m²) botanical park. 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.

Other Silvertonians of note include astronaut Don Pettit, kickboxer Kim Messer, former National Football League tackle Scott Gragg (as of 2006, Silverton High School's varsity football coach), and the 1920s vagabond canine Bobbie the Wonder Dog.

[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 starter high school was constructed on Pine Street in Silverton. It was completed in 1997 with a capacity for approximately 500 students. The bond levy for Phase II, however failed, 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 campus will remain divided until its completion. [1]

[edit] Trivia

The bank robbery and chase scene in the movie Bandits (starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton) was filmed in Silverton. The "bank" in the movie is actually a real estate office. ^{[citation needed]}