Vernonia, Oregon

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Coordinates: 45°51′35″N, 123°11′21″W
Vernonia, Oregon
View of locomotive in Shay Park along the Nehalem River in Vernonia.
Location in Oregon
County	Columbia County
Incorporated	1891
Mayor	Sally Harrison
Area
- City	4.1 km² (1.6 sq mi)
- Land	4.0 km² (1.5 sq mi)
- Water	0.1 km² (1.5 sq mi)
Elevation	192.02 m (630 ft)
Population
- City (2000)	2,228
- Density	558.6/km² (1,444.2/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
Website: http://www.vernonia-or.gov

Vernonia is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the Nehalem River, in a valley on the western side of the Coast Ranges. It is located the heart of the most important timber-producing areas of the state, and logging has played an important role in the history of the town. The population was 2,228 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

The community was first settled in 1874 by the Parker and Van Blaricom families. Judson Weed and Ozias Cherrington, both of Ohio arrived in 1876. Sometime afterwards, the question of a name for the community came up, and Cherrington suggested the name of his daughter (Vernona) in Ohio, which was adopted. Due to a clerical error during the incorporation process, an "i" was inserted in the name. Cherrington died of a farming accident in 1894, having never seen his daughter since his departure from Ohio.

Vernonia started to become more than an isolated farming community on July 10, 1924 when the Oregon-American Lumber company opened a state-of-the-art lumber mill, which was supported by a railroad line connecting Vernonia to the rest of the country. Oregon-American merged with Long-Bell in May, 1953, which itself merged with International Paper Company in November, 1957. International Paper judged the mill antiquated, and closed it on December 20, 1957.

[edit] Geography

Tony Hyde as "Igmar Spike Johanson" in a scene from the feature film Tillamook Treasure filmed in Vernonia at the Logger Show during the 2005 Vernonia Friendship Jamboree.

Vernonia is located at 45°51′35″N, 123°11′21″W (45.859846, -123.189125)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²). 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (2.53%) is water.

Vernonia is the northern terminus of the Banks-Vernonia State Trail, a rails-to-trails conversion featuring a 21-mile raised path.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,228 people, 789 households, and 583 families residing in the city. The population density was 558.6/km² (1,444.2/mi²). There were 880 housing units at an average density of 220.6/km² (570.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.38% White, 0.18% African American, 1.39% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.24% of the population.

There were 789 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,181, and the median income for a family was $48,563. Males had a median income of $37,447 versus $24,219 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,647. About 8.6% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.0% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.