Metolius, Oregon

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Coordinates: 44°35′13″N, 121°10′37″W
Metolius, Oregon
Location in Oregon
County	Jefferson County
Incorporated	1913
Government
- Mayor	Sandy Toms
Area
- City	1.1 km² (0.4 sq mi)
- Land	1.1 km² (0.4 sq mi)
- Water	0 km² (0 sq mi)
Elevation	771.1 m (2,530 ft)
Population (2000)
- City	635
- Density	598.0/km² (1,549.7/sq mi)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)

Metolius is a city in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. The city is named for the Metolius River, a nearby tributary of the Deschutes River. The name for both comes from the Warm Springs word for "white fish", referring to a light colored salmon and not a whitefish. The population was 635 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Notable residents
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Metolius is located at 44°35′13″N, 121°10′37″W (44.587060, -121.176871)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²), all land.

[edit] History

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Metolius was founded in the early 1900s. The earliest records are from 1903 and written in German.

In February 1911 the Oregon Trunk Railroad decided to buid a house in the town. The town soon prospered. By 1917, the population was over 17,000. Later the railroad moved to Bend and the town went into a decline.

In the 1940s an irrigation project boosted farming turnout and the town began to grow again. [1]

Around 1970, a fire in the city's Post Office led to the end of the ZIP Code for the community, and it afterwards shared the ZIP Code of nearby Madras. However, in late 2003, city leaders enlisted the help of U.S. Representative Greg Walden to reclaim the code.

"We're just trying to get the town to have its own personality again," said Metolius mayor Darrell Agee. "Right now, it's solely a bedroom community for Madras. The ZIP Code is just one step toward the future."

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 635 people, 214 households, and 161 families residing in the city. The population density was 598.0/km² (1,549.7/mi²). There were 220 housing units at an average density of 207.2/km² (536.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.17% White, 0.16% African American, 2.05% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 13.23% from other races, and 6.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.68% of the population.

There were 214 households out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the city the population was spread out with 35.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 15.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,375, and the median income for a family was $34,028. Males had a median income of $30,893 versus $21,607 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,963. About 14.0% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 15.0% of those age 65 or over.