St. Helens, Oregon

St. Helens is the county seat of Columbia County, Oregon. It was founded by Captain H. M. Knighton, a native of New England in 1845 as Plymouth. The name of the community was changed to St. Helens in the later part of 1850, after the view of Mount St. Helens across the Columbia River in Washington. The population was 10,019 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Sister City
5 External link

[edit] History

St. Helens was established as a river port on the Columbia River in the 1840s, and was the primary deep-water port, surpassing Portland until the destruction of the mail docks by fire. The docks burned down twice under mysterious circumstances. Portland then became the primary port. It was incorporated as a city in 1889.

[edit] Geography

St. Helens is located at 45°51′34″N, 122°49′1″W (45.859357, -122.817001)^GR1. Highway 30 passes through this city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.8 km² (5.3 mi²). 11.3 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 2.5 km² (1.0 mi²) of it (18.27%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 10,019 people, 3,722 households, and 2,579 families residing in the city. The population density was 889.3/km² (2,305.6/mi²). There were 4,032 housing units at an average density of 357.9/km² (927.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.74% White, 0.34% African American, 1.68% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 1.35% from other races, and 3.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.05% of the population.

There were 3,722 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 24.2% 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 2.65 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,648, and the median income for a family was $45,548. Males had a median income of $39,375 versus $26,725 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,237. About 8.7% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.