Corvallis, Oregon

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Corvallis, Oregon
Motto: Enhancing Community Livability
Location of Corvallis within Oregon.
Location of Corvallis within Oregon.
Coordinates: 44°34′14.81″N 123°16′33.59″W / 44.5707806, -123.2759972
Country United States
State Oregon
County Benton
Founded / Incorporated 1845 / 1857
Government
 - Mayor Charlie Tomlinson
Area
 - Total 13.8 sq mi (35.7 km²)
 - Land 13.6 sq mi (35.2 km²)
 - Water 0.2 sq mi (0.4 km²)
Elevation 235 ft (68.28 m)
Population (2006)
 - Total 53,900
 - Density 3,625.6/sq mi (1,400.2/km²)
  (Estimate)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 - Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
Area code(s) 541
FIPS code 41-15800[1]
GNIS feature ID 1140162[2]
Website: http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us

Corvallis (pronounced /kɔrˈvælɪs/) is a city located in central western Oregon, USA. It is the county seat of Benton County[3] and the principal city of the "Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area", which encompasses all of Benton County.

As of July 1, 2006, the city has an estimated population of 53,900.[4]

Contents

[edit] History

Joseph C. Avery settled a land claim at the mouth of Marys River where it flows into the Willamette River in 1845.[5] In 1849, Avery opened a store at the site, platted the land, and surveyed a town site on his land claim, naming the community Marysville.[5] It is possible that the city was named after early settler Mary Lloyd, but now the name is thought to be derived from French fur trappers' naming of a local peak after the Virgin Mary.[6]

Downtown circa 1920
Downtown circa 1920

In 1853, the legislative assembly changed the city's name to Corvallis, from the Latin phrase cor vallis, meaning "heart of the valley." Corvallis was incorporated as a city on January 29, 1857 [7]. The town served briefly as the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1855 before Salem was eventually selected as the permanent seat of state government.[5]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 49,322 people, 19,630 households, and 9,972 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,625.6 people per square mile (1,400.2/km²). There were 20,909 housing units at an average density of 1,537.0/sq mi (593.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.03% White, 1.16% Black or African American, 0.76% Native American, 6.42% Asian, 0.29% Pacific Islander, 2.52% from other races, and 2.82% from two or more races. 5.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 19,630 households out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.2% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.7% under the age of 18, 28.4% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,236, and the median income for a family was $53,208. Males had a median income of $40,770 versus $29,390 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,317. About 9.7% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Geography

Moss covered Bigleaf Maple trees are common along nearby trails
Moss covered Bigleaf Maple trees are common along nearby trails

Corvallis is located at 44°34′15″N, 123°16′34″W (44.570780, -123.275998),[8] at an elevation of 235 feet. Situated midway in the Willamette Valley, Corvallis is about 85 miles south of Portland, 30 miles south of the state capital, Salem, ten miles southwest of Albany, about ten miles west of Interstate 5 at its closest point, and 44 miles north of Eugene / Springfield. By car, the travel time is about an hour and a half from Portland, and 45 minutes to an hour from Eugene/Springfield, taking I-5. Oregon Route 99W, a secondary north-south route, also runs through Corvallis.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.8 square miles (35.7 km²), of which, 13.6 square miles (35.2 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it is water. The total area is 1.23% water.

[edit] Economy

An apartment complex under development in Corvallis
An apartment complex under development in Corvallis

The campus of Oregon State University, which is the major local employer, is located near the edge of the main downtown area. Another large employer is Hewlett-Packard, whose printer cartridge manufacturing and prototyping facility is located in the northeast area of town.

[edit] Education

Corvallis has a higher education rate per capita than any other city in the State of Oregon.[9]

[edit] Elementary schools

Adams, Franklin (K-8), Garfield, Hoover, Jefferson, Lincoln (K-8), Mountain View, Wilson, Corvallis Montessori School (Independent)

[edit] Middle schools

Cheldelin, Linus Pauling, Ashbrook (Independent)

[edit] High schools

Corvallis High School
Corvallis High School

[edit] Colleges

[edit] Notable residents, past and present

This list excludes persons whose only connection to Corvallis is attendance or employment at Oregon State University.
See also: List of Oregon State University people

[edit] Points of interest

[edit] Media

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Bus

Long-distance bus service is provided by both Amtrak and Greyhound. They both stop at the Greyhound station in downtown Corvallis (station ID: CVI.)

Local bus service is provided by Corvallis Transit System (CTS). The system runs a total of eight daytime routes Monday through Saturday, covering most of the city and converging at a Downtown Transit Center. When Oregon State University is in session CTS also runs the "Beaver Bus," a set of late-night routes running Thursday through Saturday.

Two other short-distance inter-city buses — the Linn-Benton Loop (to Albany), and the Philomath Connection, also stop at the Downtown Transit Center.

[edit] Bicycle

Designated a "Bike-Friendly City,"[9] Corvallis has many miles of bike paths, trails, and roadside bicycle lanes. The bulk of the city is also very flat, that is, lacking hills, lending itself even moreso to sight-seeing cycling.

[edit] Air

[edit] Rankings and recognition

Corvallis-Benton County Public Library
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library
  • OSU named "Safest Pac-10 Campus" (University of Southern California study, 1994.)[10]
  • Corvallis named "One of the 13 best towns to be a vegetarian" (Vegan Magazine study, 1995.)[11]
  • An article in Parade magazine rated Corvallis as "One of the 10 best cities in which to live" (1996).[11]
  • Corvallis School District named one of the top public school systems in the country (Offspring Magazine, 2000.)[11]
  • Corvallis-Benton County Public Library named one of top ten libraries in the country based on population size (Hennen's American Public Library Ratings study, 2002.)[12]
  • Corvallis ranked fourth in nation for the highest number of patents issued by city (USA Today, 2002.)[9]
  • Corvallis ranked 7th out of about 500 U.S. cities for best places to do business (BizDemographics, 2002.)[11]
  • The Bicycle Transportation Alliance ranked Corvallis as Oregon's most bicycle-friendly city (2002).[11]
  • The Orange County Register picked Corvallis' Oregon State University as the "Best Pac-10 Campus" (2002).[11]
  • The National Arbor Day Foundation awarded Corvallis a Tree City USA Award in 2002.[9] They also awarded Corvallis the Tree City USA Growth Award in 2003.[13]
  • Bike USA listed Corvallis as the 9th most bicycle-friendly city in the nation.[9]
  • The League of American Bicyclists gave Corvallis a gold "Bicycle-Friendly Community" designation in May 2003, one of only four such cities in the nation as of 2006.[14]
  • Frommer's Travel Guides, Cities Ranked & Rated ranks Corvallis as the 10th best city of any size in the United States and Canada.[15]
  • The February 2004 issue of the Harvard Business Review ranks Corvallis as the 15th most creative city in the nation.[16]
  • Bike at Work listed Corvallis as the 9th best city in the nation "As a car free community" (2005).[9]
  • Men's Journal ranked Corvallis as "The 8th best place in the nation to live" in 2003.[16] In April 2005, they moved Corvallis up one place to 7th.[11]
  • Expansion Management selected Corvallis as a "Five-Star Knowledge Worker Metro", the highest rating achievable (2005).[17]
  • A survey by the National Science Foundation found Corvallis ranks second in the nation for the number of scientists as a percentage of total employment (12.7 percent) as of 2006.[18]
  • Corvallis was the first city on the West Coast and only the third city in the nation to receive the "Green Power Community" designation by the EPA (2006).[19]
  • In 2006, the Morgan Quitno Awards ranked Corvallis as the 20th safest city (of 344) in the 13th Annual America's Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities publication for metropolitan areas of its size.[20]
  • In a 2007 report, Farmer's Insurance Group ranked Corvallis as the "most secure" small city in America, based on (as reported by Insurance Journal magazine) crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, environmental hazards, terrorism threats, air quality, life expectancy and job loss numbers.[21]
  • On February 18, 2008, Corvallis was named the fifth smartest city in America by Forbes Online Magazine.[22]

[edit] Sister cities

Corvallis has two sister cities,[23] as designated by Sister Cities International:

[edit] Religion

  • Benton County, of which Corvallis makes up the majority of the population, has the lowest church attendance per capita of any county in the nation (25% attendance)[24]
  • Corvallis is the home of the first built mosque/Islamic center in Oregon.[citation needed] It has about 900 members.

[edit] Notable works of fiction

  • In legendary film director Billy Wilder's 1944 film noir classic Double Indemnity, the character of Mr. Jackson, played by Porter Hall, is from Medford, Oregon, but mentions Corvallis in this line to Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray): "It's the name! There's a family of Neffs in Corvallis!" Walter Neff replies, "No relation", to which Mr. Jackson says, "Let me see, this man's an automobile dealer in Corvallis. A very reputable man too I'm told."[25]
  • Corvallis plays a major role in The Postman, in which it is depicted as the center of rebuilding civilization in post-apocalyptic Oregon, due to the university, logistics, and favorable wind patterns, which render it capable of surviving nuclear war.
  • Corvallis plays a major role in S. M. Stirling's "Emberverse" series. It's one of the few cities to come through the Change with many survivors, and with some sort of governing infrastructure remaining from the old world. The town's name is used in the title of the third book, A Meeting at Corvallis
  • Corvallis was the inspiration for "Cascadia" in the Bernard Malamud novel, A New Life

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ 2006 Certified Population Estimates: Incorporated Cities and Towns (PDF). Portland State University Population Research Center (July 1, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-04.
  5. ^ a b c Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
  6. ^ Corvallis Gazette Times: Archived Articles
  7. ^ corvallis150.org
  8. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  9. ^ a b c d e f About Corvallis URL accessed May 11, 2006.
  10. ^ OSU Chronological History: 1990-1999 URL accessed May 31, 2006.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "We're number 7!", Corvallis Gazette-Times, March 11, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-02-08. 
  12. ^ Hennen's American Public Library Ratings URL accessed Oct. 30, 2006.
  13. ^ City of Corvallis wins Tree City USA Growth Award in 2003 URL accessed May 12, 2006.
  14. ^ League Names Corvallis a Bicycle-Friendly Community URL accessed May 11, 2006.
  15. ^ Sperling, Bert; Peter Sander [2004-03-22] (2004-03-22). Cities Ranked & Rated: More than 400 Metropolitan Areas Evaluated in the U.S. and Canada, 1st edition, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-7645-2562-X. 
  16. ^ a b What The Media Has to Say About Corvallis! URL accessed May 11, 2006.
  17. ^ 2005 Five-Star Knowledge Worker Metros URL accessed May 12, 2006.
  18. ^ Corvallis Second In Nation in Percentage of Scientists URL accessed May 11, 2006.
  19. ^ Corvallis named 'green power community' URL accessed May 11, 2006; (Pacific Power article) URL accessed September 13, 2006.
  20. ^ City Crime Rankings by Population Group URL accessed October 30, 2006.
  21. ^ 'Most Secure Places to Live' Are In Ore., Calif. and Wash
  22. ^ Corvallis ranked among smartest cities in nation | Local News | kgw.com | News for Oregon and SW Washington
  23. ^ Corvallis Sister Cities Association
  24. ^ Reeves, Carol (2003-12-21). Where are the faithful?. Corvallis Gazette-Times. Retrieved on 2006-06-11.
  25. ^ Double Indemnity (1944) script

[edit] External links

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