Junction City, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Junction City is a city in Lane County
Lane County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siuslaw National Forest *Umpqua National Forest *Willamette National Forest -Government:...

, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 5,392 at the 2010 census.

History

In the 1870s, Junction City was named by railroad magnate Ben Holladay
Ben Holladay
Benjamin "Ben" Holladay was an American transportation businessman known as the "Stagecoach King" until his routes were taken over by Wells Fargo in 1866...

, who decided this would be where the rail line on the east side of the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...

 would meet the rail line on the west side. The westside line, however, was not built according to plan, although Junction City later was where the two main branches of U.S. Route 99 (which divided in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

) would rejoin.

Junction City gained media attention in 2003, when a number of local men posed in the nude for "The Men of the Long Tom Grange Calendar" to raise money for the local school district. The project raised $225,000.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 4,721 people, 1,823 households, and 1,170 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 3,405.1 people per square mile (1,311.4/km²). There were 1,921 housing units at an average density of 1,385.5 per square mile (533.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.21% White, 0.30% African American, 1.23% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.66% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.28% of the population. There were 1,823 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,347, and the median income for a family was $43,875. Males had a median income of $31,044 versus $21,757 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $16,155. About 6.3% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Junction City is home to a large and eclectic farming community, the bulk of which is made up of several large family-owned farms. Lochmead Farms
Dari Mart
Dari Mart is a chain of convenience stores located in the U.S. state of Oregon. Dari Mart has 43 stores located exclusively within the Willamette Valley of Oregon, from Albany to Cottage Grove. It is most notable as a supplier of milk, ice cream, and other dairy products from Lochmead Farms, one...

, one of the largest privately owned dairy farms in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

, is owned and operated by the Gibson family. Stroda Farms, a high-volume Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...

 and general crop farm, is privately owned and operated by the Stroda family. The city was the home of Country Coach, a large luxury motorcoach manufacturer, which went bankrupt in November 2009. It was also the home of Monaco Coach Corporation
Monaco Coach Corporation
Monaco Coach Corporation was an American corporation which primarily manufactured recreational vehicles and RV chassis. The company was headquartered in Coburg, Oregon, and maintained significant manufacturing operations in various locations in Indiana....

 prior to their move to nearby Coburg
Coburg, Oregon
Coburg is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States, north of Eugene. The city's population as of the 2010 census was 1,035.- History :...

.

Annual cultural events

Junction City is home to the Scandinavian Festival
Scandinavian Festival
The Scandinavian Festival is an annual four-day celebration of Scandinavian heritage in Junction City, Oregon, United States. The small city of 4,500 people hosts more than 100,000 visitors each year. Sunset Magazine rates it one of the best in the U.S. for its authentic emphasis.The Festival was...

, an annual four-day event which pays homage to the cultures of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

.

Education

The city is served by the Junction City School District, which includes Junction City High School
Junction City High School (Oregon)
Junction City High School is a public high school in Junction City, Oregon, United States.-Academics:In 2008, 88% of the school's seniors received their high school diploma. Of 177 students, 155 graduated, 14 dropped out, 2 received a modified diploma, and 6 are still in high school.-Notable...

.

Public safety

The Junction City Police Department serves the city.

Notable people

  • Bobby Doerr
    Bobby Doerr
    Robert Pershing Doerr is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and coach. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox . He led American League second basemen in double plays five times, tying a league record, in putouts and fielding percentage four times each, and...

    , Major League Baseball player
  • Kate Elliott
    Kate Elliott
    Kate Elliott is the pen name of American fantasy and science fiction writer Alis A. Rasmussen .-Writing:Although Rasmussen's first novels The Labyrinth Gate and The Highroad failed to become bestsellers, additional publishers liked her manuscripts but wanted a fresh name unconnected with the...

    , fantasy and science fiction writer
  • Ty Harden
    Ty Harden
    Robert Tyrel "Ty" Harden is an American soccer player who currently plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.-College:...

    , Major League Soccer player
  • Eric Hays
    Eric Hays
    Eric Hays is a former University of Montana basketball player who served as head basketball coach of at Hellgate High School in Missoula, Mont., for 25 years. He was a mathematics teacher there until his retirement in 2009....

    , basketball player and coach
  • Derek Humphry
    Derek Humphry
    Derek Humphry is a British-born American journalist, author and principal founder in 1980 of the Hemlock Society USA and past president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies, both of which support the notion of decriminalisation of voluntary euthanasia...

    , founder of the Hemlock Society
    Hemlock Society
    The Hemlock Society USA was a national right-to-die organization founded in Santa Monica, California by Derek Humphry in 1980. Its primary missions included providing information to dying persons and supporting legislation permitting physician-assisted suicide. In 1992, following the publication of...

  • Walter McClure
    Walter McClure
    Walter Rayburn McClure was an American track and field athlete who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.He was born in Junction City, Oregon.In 1912 he finished eighth the Olympic 1500 metres event...

    , track and field athlete
  • Dmae Roberts
    Dmae Roberts
    Dmae Roberts is an Asian-American independent public radio producer, writer, actress and playwright. Much of her work focuses on cross-cultural issues or personal storytelling. Roberts was born in Taipei, Taiwan and grew up in Japan till she was eight. Her family moved to Junction City, Oregon when...

    , public radio producer, writer, actress, and playwright
  • John N. Williamson
    John N. Williamson
    John Newton Williamson was an American rancher and politician in the state of Oregon. A native Oregonian, he served in both chambers of the Oregon Legislative Assembly representing central and eastern Oregon in the late 19th century...

    , politician

External links

  • Entry for Junction City in the Oregon Blue Book
    Oregon Blue Book
    The Oregon Blue Book is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon copyrighted by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. As Governor Ted Kulongoski notes in his introduction for the 2005–2006 edition, it "provides...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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