Silverton, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Silverton is a city in Marion County
, Oregon
, United States
, along the 45th parallel. The population was 7,414 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Salem
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
, which flowed by the several hundred yards to the west of the oak. The tree had been a meeting spot along the Santiam Trail for the local Native Americans. They continued to meet at the tree after the town grew up around it. Many come to see danger hill because it's one bad A hill.
Silverton is located on the eastern edge of the Willamette Valley, at the base of the Waldo Hills, which are foothills of the Cascade Range
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 7,414 people, 2,707 households, and 1,886 families residing in the city. The population density
was 2,716.3 people per square mile (1,048.6/km²). There were 2,865 housing units at an average density of 1,049.7 per square mile (405.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.29% White, 0.22% African American, 1.11% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.56% from other races
, and 2.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.56% of the population.
There were 2,707 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples
living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,429, and the median income for a family was $46,196. Males had a median income of $34,707 versus $24,479 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,062. About 10.4% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
. In 1994, voters passed a bond levy for construction of Phase I of a two-phase project to build a new high school. The new Silverton High School was constructed on Pine Street. It was completed in 1997, with a capacity for approximately 500 students. The bond levy for Phase II, failed, however, leaving the Silver Falls School District with two high school campuses. As of 1997, the roughly 350 freshmen attended the new campus, and were routinely bussed to the old campus for some higher level classes and electives. As of November 2006, a new bond levy passed and Phase II of the high school was slated to begin. The second phase was completed in the summer of 2009, and in the fall of 2009 the old campus moved into the new campus. All of the students are now in the same building together.
Silverton is the gateway to Silver Falls State Park
, Oregon's largest state park. It is also the home of the Oregon Garden
, an 80 acre (320,000 m²) botanical park. Located next door to the Oregon Garden is the Gordon House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed home open to the public in the Pacific Northwest. Each summer, Silvertonians celebrate their most famous citizen in the Homer Davenport
Days festival and parade. Also notable is the farmers market on Saturdays where local farmers and artisans sell their wares. The first bank robbery and chase scene in the movie Bandits
(starring Bruce Willis
and Billy Bob Thornton
) was filmed in Silverton.
Marion County, Oregon
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was originally named the Champooick District, after Champoeg, a meeting place on the Willamette River. On September 3, 1849, the territorial legislature renamed it in honor of Francis Marion, a Continental Army general of the...
, 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...
, along the 45th parallel. The population was 7,414 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Unlike most small communities in Western Oregon in the nineteenth century, Silverton was laid out largely around its local environment. Instead of the rigid north-south grid of the township and range system, in 1854, Silverton's founder Polly Coon Price, planned the town around a large old Oregon White Oak, locating the town square around it. She named the town Silverton after Silver CreekSilver Creek (Marion County, Oregon)
Silver Creek is a stream in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is a tributary of the Pudding River and originates in Silver Falls State Park in the Cascade foothills above the cities Silverton and Stayton.-Course:...
, which flowed by the several hundred yards to the west of the oak. The tree had been a meeting spot along the Santiam Trail for the local Native Americans. They continued to meet at the tree after the town grew up around it. Many come to see danger hill because it's one bad A hill.
Silverton is located on the eastern edge of the Willamette Valley, at the base of the Waldo Hills, which are foothills of the Cascade Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
.
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 2.7 square miles (7 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 7,414 people, 2,707 households, and 1,886 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 2,716.3 people per square mile (1,048.6/km²). There were 2,865 housing units at an average density of 1,049.7 per square mile (405.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.29% White, 0.22% African American, 1.11% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 6.56% 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 2.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.56% of the population.
There were 2,707 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% 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, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,429, and the median income for a family was $46,196. Males had a median income of $34,707 versus $24,479 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 $18,062. About 10.4% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Silverton is the population core of the Silver Falls School DistrictSilver Falls School District
Silver Falls School District is a school district in the U.S. State of Oregon that serves the communities of Scotts Mills and Silverton in Marion County and Clackamas County, as well as the surrounding foothills along Silver Creek and the Abiqua River up to Silver Falls State Park. It is...
. In 1994, voters passed a bond levy for construction of Phase I of a two-phase project to build a new high school. The new Silverton High School was constructed on Pine Street. It was completed in 1997, with a capacity for approximately 500 students. The bond levy for Phase II, failed, however, leaving the Silver Falls School District with two high school campuses. As of 1997, the roughly 350 freshmen attended the new campus, and were routinely bussed to the old campus for some higher level classes and electives. As of November 2006, a new bond levy passed and Phase II of the high school was slated to begin. The second phase was completed in the summer of 2009, and in the fall of 2009 the old campus moved into the new campus. All of the students are now in the same building together.
Points of interest
Silver Falls State Park
Silver Falls State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Oregon, located near Silverton, about east-southeast of Salem. It is the largest state park in Oregon with an area of more than , and it includes more than of walking trails, of horse trails, and a bike path...
, Oregon's largest state park. It is also the home of the Oregon Garden
Oregon Garden
Oregon Garden is an botanical garden and tourist attraction in Silverton, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1999, the garden includes a variety of plant species and habitats and the only Frank Lloyd Wright home in Oregon. The garden is owned by the non-profit Oregon Garden Foundation, with the...
, an 80 acre (320,000 m²) botanical park. Located next door to the Oregon Garden is the Gordon House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed home open to the public in the Pacific Northwest. Each summer, Silvertonians celebrate their most famous citizen in the Homer Davenport
Homer Davenport
Homer Calvin Davenport was a political cartoonist from the United States. He was known for his satirical drawings and support of Progressive Era politics. A native Oregonian, he worked for several West Coast newspapers before being hired by William Randolph Hearst and the New York Evening Journal...
Days festival and parade. Also notable is the farmers market on Saturdays where local farmers and artisans sell their wares. The first bank robbery and chase scene in the movie Bandits
Bandits
Bandits is a 2001 American crime-comedy drama film directed by Barry Levinson. It stars Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Filming began in October 2000 and ended in February 2001. It helped Thornton earn a National Board of Review Best Actor Award for 2001...
(starring Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
and Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone...
) was filmed in Silverton.
Notable people
- Bobbie the Wonder Dog
- Greg CravenGreg Craven (activist)Greg Craven is an American high school science teacher and climate change author. The creator of a 2007 viral video on YouTube, he is also the author of a 2009 book on the climate change debate.- Biography :...
, climate change activist who produced a viral video on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos.... - Homer DavenportHomer DavenportHomer Calvin Davenport was a political cartoonist from the United States. He was known for his satirical drawings and support of Progressive Era politics. A native Oregonian, he worked for several West Coast newspapers before being hired by William Randolph Hearst and the New York Evening Journal...
, political cartoonist - Scott GraggScott GraggChristopher Scott Gragg is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Montana, majoring in mathematics where he made 82 knockdown blocks while grading 89 percent for blocking consistency as a senior...
, NFLNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
tackle, Silverton High School varsity football coach - Bill GrierBill Grier-References:...
, head men's basketball coach at the University of San DiegoUniversity of San DiegoThe University of San Diego is a Roman Catholic university in San Diego, California. USD offers more than sixty bachelor's, master’s, and doctoral programs... - Donald PettitDonald PettitDonald Roy Pettit is an American chemical engineer and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station and a six-week expedition to find meteorites in Antarctica.-Personal:...
, astronaut - Stu RasmussenStu RasmussenStu Rasmussen is an American politician. He was reported to be the nation's first openly transgender mayor when he was elected as the mayor of Silverton, Oregon in November 2008. He had previously been elected twice in the 1990s as mayor of this Willamette Valley community, before coming out as...
, first openly transgenderTransgenderTransgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
mayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in the United States
External links
- Entry for Silverton in the Oregon Blue BookOregon Blue BookThe 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...
- Silverton Chamber of Commerce
- Homer Davenport Community Festival
- June Drake's recollections of Silverton's beginnings