Monmouth, Oregon
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| Monmouth, Oregon | |
 | |
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| County | Polk County |
| Incorporated | 1859 |
| Mayor | Larry Dalton |
| Area | |
| - City | 5.0 km² (1.9 sq mi) |
| - Land | 5.0 km² (1.9 sq mi) |
| - Water | 0 km² (0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 65.23 m (214 ft) |
| Population | |
| - City (2000) | 7,741 |
| - Density | 587.0/km² (1,517.7/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
| Website: http://www.ci.monmouth.or.us | |
Monmouth (IPA: [mɑn məθ] is a city in Polk County, Oregon, United States. It was named for Monmouth, Illinois, whence its earliest settlers came. The population was 7,741 at the 2000 census.
Contents |
[edit] History
Monmouth was settled in 1853 by a group of pioneers who made a point of allocating 640 acres (2.6 km²) to build both a city and a "college under the auspices of the Christian Church" according to Lewis MacArthur in his Oregon Geographic Names, and proceeds from the sale of these lands were used to found Monmouth University. Hence from the beginning of Monmouth, its college was part of the community. However, by the early 1880's the college fell on hard times. In 1882, ownership was transferred to the State of Oregon and it was renamed Oregon State Normal School at Monmouth. It is now known as Western Oregon University. Beyond the university, Monmouth is a mostly agricultural town.
An excellent history of Monmouth and the college was published by Ellis Stebbins, retired registrar of Oregon College of Education (the college name after Normal School)
For decades, Monmouth had a long-running rivalry with neighboring Independence, caused in part by Monmouth's ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages in supermarkets, restaurants and bars, and Independence's willingness to remedy this deficit. Monmouth's police department for many years would assign a number of officers to monitor the east city limits about the time the bars closed in Independence. This rivalry was exacerbated by the city's practice of dumping untreated sewage into Ash Creek, which one year flooded Independence with septic sludge.
[edit] Trivia
In early years, Monmouth and Independence were joined by a narrow gauge railroad.
Monmouth's police department consisted of only a chief of police until about 1950. During WWII the Chief, as it turned out, was driving a stolen car and was convicted of rape and murder.
Supermarkets didn't arrive in Monmouth until after WWII. Safeway had a small store (not a supermarket) for a couple of years before WWII.
Ash Creek was a good place to hunt arrowheads before WWII.
Monmouth marked the Northernmost edge of the tract of land that the U.S. Army annexed during WWII to practice for the invasion of Normandy.
Monmouth and Independence had a citizens band that played in the cities parks. After a few years the name was changed over Monmouth's objections to "The Independence Band."
The 144-year-old ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages came to an end January 10, 2003 after a public vote in 2002. At the time the ban was lifted, Monmouth was the last "dry" municipality in the western United States (excluding Alaska).
Monmouth was runner-up in the State B High School basketball tournament in 1948. The starting five were guards Noel Sawtelle and Lyle Ladehoff, forwards Buddy Heide and James Comstock and the center was Conrad Howard. Coach, Bud Gronquist and the team manager, Leroy Fleischman.
Miss Ann Baker represented the State of Oregon at the Miss America Contest shortly after graduating from high school in 1948.
Patrick Page, an award-winning Off-Broadway actor also known for being husband to Paige Davis, grew up in Monmouth.
[edit] Geography
Monmouth is located at (44.849153, -123.230004)GR1. It is about 15 miles west of Salem, Oregon on Oregon Highway 99W.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.0 km² (1.9 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 7,741 people, 2,757 households, and 1,488 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,548.6/km² (4,004.3/mi²). There were 2,934 housing units at an average density of 587.0/km² (1,517.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.67% White, 0.92% African American, 1.05% Native American, 2.04% Asian, 0.74% Pacific Islander, 6.21% from other races, and 3.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.73% of the population.
There were 2,757 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 24.4% 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 2.50 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 19.5% under the age of 18, 35.9% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,256, and the median income for a family was $48,600. Males had a median income of $33,500 versus $25,185 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,474. About 7.1% of families and 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Colleges and universities
[edit] Bibliography
- Scott McArthur. Monmouth, Oregon: the Saga of a Small American Town. Rickreall, Oregon: Polk County History Museum, 2004
- Conrad Howard, memories of growing up in Monmouth 2006, choward1@bak.rr.com
[edit] External links
- City of Monmouth
- Oregon Blue Book entry for Monmouth
- Photos from the Salem Archives.
- Religious Roots of the town.
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
