Alpine is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

rural community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in Benton County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is west of Monroe off

Oregon Route 99W Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees with ...

. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 171.

History

Alpine was so named because it is on the top of one of the foothills of the

Central Oregon Coast Range The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and ...

. It is noted that the "situation is not particularly

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

in character". Alpine School operated for several years before there was a settlement in the location, thus the community took its name from the school. In 1908, the Corvallis and Alsea River Railway Company began construction of a line that ended in the settlement of Alpine when funding ran out. The community has burned three times since its heyday in the early 1900s. A post office was established in 1912 and operated until 1976. Alpine now has a Monroe mailing address. Alpine Elementary School closed in 2003. When the Alpine Market closed in 2004, the Alpine Tavern (built in 1936) started selling groceries. In 2005, a vintage photograph of the tavern was featured in a

Miller Beer The Miller Brewing Company is an American brewery and beer company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Molson Coors acquired the full global brand portfolio of Miller Brewing Company in 2016, and operates the M ...

advertisement, and the market was due to be razed. As of November 2019, the Alpine Tavern was still a thriving business in the community, preserving area history.

Museums and other points of interest

Alpine is on the Benton County Scenic Loop, a scenic driving route. To the west of Alpine is the Woodhall Vineyard, a research vineyard operated by

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

References

External links

1961 photo of Alpine from Salem Public LibraryPhotographs from ''Alpine Tavern: Photographs of a Social Gathering Place''
James Cloutier's 1977 book
South Benton Community Center
Unincorporated communities in Benton County, Oregon Census-designated places in Oregon 1912 establishments in Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{BentonCountyOR-geo-stub