Canyon City is a city in
Grant County Grant County may refer to:
Places
;Australia
* County of Grant, Victoria
;United States
*Grant County, Arkansas
*Grant County, Indiana
* Grant County, Kansas
*Grant County, Kentucky
*Grant County, Minnesota
*Grant County, Nebraska
*Grant C ...
,
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. It is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Grant County Grant County may refer to:
Places
;Australia
* County of Grant, Victoria
;United States
*Grant County, Arkansas
*Grant County, Indiana
* Grant County, Kansas
*Grant County, Kentucky
*Grant County, Minnesota
*Grant County, Nebraska
*Grant C ...
, and is about south of
John Day on
U.S. Highway 395
U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...
. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 703.
Geography
Canyon City is along U.S. Route 395 about south of the city of John Day, the
John Day River
The John Day River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northeastern Oregon in the United States. It is known as the Mah-Hah River by the Cayuse people, the original inhabitants of the region. Undammed along its entire ...
, and
U.S. Route 26
U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and ...
.
It is east of
Bend and southeast of
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
.
The city is at an elevation of about .
Between Canyon City and
Burns Burns may refer to:
* Burn, an injury (plural)
People:
* Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters
Business:
* Burns London, a British guitar maker
Places:
;In the United States
* Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...
, to the south, Route 395 passes through parts of the
Malheur National Forest
The Malheur National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. It contains more than in the Blue Mountains (Pacific Northwest), Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. The forest consists of Great Basin ...
.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , all land.
Climate
This
climatic
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Canyon City has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.
History
Canyon City was established in June 1862 as a result of the discovery of gold in Canyon Creek, which flows from the south to meet the John Day River at John Day.
As up to 10,000 miners flocked to Whiskey Gulch and other sections of the canyon during the early stages of the
rush, land values between Canyon City and John Day rose to about $500 per square yard ($600/m
2).
Little of this estimated population influx is reflected in
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
tallies for Canyon City, which have fluctuated between 250 and about 700 since 1870.
![1885 Canyon City, Oregon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/1885_Canyon_City%2C_Oregon.jpeg)
Estimates of the total value of Canyon Creek's gold varied. Geologist
Waldemar Lindgren
Waldemar Lindgren (February 14, 1860 – November 3, 1939) was a Swedish-American geologist. Lindgren was one of the founders of modern economic geology.
Biography
Waldemar Lindgren was born in Vassmolösa, Kalmar Municipality, in the historica ...
indicated that between $3 million and $5 million in gold was extracted for each of the first three years, 1862–64.
Rossiter Raymond, the U.S. Commissioner of Mining Statistics, reported an average of $1.1 million a year between 1865 and 1870, afterward gradually tapering downwards.
The figures given by Lindgren and Raymond were based on the fixed value of gold at $20.67 per ounce. As such, these authoritative sources should be interpreted to estimate the annual gold production of Canyon Creek at 150,000 to 250,000 ounces in 1862, 1863 and 1864, then averaging 55,000 ounces each year between 1865 and 1870. Earlier estimates that $16 million in gold was extracted from Canyon Creek were revised to $26 million
after the fixed value of gold increased to $35 per ounce in 1933. These figures indicate that gross gold production from Canyon Creek for the 40 years between 1862 and 1902 was approximately 800,000 ounces. In 2013, at $1,400 per ounce, that gold would be valued at $1.12 billion. Gold production continued for another 40 years, until 1942, when the War Labor Board issued L-208, which prohibited gold mining and effectively killed the gold mining industry in the United States.
Many miners and others entered the area along a wagon road linking
The Dalles
The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...
on the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
, with Canyon City. A few years later, this road was part of the template for what became known as
The Dalles Military Road.
The city was
platted
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
in 1862 and was chosen as the county seat two years later, when Grant County was created from old
Wasco County
Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe w ...
and old
Umatilla County
Umatilla County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,075. Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton remains the county seat. Umatilla County is part of ...
. Canyon City was
incorporated in 1891, and voters elected C. W. Parrish as the first mayor.
Canyon City has been described as the "''
Deadwood of Oregon''" and is the site of a
Boot Hill Cemetery.
Economy
The biggest employer in Canyon City as of 2002 was the county government, which had employees in the courthouse, the jail, and the road and health departments. The second biggest employer was Grant School District, in the district office and in Humboldt Elementary School. The next three biggest were Grayback Forestry, a reforestation and fire-suppression company; Jackson Oil, a gas station, mini-mart, and office; and an
Oregon Department of Transportation
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...
maintenance shop.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 703 people, 322 households, and 198 families residing in the town. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 355 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.2%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 2.7%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.3% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.6% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 2.6% of the population.
There were 322 households, of which 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.5% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.73.
The median age in the town was 46.8 years. 18.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 31.8% were from 45 to 64; and 21.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 45.2% male and 54.8% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 669 people in the town, organized into 257 households and 180 families. The population density was 480.3 people per square mile (185.8/km
2). There were 294 housing units at an average density of 211.1 per square mile (81.7/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 90.58% White, 2.84% Native American, 0.15% Black or African American, 2.09% from other races, and 4.33% from two or more races. No one identified himself as Asian or Pacific Islander. 4.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 257 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the town the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,940, and the median income for a family was $41,458. Males had a median income of $31,167 versus $23,438 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $14,404. 7.8% of the population and 5.7% of families were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. Out of the total population, 9.2% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Notable person
*
Joaquin Miller
Cincinnatus Heine Miller (; September 8, 1837 – February 17, 1913), better known by his pen name Joaquin Miller (), was an American poet, author, and frontiersman. He is nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras" after the Sierra Nevada, about which h ...
, poet and essayist
See also
*
St. Thomas' Episcopal Church (Canyon City, Oregon)
St. Thomas Episcopal Church is a historic church in Canyon City in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Background
It was built in 1876 in a Stick–Eastlake style/Jacobean style. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
...
References
External links
Entry for Canyon Cityin the ''
Oregon Blue Book
The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division.
The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and on ...
''
Canyon Cityby the Grant County
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...
{{authority control
Cities in Oregon
County seats in Oregon
Cities in Grant County, Oregon
Boot Hill cemeteries
1862 establishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1862