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Gresham ( ) is a city located in
Multnomah County, Oregon Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland– Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Th ...
, in the United States of America, immediately east of Portland, Oregon. It is considered a suburb within the Greater Portland Metropolitan area. Though it began as a settlement in the mid-1800s, it was not officially incorporated as a city until 1905; it was named after Walter Quintin Gresham, the American Civil War general and United States Secretary of State. The city's early economy was sustained largely by farming, and by the mid-20th century the city experienced a population boom, growing from 4,000 residents to over 10,000 between 1960 and 1970. The population was 105,594 at the 2010 census, making Gresham the fourth largest city in Oregon.


History

The area now known as Gresham was first settled in 1851 by brothers Jackson and James Powell, who claimed land under the
Donation Land Claim Act The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, sometimes known as the Donation Land Act, was a statute enacted by the United States Congress in late 1850, intended to promote homestead settlements in the Oregon Territory. It followed the Distribution-Pree ...
of 1850. They were soon joined by other pioneer families, and the area came to be known as Powell's Valley. In 1884, a local merchant petitioned the
United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postma ...
for a post office in his store, and offered to name it after Postmaster General Walter Q. Gresham if his request was granted. At the same time, other members of the community secured a post office called "Campground", another name for the area, referencing the religious
camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...
ground located there and the valley's usefulness as a stop-off for travelers on their way to Portland. Once the Post Office Department realized its mistake, it revoked the Campground post office. Gresham was incorporated in 1905, the year of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition; its population at the time was 365. Lewis Shattuck, son of a pioneer family, was the first mayor. The town's economy was fueled largely by farming, including berries, grapes, and vegetables. At the time, trains ran between Gresham and Portland on an hourly basis. Gresham's early settlers would go on to form the outlying communities of Boring,
Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...
, Fairview, and Estacada. Gresham's city library, which began as a small book collection in the town's general store, was officially established as the Gresham Branch Public Library in 1913 with a grant from the Andrew Carnegie library fund. Gresham General Hospital opened in 1959 in downtown Gresham. In 1984, the hospital moved to Stark Street and became Mount Hood Medical Center. In August 2016, the town was the place of the racially motivated murder of Larnell Bruce.


Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The total area includes parts of Fairview Creek and Johnson Creek.


Topography

Gresham is located from
downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the city center of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildings are found. ...
; the dividing line between Portland and Gresham's city limits is roughly at SE 162nd Avenue in some areas, and 172nd Avenue in others. Gresham's north and south borders are divided along U.S. Route 26, also known as the
Mount Hood Highway The Mount Hood Highway No. 26 (see Oregon highways and routes) is the Oregon Department of Transportation's designation for a highway from Portland east around the south side of Mount Hood and north via Bennett Pass to Hood River. It is marked ...
, which begins on its western border along Powell Boulevard, then continues on Burnside Street before returning to the
Mount Hood Highway The Mount Hood Highway No. 26 (see Oregon highways and routes) is the Oregon Department of Transportation's designation for a highway from Portland east around the south side of Mount Hood and north via Bennett Pass to Hood River. It is marked ...
in east Gresham. The city is located roughly east of the
Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Colum ...
. Though much of Gresham is relatively flat, it is characterized by a hill on its eastern border. Northeast Gresham is also hilly, particularly where the city meets Troutdale toward 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, ...
. Its elevation is . Johnson Creek, which begins at the foothills of the
Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades 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, ...
, runs westward through Gresham, with 23 percent of the creek's watershed running through the city.


Climate

Gresham, like most of western Oregon, has a Mediterranean climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Csb''/''Csa''). Summers feature pleasant mornings, very warm and sunny afternoons and only very occasional rainfall, whereas winters are cloudy with cool to cold afternoons, occasional frosts, and frequent long rainy periods.


Demographics


2000 census

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $43,442, and the mean income for a family was $51,126. Males had a median income of $37,701 versus $27,744 for females. That is a difference of $9,957. The per capita income for the city was $19,588. About 8.4% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under the age of 18 and 6.7% of those 65 and older. ;2005-2007 American Community Survey Estimates *83.9% - White (71.1 non-Hispanic White) *18.3% - Hispanic or Latino (of any race) *5.1% - Asian *5.1% - Some other race *4.7% - American Indian or Alaska Native *3.7% - African American or Black *0.3% - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander


2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 105,594 people, 38,704 households, and 25,835 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 41,015 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 76.0% White, 3.5%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
, 1.3% Native American, 4.3% Asian, 0.7%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...
, 9.8% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.9% of the population. There were 38,704 households, of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.2% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.22. The median age in the city was 33.6 years. 26.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.


Arts and culture


Historic sites

There are several National Register of Historic Places sites located in Gresham. The Louise Home Hospital and Residence Hall, is located in west Gresham, and serves as a social services facility. Other sites include: the Jacob Zimmerman House, a farmhouse built by German-American settlers in 1874; the Hamlin–Johnson House, a farmhouse built in 1888; the Emanuel and Christina Anderson House and William Gedamke House, both Victorian Queen Anne homes built circa 1900; the Gresham Carnegie Library, built in 1913; the Dr. Herbert H. Hughes House, built in 1922; the Charles and Fae Olson House, a modernist home built in 1946; and the David and Marianne Ott House, a ranch home built in 1952.


Parks and recreation

There are numerous parks in Gresham, such as Main City Park, located near downtown Gresham. Other parks include East Gresham Park, Red Sunset Park, and Clatsop Butte Park, an upland
butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word meani ...
located south of
Powell Butte Powell Butte is an extinct cinder cone butte in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Boring Lava Field, which includes more than 80 small volcanic edifices and lava flows in the Portland–Vancouver metropolitan area. The region ...
, which lies between Portland and Gresham. Other public points of interest are the Arts Plaza and Gresham Pioneer Cemetery, established in 1859.


Bicycle/pedestrian trails

*
Springwater Corridor The Springwater Corridor Trail is a bicycle and pedestrian rail trail in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It follows a former railway line from Boring through Gresham to Portland, where it ends south of the Eastbank Espl ...
* 40-Mile Loop *Gresham–Fairview Trail *Gresham Butte Saddle Trail *Kelly Creek Greenway Trail *Nadaka Loop Trail


Government

The City of Gresham operates under the council–manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected to be the legislative and policy-making body for the city. The council appoints a city manager who is responsible for the daily operations of the city. The city manager of Gresham is Nina Vetter, who was appointed to the position on May 3, 2021. The city council consists of the mayor and six councilors, all of whom serve four-year terms. Elections are held in November of even-numbered years. In election years divisible by four, (e.g., 2000, 2004, 2008), three councilors are elected. In election years not divisible by four, (e.g., 1998, 2002, 2006), the other three councilors and the mayor are elected.


Education

Gresham is served by three school districts:
Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...
, Gresham-Barlow, and Reynolds. High schools include Gresham High School,
Sam Barlow High School Sam Barlow High School is a public high school in Gresham, Oregon, United States, in the Gresham-Barlow School District. It was named after the Oregon pioneer Sam Barlow. Teacher Stephen Corkett received the University of Oregon's high school ...
, Centennial High School, and Reynolds High School. Private schools include Portland Adventist Elementary School, Eastside Christian School, and Morningstar Montessori school.
Mount Hood Community College Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) is a public community college in Gresham, Oregon, United States, named after Mount Hood. Opened in 1966, MHCC enrolls around 30,000 students each year and offers classes at the main campus in Gresham, as well as ...
is also located in Gresham, and is the only college located within the city limits. It offers associate degrees, as well as bachelor's programs through a partnership with Eastern Oregon University. According to the US Census, 27.16% of the Gresham residents had a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...
, while 9.93% had earned a master's degree or above.


Infrastructure


Transportation


Highways

Gresham is accessed from the west via Interstate 84 and via U.S. Route 26 from the east.


Mass transit

Gresham is serviced by TriMet's bus system and the MAX Light Rail Blue Line, which includes the following MAX stations: * East 162nd Avenue * East 172nd Avenue * East 181st Avenue * Rockwood/East 188th Avenue (serving the Rockwood neighborhood) * Ruby Junction/East 197th Avenue * Civic Drive * Gresham City Hall * Gresham Central Transit Center * Cleveland Avenue (the Blue Line's eastern terminus) Gresham is also served by the fareless
Sandy Area Metro Sandy Area Metro (called SAM) is a public transit system operated by the city government of Sandy, Oregon. SAM was created after the city successfully petitioned to be removed from the TriMet district in the late 1990s.Briggs, Kara (December 29, 1 ...
shuttle bus to Sandy, Oregon.


Notable people

*
Shannon Bex Shannon Rae Bex (born March 22, 1980) is an American singer, reality show personality, professional dancer, and co-founder of Vooks. the world's first streaming platform for children's storybooks. She was also a member of girl group Danity Kane ...
(b. 1980), member of Danity Kane *
Brian Burres Brian Burres (born April 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Burres' best pitch is his changeup. He also has a high 80s-low 90 MPH fastball and a curveball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orio ...
(b. 1981), Major League Baseball pitcher *
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American actor, former U.S. Army sergeant, former mixed martial artist and former collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestler. During his tenures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he became ...
(b. 1963), mixed martial arts fighter * Sam Crouser (b. 1991), Olympic athlete * Marco Farfan, professional soccer player * Nikki Fuller (b. 1968), professional female bodybuilder *
Robert Garrigus Robert Garrigus (born November 11, 1977) is an American professional golfer who is currently a member of the PGA Tour. He won the 2010 Children's Miracle Network Classic, the last event of the PGA Tour season, to guarantee exempt status on the ...
(b. 1977), PGA Tour * Katie Harman (b. 1980), Miss America 2002 *
Jess Hartley Christina K. "Jess" Hartley (born December 11, 1967) is an American novelist, writer, game creator, and editor. Hartley is the author of the novel ''Exalted: In Northern Twilight''
(b. 1967), author, editor, and tabletop game designer * Fred Jones (b. 1979), National Basketball Association player * Fouad Kaady (January 8, 1978 – September 8, 2005), a resident who was shot to death by police after being injured in a car wreck * Robert S. Lucas, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral *
Ronald A. Marks Ronald Anthony Marks FRSA is a former senior Central Intelligence Agency official and Capitol Hill Staffer. He is currently Chairman and CEO of ZPN Cyber and National Security Strategies and an academic focused on Cyber and Intelligence policy is ...
, former CIA official * Khamphoui Sisavatdy, prime minister of the Gresham-headquartered
Royal Lao Government in Exile The Royal Lao Government in Exile (RLGE) is a Laotian government in exile opposed to the Lao People's Democratic Republic. It purports to seek to institute a constitutional monarchy in Laos that ensures freedom, justice, peace, and prosperity fo ...
* Stu Weber, Christian author


Sister cities

Gresham's sister cities are: * Ebetsu, Japan (1977) * Owerri, Nigeria (1991) *
Sokcho Sokcho ( ko, 속초; ()) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located in the far northeast of Gangwon. The city is a major tourist hub, and a popular gateway to nearby Seoraksan national park. Sokcho is home to the few lakes: Yeongr ...
, South Korea (1985)


References

*


External links


City of Gresham official websiteEntry for Gresham
in 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 o ...
'' {{Authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Multnomah County, Oregon Populated places established in 1884 Portland metropolitan area 1884 establishments in Oregon