La Grande is a city in Union 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. Originally named "Brownsville," it was forced to change its name because that name was being used for a city in Linn County. Located in the

Grande Ronde Valley The Grande Ronde Valley is a valley in Union County in northeastern Oregon, United States. It is surrounded by the Blue Mountains, and is drained by the Grande Ronde River. La Grande is its largest community. The valley is long, north to sout ...

, the city's name comes from an early French settler, Charles Dause, who often used the phrase "La Grande" to describe the area's beauty. The population was 13,082 at the 2010 census. 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 Union County. La Grande lies east of the Blue Mountains and southeast of Pendleton.

History

Early settlement

The

had long been a waypoint along the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

. The first permanent settler in the La Grande area was Benjamin Brown in 1861. Not long after, the Leasey family and about twenty others settled there. The settlement was originally named after Ben Brown as Brown's Fort, Brown's Town, or Brownsville. There was already a Brownsville in Linn County, so when the post office was established in 1863, a more distinctive name was needed. It was decided to use "La Grande", a phrase used by a Frenchman, Charles Dause, to describe the area's scenic splendor. Before the post office was established, William Currey charged 50 cents a letter to carry the mail on horseback to and from the nearest post office, in

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

. La Grande was incorporated as a city in 1865, and

plat 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 ...

ted in 1868.

Growth

La Grande grew rapidly during the late 1860s and early 1870s, partially because of the region's many gold mines and the valley's agricultural capabilities. The early business establishments centered on C Avenue between present day Fourth Street and the hillside on the west end. In 1884, the railroad came to the flat slightly east of "Old Town". This helped the town to grow and gave rise to "New Town", centered on Adams Avenue and built parallel to the railroad tracks. By 1900, La Grande's population was 2992, representing half of the population of

Baker City Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census. History Pla ...

. La Grande's

Eastern Oregon University Eastern Oregon University (EOU) (officially designated as Oregon’s Rural University) is a public university in La Grande, Oregon. It was formerly part of the Oregon University System, since dissolved. EOU was founded in 1929 as a teacher’ ...

, formerly known as Eastern Oregon State College, began in 1929 as Eastern Oregon Normal School, a

teachers college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

Sugar factory

La Grande had a factory for processing sugar beets into raw sugar. The sugar beets came from the nearby

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

town of Nibley, Oregon, and both were owned by the

Oregon Sugar Company The Oregon Sugar Company was a sugar beet growing and processing operation created by the founders of the Amalgamated Sugar Company of Utah. The company was incorporated February 12, 1898, by David Eccles, Charles W. Nibley, and George Stoddard. ...

. R. Doerstling, the superintendent of the factory in 1899, reported seeing a Native American

teepee A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟó ...

built out of used cloth filters from the factory.

Geography

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 city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The town is a major hub in the valley.

Mount Emily Mount Emily ( Tolowa: en-may ) is a mountain in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. It is located in southern Curry County in the extreme southwest corner of the state, near Brookings, approximately from the Pacif ...

is a

landmark towering over the city of La Grande to the north. It often features prominently on logos of local organizations and is matched on the other side of the valley by a similar landmark, Mount Harris.

Climate

Under 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, La Grande features a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Köppen ''Csb''), closely bordering on a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Köppen ''Csa''). This climate type is characterized by warm, dry summers and cold winters.

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 13,082 people, 5,395 households, and 3,073 families living in the city. 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 5,794 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.3%

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 o ...

, 0.8%

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 ens ...

, 1.4% Native American, 1.1%

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 ...

, 1.5%

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 O ...

, 1.4% 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 2.5% 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 ...

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 4.6% of the population. There were 5,395 households, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.0% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age in the city was 32.8 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 16% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 23.3% were from 45 to 64; and 14.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,327 people, 5,124 households, and 2,982 families living in the city. The population density was 2,833.5 people per square mile (1,094.1/km²). There were 5,483 housing units at an average density of 1,260.3 per square mile (486.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.92% White, 1.26% Asian, 0.90% Pacific Islander, 0.78% Native American, 0.68% African American, 1.40% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.77% of the population. There were 5,124 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 16.5% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,576, and the median income for a family was $40,508. Males had a median income of $32,746 versus $21,930 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 city was $16,550. About 8.3% of families and 15.2% of the population 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 ...

, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Museums and other points of interest

Commercial district

:''See also

Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons (or simply Commons) is a media repository of free-to-use images, sounds, videos and other media. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Files from Wikimedia Commons can be used across all of the Wikimedia projects in ...

Photographs from the La Grande Commercial Historic District'' City Hall - La Grande Oregon

La Grande includes a historic commercial district listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in September 2001. The district is bounded by the following: *on the northeast, by

Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a ...

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

tracks along Jefferson Avenue; *on the south, by Spring Avenue, Greenwood Street and Cove Avenue; *on the southwest by Washington Avenue; and *on the west by Fourth Street.

Education

The city is served by the La Grande School District, which includes Central Elementary School, Island City Elementary, Greenwood Elementary School, La Grande Middle School, and

La Grande High School La Grande High School is a public high school in the western United States, located in La Grande, Oregon. Academics In 2008, 81% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 197 students, 159 graduated, 29 dropped out, and nine wer ...

. La Grande is the home of

Media

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' is the local daily newspaper. Local radio stations include

KLBM KLBM (1450 AM, "Supertalk 1450") is a radio station in La Grande, Oregon. KLBM is simulcast with KBKR in Baker City, Oregon. It is owned by Pacific Empire Radio Corporation. All five stations owned and operated by Pacific Empire Radio Corporatio ...

AM 1450 and the following stations on the FM dial:

KUBQ KUBQ (98.7 FM, "The Ranch") is a radio station licensed to serve La Grande, Oregon, in the United States of America. The station is owned by the Pacific Empire Radio Corporation. KUBQ broadcasts a country music format to eastern Oregon. All fi ...

FM 98.7,

KWRL KWRL (102.3 FM, "The River") is a radio station licensed to serve La Grande, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The station is owned by Elkhorn Media Group and the broadcast license is held by KWRL, LLC. KWRL broadcasts a hot adult contemporary mus ...

FM 102.3, KTVR FM 90.3

KCMB KCMB (104.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Baker City, Oregon, United States. The station is owned by the Elkhorn Media Group and the broadcast license is held by KCMB, LLC. Programming KCMB broadcasts a country music format that includ ...

FM 104.7, and

KRJT KRJT (105.9 FM broadcasting, FM, "Boomer Radio 95.3 & 105.9") is an American radio station city of license, licensed to serve the city of license, community of Elgin, Oregon. The station is owned by the Pacific Empire Radio Corporation. All five s ...

FM 105.9. La Grande is considered part of the Portland television market despite its distance from the western part of the state.

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...

affiliate

KUNP KUNP (channel 16) is a television station licensed to La Grande, Oregon, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language Univision network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Portland-based ABC affiliate KATU (channel 2). Bot ...

(channel 16) is licensed to La Grande as a sister station to Portland

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

affiliate

KATU KATU (channel 2) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside La Grande–licensed Univision affiliate KUNP (channel 16). Both stations share studios on N ...

(channel 2), though is effectively considered to be a Portland station because its former owner employed a strategy of using fringe stations to serve an entire market through cable and satellite distribution with little to no local presence (KUNP's parent company maintains a

translator station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

serving Portland proper).

Transportation

Highways

* Interstate 84 is the main freeway past La Grande. It links La Grande with other nearby cities in the area ( Pendleton,

), as well as other regionally important cities, including

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Umatilla,

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 ...

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

, and

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

and Tri-Cities, and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. *

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

serves as La Grande's main street under the name of Adams Avenue. *

Oregon Route 82 Oregon Route 82 (OR 82) is a state highway in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It travels from U.S. Route 30 (US 30) at La Grande to an intersection with Oregon Routes 350 and 351 in Joseph. It is kn ...

begins in La Grande at its intersection with Adams Avenue. The La Grande area's portion of OR 82 is Island Avenue, commonly known as the Island City Strip because it serves as the main road to La Grande's northern suburb of Island City. OR 82 ends in

Wallowa County Wallowa County () is the northeastern most county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,391, making it Oregon's fifth-least populous county. Its county seat is Enterprise. According to '' Oregon Geographic Nam ...

's town of Joseph, Oregon. *

Oregon Route 237 Oregon Route 237 is an Oregon state highway running from OR 82 in Island City to Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30 in North Powder. OR 237 is composed of the Cove Highway No. 342 (see Oregon highways and routes) and part of the La Grande-Bak ...

begins in nearby Island City and is the main route to the nearby town of

Cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are o ...

. It ends in North Powder and joins Interstate 84 there. *

Oregon Route 203 Oregon Route 203 is an Oregon state highway running from Interstate 84 near La Grande to I-84 near Baker City. OR 203 is composed of part of the La Grande-Baker Highway No. 66 (see Oregon highways and routes) and the Medical Springs Highway No. ...

starts southeast of La Grande, near the intersection of Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30. It is the main route to the town of

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. It ends a few miles north of

. The Highway travels through Pyles Canyon and is an alternate route to Ladd Canyon, the main route on I-84 out of the

to the south.

Rail

La Grande is a crew change point on the Huntington and La Grande subdivisions of the

, originally constructed through the area in 1884 by the

Oregon Railway and Navigation Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a railroad that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Idaho. It operated from 1896 as a ...

. Between 1977 and 1997, the city had a station along the former route of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's ''

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

'' between

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

and

. The 1930-built station still exists, and is used by Union Pacific as offices. La Grande is also the junction of the Idaho Northern and Pacific Railroad's short line to Elgin.

Air

La Grande/Union County Airport La Grande/Union County Airport is four miles southeast of La Grande, in Union County, Oregon, United States. It is owned by Union County. West Coast Airlines DC-3s stopped at the airport from 1959 to 1960. Facilities The airport covers an ...

Notable people

Ray Baum Raymond Sims Baum (August 18, 1955 – February 9, 2018) was an American lawyer, lobbyist, and politician Baum was born and raised in La Grande, Oregon. He studied at Brigham Young University and Willamette University College of Law. Baum was ...

, Oregon state legislator, lawyer * Jadin Bell, whose suicide helped spark national awareness of

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

* Joe Bell, anti-bullying and suicide awareness activist, and father of Jadin Bell *

Bucky Buckwalter Morris "Bucky" Buckwalter (born November 22, 1933) is a former National Basketball Association coach and executive, as well as a former coach in the American Basketball Association. Buckwalter grew up in La Grande, Oregon, and played high school ...

, former National Basketball Association coach and executive *

John F. Nugent John Frost Nugent (June 28, 1868September 18, 1931) was an American attorney and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Idaho. He served three years in the United States Senate, from 1918 to 1921. Early life and education ...

, United States Senator from Idaho *

William De Los Santos William De Los Santos is a Hawaiian American author, poet, screenwriter, film director and producer. He is best known for having written and produced the 2003 film ''Spun'', which starred Jason Schwartzman (who portrays De Los Santos in the film) ...

, poet, screenwriter and film director *

Ron Gilbert Ron Gilbert (born January 1, 1964) is an American video game designer, video-game designer, video game programmer, programmer, and video game producer, producer. His games are generally focused on interactive story-telling, and he is arguably bes ...

, a computer game designer, best known for his work on several LucasArts adventure games * Steve House, professional climber and mountain guide * Jack Ward Thomas, senior research wildlife biologist, 13th Chief of the U.S. Forest Service *

Agnes Vernon Agnes Vernon (18951948) was an American film actress of the silent era. While still in her teens, she experienced a meteoric ascent from obscurity to box-office sensation. After turning twenty-three and a movie career fading away, she abandoned ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

actress *

Paul Wheaton Paul Wheaton is an American permaculture author,Stollar, R.L“Paul Wheaton and Permaculture”Eugene Daily News. Retrieved January 4th 2013.Fredrickson, Erika"Grow Wild" Missoula Independent. Retrieved May 26th, 2020. Master gardener program, ma ...

permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...

theorist,

software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...

References

External links

City of La Grande
(official website)
La Grande listing
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 on ...

'' *
Union County Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Oregon County seats in Oregon Cities in Union County, Oregon Populated places established in 1865 Micropolitan areas of Oregon 1865 establishments in Oregon