Monitor, Oregon is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

in Marion County,

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

, United States It is about northeast of the city of Mt. Angel, on Butte Creek in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east ...

. It is part of the Salem

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. ''

Oregon Geographic Names ''Oregon Geographic Names'' is a compilation of the origin and meaning of place names in the U.S. state of Oregon, published by the Oregon Historical Society. The book was originally published in 1928. It was compiled and edited by Lewis A. Mc ...

'' (OGN) states that a local story about the possible origin of the name "Monitor" is that it is derived from a type of

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

, the Monitor mill, in use in the early days of the community. In 1990, however, a descendant of one of the owners of the mill told ''OGNs compiler that the mill was named after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

ironclad warship An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...

the USS ''Monitor''. Furthermore, the community of Monitor did not exist until 1869, when the post office was established, and this was apparently the first use of the name for the locality. Thus, it is more likely the community was named after the ship. Monitor is surrounded by

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

. Each spring, a tulip festival is held at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm about one mile north of the town center, across Butte Creek in

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

. Monitor shares its ZIP codes with the nearby cities of Woodburn (97071) and Mt. Angel (97362).

External links

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

Historic images of Monitor covered bridge from Salem Public Library
Unincorporated communities in Marion County, Oregon 1869 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1869 Unincorporated communities in Oregon {{MarionCountyOR-geo-stub