Prairie 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. The population was 909 at the 2010 census. The community was incorporated by the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

on February 23, 1891.

History

Prairie City grew out of the former mining camp of

Dixie Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

, established in 1862 about up Dixie Creek from 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 ...

. Prairie City, at the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

of the creek, was chosen after

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (Alluvium, alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining, open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer minin ...

rendered Dixie unsuitable for a townsite. The new city's post office was established in 1870 with Jules Le Bret as postmaster. A

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

line, the

Sumpter Valley Railway The Sumpter Valley Railway, or Sumpter Valley Railroad, is a narrow gauge heritage railroad located in Baker County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Built on a right-of-way used by the original railway of the same name, it carries excursion trains ...

(SVR), ran from

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 ...

west to Sumpter and on to its western terminus at Prairie City, which it reached in 1907. It carried passengers as well as freight shipped by ranchers, mining interests, and timber companies until its piecemeal abandonment in the 1930s. In the 21st century, a heritage railway operates on a segment of the original line between Sumpter and

McEwen The Scottish surname MacEwen derives from the Old Gaelic ''Mac Eoghainn'', meaning 'the son of Eoghann'. The name is found today in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. Because it was widely used before its spelling was standardised, the modern n ...

Geography

Prairie City is in eastern Oregon at the upper end of the John Day River valley. It is about southwest of Baker City by highway and east of John Day along

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 ...

. Strawberry Mountain in the

Strawberry Mountain Wilderness Strawberry Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area of the Strawberry Mountain Range, within Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of east Oregon. The area comprises , including mountain peaks and several lakes, and contains more than o ...

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 ...

is directly south of the city. 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 , all land.

Demographics

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 909 people, 402 households, and 257 families residing 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 476 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.6%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 1.3% Native American, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 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 3.3% 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 3.1% of the population. There were 402 households, of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% 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, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.1% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.69. Riverside Schoolhouse, Prairie City, OR

The median age in the city was 49.8 years. 20.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.9% were from 25 to 44; 30.2% were from 45 to 64; and 25.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female. At the census of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $31,354, and the median income for a family was $35,893. Males had a median income of $31,771 versus $24,500 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 $16,278. About 10.6% of families and 14.7% 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 17.4% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The economy includes ranching, retail stores, a wood-fueled power plant, and public services. Prairie Wood Products, a mill that produces fine-grained studs from timber from nearby forests, is in Prairie City.

Education and culture

Prairie City School in Prairie City serves children from kindergarten through 12th grade. Architectural features in Prairie City include historic stone buildings and the former railway depot. The ground floor of the depot consists of a waiting room, railway station agent's office, baggage room, and freight office. The second floor, once the home of the station agent and his family, houses the Dewitt Museum, with pioneer artifacts, tools, furniture, and memorabilia, as well as rocks and minerals from the surrounding area. The depot was 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 1976.

Bates State Park Bates State Park is a state park in Grant County, Oregon, USA, near Prairie City. The park includes hiking trails, primitive RV and tent campsites, and a day use area for hikers and bicyclists. History The park is located on the Middle Fork Jo ...

, built on the site of a former lumber mill, is northeast of Prairie City at

Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Ell ...

, near Austin Junction at the intersection of U.S. Route 26 and

Oregon Route 7 Oregon Route 7 is an Oregon state highway which runs from Interstate 84 at Baker City to U.S. Route 26 at Austin Junction. OR 7 traverses several highways of the Oregon state highway system: Whitney Highway No. 71, part of the La G ...

References

External links

City of Prairie City

Entry for Prairie City
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 ...

''
Grant County Chamber of Commerce entry for Prairie City

Weather statistics for Prairie City
from The Weather Channel {{Authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Grant County, Oregon 1862 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1862