Brownsville is a city in Linn County,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 1,694.

History

Establishment

Brownsville was originally known as "Calapooya" after the area's original inhabitants, the

Kalapuya The Kalapuya are a Native American people, which had eight independent groups speaking three mutually intelligible dialects. The Kalapuya tribes' traditional homelands were the Willamette Valley of present-day western Oregon in the United Sta ...

Native People, or "Kirk's Ferry", after the ferry operated across the Calapooia River by early settlers Alexander and Sarah Kirk. When Linn County was created from the southern portion of Champoeg County on December 28, 1847, the Provisional Legislature named Calapooia as the county seat. The Spaulding School in Brownsville served as the original county courthouse. Brownsville was named in honor of Hugh L. Brown, who settled there in 1846 and opened the first store. In 1851, the Territorial Legislature passed an act establishing Albany as the county seat. A special election in 1856 reaffirmed Albany as the county seat.Paul A. 2010 September 10. Fixing Courthouse Steps: It's an Art. Albany Democratic Herald.

''Stand by Me''

In the mid-1980s, Brownsville assumed a modicum of international renown as the location for the film '' Stand by Me'', directed by

Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...

.Alex Paul, "The Resident Expert: Linda McCormick Can Tell You All About the Film 'Stand by Me,'" ''Albany Democrat-Herald,'' July 20, 2016; special section, pg. S2. The film was shot in and around the community in June and July 1985, with theatrical release in August 1986. About 100 local residents were used as extras in the film, and the event was memorialized in 2007 with the first community celebration of Stand by Me Day on July 23 of that year. The date for Stand by Me Day was chosen by local resident and expert on the film Linda McCormick, who recalled in a 2016 interview that the day had been picked as one that did not interfere with other regional events and "wasn't too close to the start of the school year." About 2,000 visitors made the pilgrimage to Brownsville for the 2007 event. The celebration has been held annually since that year, with the exception of 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The 2016 iteration, honoring the 30th anniversary of the cinematic release, introduced the first "Ray Brower Memorial 5K Walk/Run," named in honor of the dead body around which the film's plot revolved. First Baptist Church of Brownsville

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 1,668 people, 639 households, and 461 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 685 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population. There were 639 households, of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.9% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age in the city was 39.6 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 29.3% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,449 people, 535 households, and 411 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 579 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.65% White, 0.35% African American, 1.66% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 3.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population. There were 535 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 19.4% 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 2.71 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,486, and the median income for a family was $39,671. Males had a median income of $37,400 versus $24,643 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,272. About 5.6% of families and 8.8% 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 ...

, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

*
Entry for Brownsville
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 ...

''
Brownsville Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Linn County, Oregon 1847 establishments in Oregon Country Populated places established in 1847 Former county seats in Oregon