Crane, Oregon

Crane is an unincorporated town and census designated place in Harney County, Oregon, United States, northeast of Malheur Lake on Oregon Route 78. Its population was 116 at the 2020 census.

History

Crane was named for the prominent local features Crane Creek and Crane Creek Gap. Crane Creek Gap is the pass between the Harney Basin and the drainage basin of the South Fork Malheur River. Crane Creek is probably named for the sandhill crane, which was once abundant in eastern Oregon. Crane post office was established in 1895 and discontinued in 1903. When the Union Pacific Railroad was completed from Ontario, Oregon, in 1916, the post office was reopened.

Until the railroad was finished to Burns in 1924, Crane was an important livestock shipping point, and the town was thriving with its five restaurants, four hotels, three garages, two general merchandise stores, a warehouse, a lumber yard, livery stables, a dance hall, a newspaper, a bank and a movie theater. In the period 1927-1931, about 300 people lived in Crane.
Clipping
from Newspapers.com. There was an abbreviated version published:
Clipping
from Newspapers.com.

After a series of fires, the latest in 1938, however, the town never returned to its former prosperity. As of 2011, the businesses in Crane included a post office, a gas station, which is combined with a café and tavern, a farm supply store, and a local realtor.

Taylor Perse of ''Eugene Weekly'' stated that the community effectively reoriented itself around Crane Union High School. The Associated Press wrote that the school became "Crane's sole reason for being".

Geography

Crane is in eastern Harney County along Oregon Route 78 (Steens Highway), which leads northwest to Burns, the county seat, and southeast to U.S. Route 95 at Burns Junction.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Crane CDP has an area of , all of it land. It is northeast of Malheur Lake and by road northeast of the main entrance to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

By 2001, the town had some residences, the school facility, a post office, and a combined gas station and store.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 116 people, 65 housing units, and 52 families. There were 110 White people, 1 person from some other race, and 5 people from two or more races. 4 people were Hispanic or Latino.

The ancestry was 35.1% Irish, 27.7% German, 24.5% English, 21.3% Scottish, and 2.1% French.

The median age was 56.5 years old. 22.3% of the population were older than 65, with 14.9% between the ages of 65 and 74, and 7.4% older than 85.

The median household income was $31,389. 24.5% of the population were in poverty.

Economy

residents typically did grocery shopping in Burns. The convenience store in Crane had some items, but not as wide of a selection compared to a supermarket.

Education

Crane Union High School and Crane Elementary School are in Crane. The high school, which draws students from a large rural district, is a boarding school. The high school is of the Harney County Union High School District 1J, while the elementary school is of Harney County School District 4. Both school districts maintain separate boards of education. As of 2002, both districts hired the same person as superintendent and principal of both districts and both schools, respectively.

A 1967 fire caused an evacuation of Crane Elementary students, along with those of Crane Union, and destroyed the building that housed both schools. In 1985 Crane Elementary had a dedicated cafeteria, with staff, separate from that of the high school. In 1985 at least one student at least lived from the school. The school did not have dormitories available for the elementary students. After a 1984 flooding incident on the grounds of Lawen Elementary School, students from that school began attending Crane Elementary, initially on a temporary basis. In 1987 voters approved a merger of the Lawen school district into the Crane elementary district, and the merger was effective in 1988.

Harney County is not in a community college district but has a "contract out of district" (COD) with Treasure Valley Community College. TVCC operates the Burns Outreach Center in Burns.

Healthcare

In 1989, Nellie Nix of '' The Bulletin'' described the catchment area of Harney District Hospital in Burns as being Harney County. In 2005, Harney District Hospital provided a traveling doctor in a mobile trailer which visited Crane and other parts of the county.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Crane has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

References

External links

Historic photo of Crane railroad depot
from Salem Public Library

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Unincorporated communities in Harney County, Oregon
Census-designated places in Oregon
1895 establishments in Oregon
Populated places established in 1895
Census-designated places in Harney County, Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon