Dayton is a city in

Yamhill County, Oregon Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill Co ...

, United States. The population was 2,678 at the 2020 census.

History

The city was founded in 1850 by Andrew Smith and

Joel Palmer General Joel Palmer (October 4, 1810 – June 9, 1881) was an American pioneer of the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He was born in Upper Canada, and spent his early years in New York and Pennsylvania before se ...

. Palmer, who also served as superintendent of Indian affairs for Oregon, built a flour mill there. Dayton was named for Smith's hometown,

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. Dayton post office was opened in 1851, with Christopher Taylor serving as postmaster. There are many historic landmarks throughout the city. The oldest standing structure is the Joel Palmer House, built in 1852 or 1857. It has been on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since March 16, 1987, and has been painstakingly restored. Since 1996, it has been home to a four-star restaurant of the same name as the historic house. Nearby, in Courthouse Square Park, is the Fort Yamhill Block House, which was brought to Dayton in 1911 to prevent its demolition. The structure had been built by

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a 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, the ...

settlers on Fort Hill next to the Grand Ronde Coastal Reservation in 1855 and 1856. John G. Lewis, a citizen of Dayton, secured permission from authorities to move the logs to Dayton, where they were reassembled.

Geography

Dayton is located in the Willamette Valley, approximately southwest of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and east of McMinnville. 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 of it 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 2,534 people, 797 households, and 624 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 843 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.2%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 1.0% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 14.7% from other races, and 3.7% 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 29.9% of the population. There were 797 households, of which 48.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% 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, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 21.7% were non-families. 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.18 and the average family size was 3.52. The median age in the city was 32.8 years. 32.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.6% were from 25 to 44; 22.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,119 people, 641 households, and 516 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 656 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 80.70% White, 1.56% African American, 1.18% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 11.80% from other races, and 4.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.19% of the population. There were 641 households, out of which 49.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 15.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.31 and the average family size was 3.66. In the city, the population was spread out, with 36.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $40,556, and the median income for a family was $43,047. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $23,125 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 $13,140. About 11.7% of families and 14.1% 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 16.6% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Dayton is a rural community, with many people involved in agriculture such as vegetable, berry, nut, nursery plants, wheat production and dairy farming. The vineyards and wineries located in the

Willamette Valley AVA Willamette Valley ( ) is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) which lies in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the drainage basin of the Willamette River. It stretches from the Columbia River ...

and the Dundee Hills AVA are an increasing source of direct economic activity as well as a source of visitors to the city.

Transportation

Dayton is served by three signed Oregon

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

s and one unsigned state highway: * Signed highways **

Oregon Route 18 Oregon Route 18 is a state highway that runs between the Oregon Coast, near Lincoln City, Oregon, Lincoln City, and Newberg, Oregon, Newberg. OR 18 traverses the Salmon River Highway No. 39 of the Oregon state highway system, named a ...

** Oregon Route 221 ** Oregon Route 233, which travels as one road with State Route 18 between Lafayette Highway to the west and

Oregon Route 99W Oregon Route 99W is a state-numbered route in Oregon, United States, that runs from OR 99 and OR 99E in Junction City north to I-5 in southwestern Portland. Some signage continues it north to US 26 near downtown, but most signage agrees wi ...

to the east. *Unsigned highway ** Oregon Route 154 (SE Lafayette Highway) is assigned this route number south of its intersection with State Highway 233. Prior to the construction of Highway 18 as a

limited-access A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...

bypass of Dayton and McMinnville, Highway 233 continued east on its old route (SE Amity-Dayton Highway) into downtown Dayton, where it was named Ferry Street. The highway crossed the

Yamhill River The Yamhill River is an tributary of the Willamette River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of the South Yamhill River and the North Yamhill River about east of McMinnville, it drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast R ...

via

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

to the northeast side of the river at what is now called Alderman Park. There, Highway 233 continued northeast along SE Kreder Road to its northern terminus at what was then numbered as US Route 99W. During this period, the northern terminus of Highway 221 was located at its intersection with Ferry Street.

Government

Sometime in the late 19th century to early 20th century, land was donated for the construction of a

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

and library by a community member named Mary Gilkey. The current city hall and library used to be a firehouse. The library is part of the Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library Service.

Education

Dayton has three schools within the Dayton School District: Dayton Grade School, Dayton Middle School and Dayton High School. The school mascot is the Pirate.

Notable people

Dante Rosario Dante Santiago Rosario (born October 25, 1984) is an American former professional football tight end. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Oregon. He was also a member ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

player * Dewey Sullivan, Dayton High School football coach; Oregon Sports Hall of Fame inductee * Paige VanZant,

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

fighter

References

External links

Entry for Dayton
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 ...

''
Dayton community website
{{authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Yamhill County, Oregon Portland metropolitan area 1850 establishments in Oregon Territory Populated places established in 1850