Drain is a city in Douglas 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. The population was 1,151 at the 2010 census. Drain is named after town founder and politician Charles J. Drain, who donated of nearby land to the Oregon and California Railroad in 1871.Corning, Howard M. (1989). ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 76. .

History

In 1876, a coach road was established between Drain and Scottsburg. Drain was the starting point for the Drain-Coos Bay stage line, which ran to Scottsburg and then by river steamer to Gardiner and the beach on the south side of the mouth of the Umpqua River.Guyer, R. J., ''Douglas County Chronicles – History from the Land of One Hundred Valleys'', History Press (2013) at pages 44–45. The Drain Normal School was founded in the community in 1883 by the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. The state took over the school in 1885 and named it as the Central Oregon State Normal School, before it closed in June 1908.

Geography and climate

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. Drain is at the crossroads of Oregon Route 99 and Oregon Route 38, at a pass in the Coast Range, on the way west to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Elk Creek and Pass Creek, both tributaries of the Umpqua River, converge in Drain. Pass Creek Bridge, a covered bridge in a park behind the Drain Civic Center, was formerly a road bridge. In 1987, the city moved the structure to the park and opened it to pedestrian traffic only. In 2014, the city completely closed the bridge, made unsafe by rotting support timbers. Drain, like most of western Oregon, has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

( Köppen ''Csb'') with dry summers featuring cool mornings and hot afternoons, and chilly, if not severe, wet winters. Occasionally during the winter a cold air mass from the interior will cross the Cascades to bring very cold weather and frost, although Drain gets very little snow with a mean of , a monthly maximum of in January 1950, and a season maximum of in 1970/1971. The coldest month was January 1930 with a mean of , whilst January 1949 with is the only other subfreezing month. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Drain is on January 22, 1962. Rainfall in winter is usually heavy: the wettest month on record is December 1955 which totalled , whilst the wettest "rain year" since 1903 has been from July 1973 to June 1974 with and the driest from July 1976 to June 1977 with . The most precipitation in a single day has been on January 18, 1951. During the summer months, days are usually hot and clear, whilst nights are cool: in the summer of 2003 only of rain fell over the three months, and in 1951 no measurable precipitation occurred for ninety-five days between May 24 and August 26. When a continental airflow occurs, the weather can become extremely hot: on July 31, 2015, a record was recorded; however, the cool nights have allowed for frost-level temperatures as low as on June 10 of 1916 and on August 28 of 1905.

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 1,151 people, 454 households, and 319 families residing 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 492 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.9%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 2.7% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 3.0% 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 4.4% of the population. There were 454 households, of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.7% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the city was 39.5 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.1% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 16.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,021 people, 397 households, and 289 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 441 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.60% White, 0.10% African American, 2.64% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.29%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 1.57% from other races, and 4.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.33% of the population. There were 397 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.02. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,833, and the median income for a family was $34,231. Males had a median income of $30,278 versus $20,063 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 $13,810. About 8.6% of families and 10.3% 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 10.3% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Newspapers

The ''Drain'' ''Echo'' was the town's first newspaper. It was founded by E. W. Kuykendall in 1885. A decade later it merged with the ''Cottage Grove Leader'' in 1895 to form the ''Echo-Leader'' and ceased two years later. Miss Laura E. Jones started the ''North Douglas'' ''Watchman'' in 1898 and it was discontinued after three years. The ''Drain'' ''Nonpareil'' founded by A. T. Fetter was published from 1901 to 1914. W. A. Priaulx founded '' The Drain Enterprise'' on May 4, 1922. The Anderson family bought the ''Enterprise'' in 1950 and operated it for three generations until closing the paper in 2015.

References

External links

Entry for Drain
in the '' Oregon Blue Book''
Historic images of Drain from Salem Public Library
{{Authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Douglas County, Oregon Populated places established in 1887 1887 establishments in Oregon