Gervais is a city in Marion County, United States. The population was 2,595 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area The Salem metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of two counties in western Oregon, Marion and Polk. The principal city is Salem, the state capital, which has a ...

History

The city is named for settler Joseph Gervais who was one of the first settlers on

French Prairie French Prairie is located in Marion County, Oregon, United States, in the Willamette Valley between the Willamette River and the Pudding River, north of Salem. The prairie area roughly corresponds to the traditional land of the Kalapuya peopl ...

. On October 6, 1902, the business district of the city burned and losses were estimated at $100,000. The local fire department's power was insufficient to handle the fire so

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 Salem were called upon to help. Unfortunately they were unable to respond in time to help. In little over an hour all but two of the businesses in the town had burned to the ground. In the late 1960s, Russian

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

established a small colony between Gervais and Mt. Angel. As of 2002, Oregon had the highest population of Old Believers in the United States.

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 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 2,464 people, 579 households, and 506 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 628 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 52.4%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 3.7% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 38.0% from other races, and 4.5% 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 67.1% of the population. There were 579 households, of which 61.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% 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, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 12.6% were non-families. 7.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.25 and the average family size was 4.40. The median age in the city was 26.3 years. 37.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.6% were from 25 to 44; 17.8% were from 45 to 64; and 3.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.5% male and 47.5% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,009 people, 452 households, and 391 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 477 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 40.32% White, 0.35% African American, 1.54% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 52.91% from other races, and 4.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 65.21% of the population. There were 452 households, out of which 59.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.3% were non-families. 9.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.39 and the average family size was 4.45. In the city, the population was spread out, with 37.7% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 10.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 132.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $43,882, and the median income for a family was $44,118. Males had a median income of $21,490 versus $21,167 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 $10,862. About 13.3% of families and 17.3% 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 20.9% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable People

* Joseph Gervais, Pioneer who settled in

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...

, the namesake of the city * Peter G. Stewart, Pioneer who settled in

, served as city recorder for Gervais *

Jules Eckert Goodman Jules Eckert Goodman (November 2, 1876 – July 10, 1962) was an American playwright and author. He was best known for his plays ''Treasure Island'' (1915), ''The Man Who Came Back'' (1916), '' The Silent Voice'' (1914), ''Chains'' (1923), and ...

, Playwright who

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

* Freeman Fitzgerald, Footballer who played for the

Rock Island Independents The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated ...

, one of the founding teams of the

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 ...

* Samuel Brown, member of the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

* Sam H. Brown, member of the

* Teresa Alonso Leon, member of the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

for the 22nd district *

Tracy Cramer Tracy Cramer is an Oregon Republican politician. She served in the Oregon House of Representatives for District 22 from 2023 to 2025, representing parts of Marion county, including the cities of Woodburn, Gervais, Brooks, and Salem. Early ...

, member of the

for the 22nd district

References

External links

Entry for Gervais
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 ...

'' {{authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Marion County, Oregon Salem, Oregon metropolitan area Old Believer communities in the United States 1874 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1874 Russian-American culture in Oregon