Huntington is a city in Baker County, on the eastern border of

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. It is located on the

Snake River The Snake River is a major river in the interior Pacific Northwest region of the United States. About long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. Begin ...

and along Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30. The population was 502 at the 2020 census.

History

Henry Miller settled in the area in August 1862. In 1870, Miller's Stagecoach Station was established before the coming of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company rail line in 1884, and was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1885 or 1886. It soon became the primary shipping point for the cattle country to the south. Miller built the Stage Tavern, known for many years as "Miller Station". It was on the overland route that had been established in the valley, and had become well known to all who traveled in pioneer days. According to ''

Oregon Geographic Names ''Oregon Geographic Names'' is a compilation of the origin and meaning of place names in the U.S. state of Oregon, published by the Oregon Historical Society. The book was originally published in 1928. It was compiled and edited by Lewis A. McArt ...

'', Huntington was named for J.B. and J.M. Huntington, brothers who purchased Miller's holdings in 1882. The Huntingtons maintained a small trading post on their land. In 1884, the rails of the Oregon Short Line and the

Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company (OR&N) was a rail and steamboat transport company that operated a rail network of running east from Portland, Oregon, United States, to northeastern Oregon, northeastern Washington, and northern Id ...

line were joined in Huntington. Since that time, Huntington has been an important railway division point. With the advent of the railroad came J.T. Fifer, who had been selling general merchandise to the construction crews moving his goods from town to town as the work progressed. Shortly after Fifer arrived, the Huntingtons closed up, leaving him alone in the general merchandise business. The Oregon Construction Company followed soon, with a stock of general merchandise, a blacksmith shop, the Pacific Hotel, several boarding houses and restaurants and a number of saloons. In 1898, the Northwest Railroad Company began extending a short line down the

. It reached Homestead about 1910. This increased transportation at Huntington and gave an outlet for

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

and Pine Valley fruits, cattle, lumber and ore. This line was flooded by water from Brownlee Dam. Huntington became the only incorporated city in Baker County on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

in 1891 with

Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

Law. Remnants of the Old Oregon Trail can still be seen today when one is traveling north from Farewell Bend State Recreation Area toward the town of Huntington on U.S. Route 30. Evidence of the hardships and tragedies of the pioneer movement still exists: a small iron cross, visible from Route 30, marks the location where Snake River

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

Indians killed a number of emigrants in 1860. At the end of the 19th century, Huntington developed a reputation as "Sin City", a rugged frontier town having its share of saloons, Chinese opium dens, and gunslingers. Governor

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Early life West was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at t ...

was motivated to clean up the city, along with the community of Copperfield, in 1912–14. The first ransom bill from the 1935 George Weyerhaeuser kidnapping turned up in Huntington. Huntington's two marijuana dispensaries, which opened in 2016, had almost $15 million in sales in 2017, and were on pace to top $25 million in 2018, mostly serving Idahoans.

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. Huntington is across the

from the westernmost point of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Climate

Demographics

Oregon Commercial Company Bldg - Huntington Oregon

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 440 people, 211 households, and 112 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 272 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.3%

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 ...

, 3.9% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.5% 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 1.8% of the population. There were 211 households, of which 16.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% 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, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.9% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.78. The median age in the city was 54 years. 16.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16% were from 25 to 44; 30.7% were from 45 to 64; and 30.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.8% male and 48.2% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 515 people, 232 households, and 150 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 301 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.67% White, 0.39% African American, 0.97% Native American, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.14% of the population. There were 232 households, out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.73. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 21.6% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,132, and the median income for a family was $30,781. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $22,083 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 $13,396. About 10.7% of families and 17.7% 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 30.8% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Huntington School District 16J operates the K-12 Huntington School. The portion of the county where Huntington is located is in the Treasure Valley Community College district.

References

External links

Entry for Huntington
in the '' Oregon Blue Book''
Image of Huntington depot
from Salem Public Library {{authority control Cities in Baker County, Oregon Cities in Oregon 1885 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1885