Lebanon, Oregon
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Lebanon ( ) is a city in Linn 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. Lebanon is located in northwest Oregon, southeast of Salem. The population was 19,690 at the 2020 census. Lebanon sits beside the South Santiam River on the eastern edge of the
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 ...
, close to the
Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...
and a 25-minute drive to either of the larger cities of Corvallis and Albany. Lebanon is known for its foot-and-bike trails and its small-town character.


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 15,518 people, 6,118 households, and 3,945 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 6,820 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.2% White, 0.5% African American, 1.4% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.1% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.8% of the population. There were 6,118 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% 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, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.5% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age in the city was 36.6 years. 25.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.9% were from 25 to 44; 23.6% were from 45 to 64; and 16.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.7% male and 52.3% female.


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 , of which is land and is water.


Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above . According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Lebanon has a
warm-summer 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 ...
, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.


Economy

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...
Regional Distribution Center is the largest employer in Lebanon, with 650 employees. The other major employers are Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital, Lebanon Schools,
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
,
Weyerhaeuser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...
, and Entek International.


Education

Lebanon is served by the Lebanon Community Schools public
school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...
, which includes Lebanon High School. It is also home to the private East Linn Christian Academy, which serves students from
preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...
through
twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...
(PreK-12).
Western University of Health Sciences Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) is a Private university, private medical school, medical university in Pomona, California. With an enrollment of 3,724 students (2022–23), WesternU offers more than twenty academic programs in m ...
opened their College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Northwest in August 2011, the first new medical school in Oregon since
Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university, public research university, research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded ...
was established. The school opened with 107 students. In 2017, Linn-Benton Community College opened its HealthCare Occupations Center beside the osteopathic college. In 2021, Western University of Health Sciences opened its College of Health Sciences for students of physical therapy.


History

In 1847, Jeremiah and Jemima Ralston bought a pioneers' cabin, staked a claim, and built a log house on a low rise at what is now Ralston Park. Nearby, on today's Main Street, they built a store. It soon became a stop for gold seekers on their way to California. A village grew up around the store, and in 1855 the couple filed a plat for the town, naming it for Jeremiah's birthplace of
Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...
. They also donated land for the Santiam Academy, which the Methodist Episcopal Church operated until 1906. Lebanon was established on the land of the Louis Band of the Santiam
Kalapuya The Kalapuya are a Native American people, which had eight independent groups speaking three mutually intelligible dialects. The Kalapuya tribes' traditional homelands were the Willamette Valley of present-day western Oregon in the United Sta ...
. Like other Kalapuya tribes, the Santiam had dwindled in number, from malaria and other diseases, before the Americans arrived. In 1855, the band sold the U.S. government their rights to the land and moved to a temporary reservation on a claim belonging to the Ralstons' son, just south of their own. There the band awaited removal to the Grand Ronde Valley. In 1859, local men in search of a way to drive cattle to central Oregon discovered the Santiam Pass. Soon Lebanon found itself on another essential trade route. Linn County stockmen incorporated the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Road in 1864, and vacationers as well as stockmen came to rely on what came to be called the Santiam Wagon Road. This toll road was later replaced with U.S. Highway 20. Transportation was often easier by water than land in the early decades of American settlement in the Willamette Valley. The South Santiam River was too shallow for large boats, so in 1872 construction began on a canal to carry barges laden with goods between Lebanon and Albany. But the water flowed too fast for upstream shipping, and the coming of the railroad curtailed downstream shipping. Today, however, the canal is still in use, running through Lebanon backyards to provide water for the people of Albany. Railroads helped Lebanon provide its goods not only to Albany but to the world. The Albany–Lebanon Railroad, completed in 1880, was a branch of the Oregon and California Railroad's north–south line through Albany. The Southern Pacific eventually took over these lines and, in 1910, rerouted the old Oregonian line through Lebanon. From the 1890s on, a great variety of farming and food-processing industries flourished in the area. Eastern Oregon came to dominate in wheat growing, but Lebanon-area farmers produced orchard fruits, berries, walnuts, filberts, hops, flax, vegetables, forage crops, turkeys, mohair, honey, and flowers for florists. Lebanon had a cheese factory, a creamery, potato warehouses, a cannery, and prune and nut driers. In the 1920s, the local grass-seed industry got its start, and by the 1930s Linn County was the leading county in grass-seed production in the United States. Lebanon's most celebrated crop has been strawberries. By 1907, Lebanon was one of the leading strawberry-growing areas in the Willamette Valley. Lebanon's Strawberry Festival – featuring, since 1931, "the World's Largest Strawberry Shortcake" – has been an annual event since 1909. As of 2020, however, only one local strawberry field remains. The local wood-products industry began to grow around 1900, which the supply of timber in the upper Midwest declined. The industry began to boom when the Oregon and Electric Railroad was completed, in 1932. New sawmills were built along the line in town as well as in the mountains. From 1937 to 1942, twenty new mills opened in the city; they made a great variety of wood products. The paper mill, which had originally made paper from wheat straw, doubled in size in 1936 to process logs that were floated down the South Santiam River. The local population swelled, and the Great Depression had little effect on the city. In 1940, a still greater boom began. That year, Evans Products built what was purported to be the biggest plywood mill in the world. "Evansville" became a station on the Oregon and Electric line. World War II increased the demand for plywood, and women took men's places in the mill. From 1940 to 1950, Lebanon's population grew by 115 percent. In 1952, the plywood plant, now called Cascade Plywood, began producing Lebanite, a hard composite board. Lebanon residents began calling themselves Lebanites. Cascade Plywood came to dominate Lebanon's economy. Lebanon's economy began a slow decline in the 1970s. As overharvesting in the nearby forests made timber extraction more expensive, the mills began closing. Lebanon's paper mill closed in 1980, the plywood mill in 1984, and the Lebanite hardwood plant in 2004.
Weyerhaeuser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...
shut down the last of the big mills in 2006 and 2007. Unemployment rocketed, and Main Street storefronts were left empty. In the twenty-first century, the city's economy has improved. The openings of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Northwest, in 2011, the Edward C. Allworth Veterans' Home, in 2017, and Linn-Benton Community College's HealthCare Occupations Center, in 2017, have sparked growth.
Weyerhaeuser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...
opened the state-of-the-art Santiam Lumber sawmill in 2008, only one year after closing down the old Bauman sawmill. Main Street storefronts and old houses are being renovated, and brewpubs, bakeries, and other new businesses are thriving.


Arts and culture


Lebanon Strawberry Festival

Lebanon hosts the annual Strawberry Festiva

in the first weekend of June. Historically, strawberry farms were economically important to the area. The first festival was held in 1909 and it has been celebrated nearly every year since. A main feature of the festival is the "World's Largest Strawberry Shortcake"

. The Strawberry Festival (Lebanon, Oregon), Strawberry Festival is typical of most festivals of small-town Americana, and includes a Junior Parade, a Grand Parade (featuring the Strawberry Royalty Court), and a fair with food, carnival rides and musical entertainment. The Strawberry Court is composed of five local high school students (Princesses), one of whom is selected to be the Strawberry Queen. The Court serve as local ambassadors for the community and in return receive scholarships to further their education.


Recreation


Parks

The city has 15 developed parks, totaling , which provide residents with baseball, softball, and soccer fields, as well as playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts, and other resources. Gills Landing has a boat ramp and dock, as well as an RV park, camping area, and showers. Ralston Park hosts the town's Christmas tree and yearly lighting celebration.


Trails

A local nonprofit organization, Build Lebanon Trails, is working with the city government to build more than of walking and biking trails in Lebanon.


Notable people

* Frederic Homer Balch (1861-1891), American writer * David W. Ballard (1824–1875), governor of Idaho Territory * Carson "Skeeter" Bigbee (1895–1964), professional baseball outfielder * Eric Castle (1970–), former NFL safety and special teams player for the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
* Jo Collins (1945–), actress and 1965 Playmate of the Year * Warren C. Gill (1912–1987), Coast Guard veteran, Oregon State Representative and State Senator *
Howard Hesseman Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on '' WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on '' Head ...
(1940–2022), actor *
Ben Howland Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Ar ...
(1957–), college basketball coach *
Pat McQuistan Patrick Shawn McQuistan (born April 30, 1983) is a former American football offensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Arizona Cardinals. He played college foo ...
(1983–), offensive lineman for the
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
* Paul McQuistan (1983–), offensive lineman for the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
*
Tom Medley Tom Medley (20 March 1920 - 2 March 2014 ) was an American hot rodder and cartoonist, best known as creator of Stroker McGurk. History Medley was born in Lebanon, Oregon, 20 March 1920.Vaughn, Mark, West Coast Editor. "Tom Medley 1920-2014", wri ...
(1920–2014), cartoonist (creator of
Stroker McGurk Stroker McGurk is a cartoon character created by Tom Medley, featured in Hot Rod magazine, ''Hot Rod'' and Rod and Custom magazine, ''Rod & Custom''. Medley's famed creation debuted in the third issue of ''Hot Rod'', and continued in the magazine u ...
) and magazine editor * Michael Merzenich (1942–), world-renowned neuroscientist * Katherine Ann Power (1949–), former fugitive for manslaughter and armed robbery * Doug Riesenberg (1965–), former NFL offensive tackle * Dave Roberts (1951–),
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
third baseman *
Mike Royer Michael W. Royer (; born June 28, 1941) is an American comics artist and inker, best known for his work with pencilers Russ Manning and Jack Kirby. In later life Royer became a freelance product designer and character artist for The Walt Dis ...
(1941–), comic book artist at Marvel and DC Comics * Dick Smith (1939–2012), MLB outfielder and first baseman


References


External links

*
Entry for Lebanon
in the '' Oregon Blue Book''
City of Lebanon websiteChamber of Commerce''Lebanon Express'' newspaper''Lebanon Local'' newspaperHistoric photos of Lebanon
from Salem Public Library Lewis, David. "The 1851 Treaty Commission Journal: Santiam Kalapuya Negotiations."City of Lebanon Historic Context Statement"Lebanon" entry in Oregon Encyclopedia
{{authority control Lebanon, Oregon"> Cities in Oregon Cities in Linn County, Oregon">Cities in Oregon">Lebanon, Oregon"> Cities in Oregon Cities in Linn County, Oregon Micropolitan areas of Oregon 1878 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1878