Mill City is a city in
Linn and
Marion counties in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
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 ...
on
Oregon Route 22. The population was 1,971 at the
2020 census. It is on the
North Santiam River, downstream from
Detroit Lake.
The Linn County portion of Mill City is part of the
Albany–
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the Marion County portion is part of the
Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The City of Mill City contracts through the Linn County Sheriff's Office for local law enforcement, however, it does have its own Mill City Fire Department and other public works departments.
In September 2020, Mill City suffered extensive damage from the
Santiam Fire.
History
The city was incorporated in 1941, and serves as the education hub of the Santiam Canyon. It was named and known for its various
lumber mill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimens ...
s, including
Hammond Lumber Company and
Santiam Lumber Company. Mill City is now home to two lumber mills, Frank Lumber Co. and Freres Lumber Plant 3.
One of the oldest and best-known landmarks in Mill City is the former railroad bridge, now a pedestrian bridge. The Phoenix Column Bridge, built by
Phoenix Iron Works, was manufactured in 1888, moved to San Jose, California, then to
Lake Oswego, Oregon, then to Mill City and installed in 1919. Abandoned by
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
around 1967, it is now a pedestrian and bike bridge. Current restoration efforts are being undertaken by the Save our Bridge Foundation.
In September 2020, the
Beachie Creek Fire swept through the town. Mill City suffered heavy damage from the fire.
Media
The Mill City ''Logue'' was published by Al and Arlene Van Dahl from 1926 to 1933. In 1931, they started ''Western Stamp Collector'' as a supplement to the ''Logue''. It grew so quickly that in 1933, they closed down the ''Logue'' and moved to Albany, Oregon. Al Van Dahl died in 1954. Arlene Van Dahl continued publishing the then semi-weekly, national newspaper until 1976 when she sold it to Jackson Newspapers. (Jackson Newspapers was sold to Capital Cities Communications, later Capital Cities/ABC, which dropped the word "Western" from the name and changed the publication schedule back to weekly. Capital Cities/ABC was sold to Disney Corp. in 1995. Krause Publications of Iola, Wisconsin, bought Van Dahl Publications, then publishing the ''Stamp Collector'' newspaper and the ''Stamp Wholesaler'' magazine, from Disney in 1996. ''Stamp Collector'' ceased publication in 2003.)
The Mill City ''Enterprise'' was the longest-running local newspaper serving the canyon from 1949 through 1998. The ''Enterprise'' was owned and operated by George and Norma Long for 30 years from 1968 to their retirement in 1998 at which point the paper was sold and subsequently renamed. The Mill City ''Enterprise'' is currently being archived by the University of Oregon.
From 1998 until 2014, the Mill City ''Independent Press'' (formerly known as the ''Enterprise'') covered local news. It was owned by Phil Foster and then by Bill Downer, a former logger and former mayor of Mill City, and his wife Judy Downer.
The area is currently served by ''The Canyon Weekly'', started in 2010 by Karen & Tim Widmer and Michelle Gates.
Geography and climate
Mill City is located at
[ above sea level in the Santiam Canyon and considered part of the foothills of 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 ...
. Shaped by the North Santiam River, the canyon is a result of seasonal glacier melts from the southern face of Mt. Jefferson to the east and many tributaries scattered along the canyon, the largest being the Breitenbush River which meets the Santiam in Detroit, roughly east of Mill City. The looming canyon walls are the most noticeable feature in passing from Highway 22; however, look more like tall hills on the north and south sides of Mill City. Further into town two bridges allow crossing of the North Santiam River.
Mill City is surrounded by forests of evergreen trees. Most notably the Santiam State Forest to the south, forest land is otherwise privately owned, mostly by 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 ...
but also local companies like Frank Lumber and Freres. The forests are primarily dominated by Douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...
, but junipers and maple trees are also scattered throughout.
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 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 ...
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 742 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.7% 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 ...
, 0.4% 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 ...
, 1.9% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.6% 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 ...
, 2.0% from other races, and 3.9% 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 9.2% of the population.
There were 681 households, of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% 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, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.2% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.14.
The median age in the city was 36.2 years. 27.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.3% were from 45 to 64, and 13.5% 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 censusper 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 $14,595. About 10.0% of families and 13.0% 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 19.9% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
In the early and mid-1900s Mill City was served by Mill City High School, which was eventually moved to Santiam High School after its completion in the 1950s. The old high school building was used until the late 1980s as Mill City Middle School but demolished and replaced by a new facility on the same site.
Prior to 2000, Mill City, Gates, Detroit, and Idanha were served by separate schools and districts; however, Mill City eventually became the education center for the Santiam Canyon with the closing of Gates Elementary School in 2012.
As of the 2019 school year, Mill City and the rest of the Santiam Canyon is home to Santiam Preschool/Early Childhood Center, Santiam Elementary School, Santiam Junior/Senior High School and Oregon Connections Academy. Mill City is served by the Santiam Canyon School District.
References
External links
Entry for Mill City
in the '' Oregon Blue Book''
*
Mill City
Episode of States of Mind by Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...
, made available by the University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
's Brown Media Archive on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
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Cities in Oregon
Cities in Linn County, Oregon
Cities in Marion County, Oregon
Salem, Oregon metropolitan area
1947 establishments in Oregon