Oak Grove is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Clackamas 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 17,290 as of the
2020 census.
History
Oak Grove was named at the suggestion of Edward W. Cornell, a member of the surveying party that
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 the townsite in the 1890s.
The company that was developing the property had not been able to come up with a good name for the place, and Cornell suggested "Oak Grove" after a crew ate lunch in a stand of
oak trees in the northwestern part of the tract.
[
The area was served first from the Milwaukie post office.][ In 1904, Creighton post office was established, named for Susan Creighton, on whose donation land claim the office stood.][ Postal authorities did not name the office "Oak Grove" in order to avoid duplication.][ There had once been an Oak Grove post office in Josephine County. The first postmaster was noted Oregon botanist Thomas J. Howell.][
Oak Grove railroad station was originally named "Center", and another station, St. Theresa, was originally named "Oak Grove".][ In order to prevent confusion, in 1907 the Post Office Department changed the name of the post office to "Oak Grove", and the Center railroad station was renamed to match.][ The railroad no longer passes through the community.][
Concord School is a historic building and former school (Concord Elementary School) in Oak Grove.
Oak Grove is home to a LINCC library operated by Clackamas County.Library Hours & Locations]
from the Clackamas County website
Geography
Oak Grove is located in northwestern Clackamas County, bordered to the north by the city of Milwaukie, to the east by unincorporated Oatfield, to the south by unincorporated Jennings Lodge, and to the west by the Willamette River
The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...
, whose opposite shore hosts the cities of West Linn and Lake Oswego
Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties ...
. Oregon Route 99E runs through Oak Grove as McLoughlin Boulevard; it leads north to downtown Portland and south to Oregon City.
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 Oak Grove CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.35%, is water.
Demographics
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 ...
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 ...
, 0.56% 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 ...
, 0.78% Native American, 1.79% Asian, 0.10% 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 ...
, 2.55% from other races, and 2.75% 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 5.89% of the population.
There were 5,641 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% 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, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.4% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $40,530, and the median income for a family was $49,141. Males had a median income of $36,867 versus $29,877 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 CDP was $22,643. About 6.6% of families and 8.8% 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 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
See also
* Southeast Park Avenue station
References
External links
"Early days and ways in and around Milwaukie"
1939 interview of Harvey Starkweather
Oak Grove Community Council
{{Authority control
1890s establishments in Oregon
Census-designated places in Clackamas County, Oregon
Census-designated places in Oregon
Populated places on the Willamette River
Unincorporated communities in Clackamas County, Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon