Springfield is a city in Lane 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. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area after Eugene. As of the 2020 census, the city has a total population of 61,851, making it the ninth-most populous city in Oregon. The Briggs family first settled the Springfield area, arriving in 1848. The community was incorporated as a city in 1885. The city was named after a natural spring located in a field or

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

within the current city boundaries. For the majority of the 20th century, the economy of Springfield was largely dependent on the Oregon timber industry; since the 1990s, however, the economy has diversified, with PeaceHealth now the largest employer in the city. Public education in the city is provided by the Springfield School District.

History

The first inhabitants to the area were the Kalapuya people. Also sometimes written as Calapooia or Calapooya, the people maintained the valley and their main food sources by controlled burning. Springfield was settled when Elias and Mary Briggs and their family arrived in 1848. They were among the first party to travel to the region via the "Southern Route" by Klamath Lake, over the Cascades, into the Rogue Valley, then north to 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 ...

. Elias Briggs along with William Stevens ran a ferry on the nearby

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 ...

. According to donation land claim records, Stevens was the first settler to stake a claim in the Springfield locale, arriving in October 1847. He commenced building a house with his three oldest sons, and when the house was completed in December, the rest of his family joined him on Christmas Day that year. Another early arrival in the Springfield vicinity was Captain Felix Scott Sr., who settled between the McKenzie and Willamette rivers in 1847. In 1854 Springfield School District No. 19 was formed. A small schoolhouse was built near the corner of south 7th and B streets; it served the community until the 1880s. Miss Agnes Stewart, a young woman from Pennsylvania, was the first teacher. She had arrived in Springfield via the Lost Wagon Train of 1853. In May 1992 the municipality became the first in the United States to include anti-gay legislation in its city charter after a campaign by the Oregon Citizens Alliance. However, the state legislature later passed a law that prevented anti-gay ordinances from being enforced.

Economy

For years, the economy of Springfield hinged on the timber industry, with the largest employer being Weyerhaeuser Company. Weyerhaeuser opened its Springfield complex in 1949, and after years of aggressive logging was forced to downsize as old growth lumber became less available. In the 1990s, the Weyerhaeuser sawmill and veneer (plywood) plants closed, and the paper plant was downsized. Springfield has now developed a more diversified economy.

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (; September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and Counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies o ...

's brother Chuck, and Chuck's wife Sue, started the Springfield Creamery in 1960. The business survives today based partly on sales of their flagship product, Nancy's Yogurt, developed from recipes of Nancy Hamren. In the 1970s, the creamery avoided bankruptcy with the help of the rock band

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

, who over time held a series of 10 benefit concerts on behalf of the creamery. The documentary film '' Sunshine Daydream'' was shot at the first performance August 27, 1972. Springfield is surrounded by filbert (

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...

) orchards. The production has declined over time as fields have been developed into housing. The city used to be sponsor an annual Filbert Festival in early August as a general summer celebration, featuring music, food, and family fun; it was canceled in 2007 due to withdrawal of a key sponsor, and the future for the festival is uncertain. Filbert harvesting occurs in October. 98% of American filbert production is harvested in the Willamette Valley.

Healthcare

Springfield is home to two hospitals, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center and PeaceHealth's Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

Largest employers

According to the City's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:

Government

Springfield has a council–manager form of government. The current mayor of Springfield is Sean VanGordon, and the city manager is Nancy Newton. The city council comprises members from six wards. The current council members are: *Ward 1: Michelle Webber (Council President) *Ward 2: Steve Moe *Ward 3: Kori Rodley *Ward 4: Beth Blackwell *Ward 5: Victoria Doyle *Ward 6: Alan Stout

Public safety

The Springfield Police Department and Eugene Springfield Fire are the city's public safety agencies. The Springfield police department is currently under investigation due to allegations of sexual misconduct made by a female former officer.

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. The McKenzie River forms the northern city limits.

Neighborhoods

Springfield does not have any official neighborhood designations. Unofficial neighborhood areas include: *Gateway * Glenwood *North Springfield * Thurston * Washburne Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

*Meadow Park * Kelly Butte *West Kelly Butte

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 59,403 people, 23,665 households, and 14,737 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 24,809 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.9%

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 ...

, 1.1%

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 ...

, 1.4% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.3%

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 ...

, 5.2% from other races, and 4.8% 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 12.1% of the population. There were 23,665 households, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.7% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 34.5 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29% were from 25 to 44; 25% were from 45 to 64; and 11.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

Arts and culture

Author

moved to Springfield when he was young and graduated from Springfield High School before moving on to the nearby

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. After some years of wandering (described in '' The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test'' by

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

), Kesey bought a farm in nearby Pleasant Hill and remained a prominent local celebrity until his death in 2001.

Library

The Springfield Public Library is located within city hall. The city hall itself is home to a seal of the city of Springfield, created out of unusual items from the city's sewer system.Sign next to the seal, locked inside of a display case. On display in Springfield City Hall. The seal and its creator, Russell Ziolkowski, were featured on

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

and On the Road with Charles Kuralt.

Cultural venues

Richard E. Wildish Community Theater (Wildish Community Theater) on Main Street in downtown Springfield is a complete renovation of the historic McKenzie Theater and opened in December 2006. The theater seats 284 people and is designed to host music concerts and recitals, dance, drama, festivals, and small musicals. The Springfield Renaissance Development Corporation spearheaded the six-year renovation project, completed for $3.1 million.

Una Nation of Mixed-Bloods

On March 7, 2016, Springfield formally recognized the Una Nation of Mixed-Bloods for their service to mixed-blood Native Americans.

Education

Most of Springfield is in the Springfield School District, while some portions in the west are in the Eugene School District 4J. There are 15 elementary schools, four middle schools, and four high schools in the Springfield School District, making it one of the largest in the state. The largest public high schools, by enrollment, are Thurston High School and Springfield High School. Lane County is in the Lane Community College district. Pioneer Pacific College also had a campus in the Gateway area of Springfield.

In popular culture

''The Simpsons''

The city took third in the voting to choose one of the sixteen possible Springfields in the U.S. to host the premiere of '' The Simpsons Movie.''Springfields Vie For "Simpsons" Premiere
." ''

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

.'' March 9, 2007. Retrieved on March 9, 2007. The show's creator, Oregon resident

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

, sent a plaque to the city of Springfield that stated, in part "Yo to Springfield, Oregon – the real Springfield." In April 2012, Groening confirmed to '' Smithsonian'' magazine that he named the fictional Springfield after Springfield, Oregon. He also confirmed that he intentionally left it a secret to allow people the enjoyment of assuming it was based on their own Springfield.

Notable people

* Sheila Bleck, IFBB professional bodybuilder * John Charles Bolsinger, serial killer * Anthony W. Case, survivor of the 1998 high school shooting who later became an astrophysicist * Colby Covington, mixed martial arts fighter * Peter DeFazio, U.S. Representative for Oregon's 4th congressional district * Bill Dellinger, Olympic athlete and former University of Oregon track coach * Diane Downs, child murderer arrested and jailed in Springfield *

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

, actor, log bronc operator for Weyerhaeuser in Springfield *

, creator of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' *

, author * Eric Millegan, Broadway and television actor * Mickey Newbury, American songwriter, recording artist, member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame * Steve Reeves, actor and body builder * Mercedes Russell, professional basketball player for the WNBA * Travis Smith, Major League Baseball player * Dan Straily (born 1988), starting pitcher in the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

organization * Robert W. Straub, Oregon governor *

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...

, science fiction author * Shoshana R. Ungerleider, physician and film producer * Dave Wolverton, novelist and writer

Climate

This region experiences 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, Springfield 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.

References

External links

City of Springfield official websiteSpringfield Chamber of CommerceEntry for Springfield
in the '' Oregon Blue Book''
Springfield Museum
{{Authority control Cities in Oregon Populated places established in 1848 Cities in Lane County, Oregon 1848 establishments in Oregon Territory Populated places on the Willamette River The Simpsons