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Sweet Home is a city in
Linn County, Oregon Linn County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2023 census population estimates, the population was 131,496. The county seat is Albany, Oregon, Albany. The county Oreg ...
, United States, with a population of 9,828 at the 2020 census. Sweet Home is referred to as the 'Gateway to the Santiam Playground' due to its proximity to nearby lakes, rivers and the Cascade Mountains.


History

Settlers first arrived in the Sweet Home Valley in the early 1850s. A community known as Buckhead developed near the mouth of Ames Creek and the South Santiam River. Buckhead was named after a saloon that featured a set of elk antlers on the gable end of its building. East of Buckhead, a community called Mossville developed with a store and post office. In 1874, the two communities merged to become one community called Sweet Home. In 1893, the city of Sweet Home was incorporated. The Santiam Wagon Road, a toll road connecting the Willamette Valley with central Oregon, was opened in 1865. The road extended from the Sweet Home Valley across the
Santiam Pass Santiam Pass is a mountain pass in the Cascade Range in central Oregon in the United States. It is located on the border between Linn and Jefferson counties, about northwest of Sisters, between the prominent volcanic horns of Three Fingered ...
in the Cascades to Camp Polk near Sisters. The Santiam Wagon Road was a vital means of supplying livestock and goods from western Oregon to central Oregon and transporting wool from east of the Cascades back to Willamette Valley woolen mills. Competition with railroads that extended south from the Columbia River into central Oregon and the newly opened McKenzie Pass Highway made the wagon road obsolete by the late 1930s. U.S. Route 20 was constructed across much of the same route as the Santiam Wagon Road. Sweet Home experienced significant growth during the 1940s due to the demand for timber from local forests. Further growth occurred when construction began on nearby Green Peter Dam in 1962 and continued as construction began on Foster Dam in 1966. During the 1980s, Sweet Home experienced a number of sawmill and plywood mill closures due to economic cycles, increased competition, increased productivity, and logging restrictions placed on nearby forests resulting from environmental concerns for endangered species. In response, community members sought out other economic development opportunities such as the Oregon Jamboree country music and camping festival.


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 intersection
Oregon Route 228 Oregon Route 228 is an Oregon state highway that runs between the city of Halsey in the Willamette Valley and the city of Sweet Home in the Cascade foothills. The highway is also known as the Halsey-Sweet Home Highway No. 212 (see Oregon hi ...
and U.S. Route 20 occurs at the Western end of Sweet Home. The South Santiam River flows from Foster Reservoir along the northern city limits of Sweet Home. Ames Creek and Wiley Creek flow into the South Santiam River within the city limits. Sweet Home is built on a prehistoric petrified forest. In addition to fossil wood, the area includes a variety of
agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...
,
jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...
, crystals and minerals. The abundant
petrified wood Petrified wood (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of ''fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial plant, terrestrial vegetation. ''Petrifaction ...
at Holleywood Ranch (between Sweet Home and
Holley, Oregon Holley is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Linn County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 378. It is about southwest of Sweet Home on Oregon Route 228 near the Calapooia River. The ...
) was the subject of an episode of the
Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
program ''
Cash and Treasures In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...
''.


Climate

The 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, Sweet Home 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.


Demographics

The median income for a household in the city was $43,589; 20.7% of persons 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 ...
.


2020 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 2020, there were 9,828 people, 3,721 households, and 2,315 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 4,037 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.3%
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 ...
, 0.3%
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 ...
, 1.3% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1%
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 ...
, 1.1% from other races, and 3.0% 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 4.7% of the population. There were 3,721 households, of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% 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, 27.1% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 23.2% had a male householder with no spouse present. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 39.0 years. 24.7% of residents were under the age of 18. The gender makeup of the city was 51.6% male and 48.4% female.


Economy

Major employers in Sweet Home include HEVI-Shot, a manufacturer of shotshell ammunition; Cascade Timber Consulting, a timber investment management organization;
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

Radiator Supply HouseMurphy Plywood
McCool Millworks and th
Sweet Home School District


Arts and culture


Annual cultural events

* Oregon Jamboree
Cut the Gut Car Cruise
*


Covered bridges

The
Weddle Covered Bridge The Weddle Bridge is a long wooden covered bridge in Sweet Home, Oregon, United States. The bridge originally spanned Thomas Creek (Linn County, Oregon), Thomas Creek near Scio, Oregon, Scio but was replaced by a concrete bridge in 1980 and was ...
, relocated from Thomas Creek near Scio, crosses Ames Creek at Sankey Park in Sweet Home. The Crawfordsville Covered Bridge spans the
Calapooia River The Calapooia River is an tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The Calapooia flows generally northwest from its source in the Cascade Range near Tidbits Mountain. In its upper reaches, it passes through parts of the Wi ...
southwest of Sweet Home and the Short Covered Bridge crosses the South Santiam River east of Sweet Home.


2018 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

The 2018 Capitol Christmas Tree, which comes from a different national forest every year, was acquired by the Sweet Home Ranger District (it is named after the town in which it is headquartered). The ranger district, part of the Willamette National Forest, was awarded the opportunity to present the tree to the American people for the 2018 Christmas season.


Recreation

Sweet Home has seven city parks within city limits, but most recreational opportunities occur outside of town; the nearby wilderness supports boating, hunting, fishing, hiking, white-water sports, camping and
gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts espec ...
. For this reason, Sweet Home describes itself as the "Gateway to the Santiam Playground." Foster Reservoir on the South Santiam River has boat ramps and a year-round marina while Green Peter Reservoir provides two improved boat ramps. The South Santiam River offers salmon and steelhead fishing while Quartzville Creek is recognized for Class 4 and Class 5 kayaking. The South Santiam also supports gold panning, and petrified wood deposits nearby continue to draw attention. Hiking trails include Horse Rock Ridge, Soda Creek Falls Trail at Cascadia State Park and numerous trails throughout the
Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are National Wil ...
. The Menagerie Wilderness has rock faces amenable to
climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...
. An 18-hole golf course, Mallard Creek Golf Club, is northwest of Sweet Home. The nearest ski resort, Hoo Doo Ski Bowl, is to the east, near Santiam Pass.


Transportation

Sweet Home public transportation service is provided by
Linn Shuttle The Linn Shuttle bus system serves the Sweet Home, Oregon, Sweet Home and Linn County, Oregon, Linn County, Oregon area. It operates a fixed-route Shuttle bus, shuttle service around Sweet Home, serving Sweet Home, Albany, Oregon, Albany, and Leba ...
.


Education

Sweet Home is served by the Sweet Home School District. The district includes Sweet Home High School, a junior high school and four elementary schools. The district covers Sweet Home, Cascadia, Crawfordsville, Holley, Liberty, Pleasant Valley and other surrounding communities.
Linn–Benton Community College Linn–Benton Community College (LBCC) is a public community college with five locations in Linn County, Oregon and Benton County, Oregon. LBCC is the sixth largest of Oregon's seventeen community colleges, educating more than 12,000 students pe ...
operates a branch campus in Sweet Home.


Media

'' The New Era'' newspaper is published weekly. The ''
Albany Democrat-Herald The ''Albany Democrat-Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Albany, Oregon, United States. The paper is owned by the Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, a firm which also owns the daily '' Corvallis Gazette-Times,'' published in the adjacent market ...
'' also serves the city.


Notable people

People born or who lived in Sweet Home: * John Arthur Ackroyd (1949–2016), murderer and suspected serial killer; born in Sweet Home *
Howard Bergerson Howard William Bergerson (July 29, 1922 – February 19, 2011) was an American writer and poet, noted for his mastery of palindromes and other forms of wordplay. Work Bergerson's first volume of poetry, ''The Spirit of Adolescence'', was publi ...
(1922–2011), writer; lived in Sweet Home * James McCarthy (1944–2019), professor of biological oceanography at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, recipient of the 2018
Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is an annual award for environmental science, environmental health, and energy. Tyler Laureates receive a $250,000 cash prize and a medallion. The prize is administered by the University of Southern Ca ...
; raised in Sweet Home *
Ritch Price Ritch Price is an American baseball coach and former player. He played college baseball at Linn–Benton Community College (1975–1976) and Willamette (1977–1978). He then served as the head baseball coach of the Menlo Oaks (1983–1986), t ...
, head baseball coach for the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
from 2002 to 2022 and the winningest coach in University of Kansas baseball history *
Matt Slauson Matthew Benjamin Slauson (born February 18, 1986) is an American former professional football guard. He was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft. He also played for the Chicago Bears, San Diego/Los Angeles Ch ...
(born 1986), offensive lineman,
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
; attended and played football for Sweet Home High School * Robert T Oliver scholar of intercultural communication and rhetoric.


References


External links

*
Entry for Sweet Home
in the ''
Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...
'' {{authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Linn County, Oregon 1874 establishments in Oregon Populated places established in 1874