Westfir 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. The population was 253 at the 2010 census. It is located about southeast of

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

and about west of Oakridge in 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 ...

History

The name Westfir was first used for the community in July 1923. The name came from the Western Lumber Company, which produced

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 ...

lumber and had established Westfir as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

. A major customer of the mill at this time was the

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 ...

, which was building its line over

Willamette Pass Willamette Pass () is a mountain pass crossing the crest of the Cascade Range in Oregon, United States. It is less commonly known as Willamette Summit. The pass is traversed by Oregon Route 58 and by Union Pacific's (ex-Southern Pacific) Casca ...

between Eugene and

Klamath Falls Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city wa ...

in the 1920s and passing through Westfir. Westfir post office was established in November 1923. The population in 1931 was 500. The Western Lumber

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, 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 ...

was later sold to the Westfir Lumber Company and in 1946 to the Edward Hines Lumber Company. Hines established a

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

mill in Westfir in 1952. In 1977, Hines closed the mills and sold the entire town, including the water and sewer system. The town's new owners wanted the utilities to be in public ownership, so local residents voted to

incorporate Incorporation may refer to: * Incorporation (business), the creation of a business or corporation * Incorporation of a place, the creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county * Incorporation (academic), awarding a degree based on the ...

in 1979. The mill operations closed in 1984, after a series of fires. Oregon's longest existing

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

, the Office Bridge, was built across the North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River in 1944 to connect the Westfir Lumber Company mill to the main office.

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 , all of it land.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. 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, Westfir 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

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 253 people, 114 households, and 74 families living 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 132 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.1%

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 ...

, 1.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 4.7% 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 2.0% of the population. There were 114 households, of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.70. The median age in the city was 51.1 years. 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 1.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.5% were from 25 to 44; 39.2% were from 45 to 64; and 18.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 54.2% male and 45.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 276 people, 100 households, and 74 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 106 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.28%

and 0.72% Native American.

or Latino of any race were 1.09% of the population. There were 100 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.0% were

living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.22. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,031, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $24,375 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 city was $11,324. About 8.9% of families and 12.2% 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 15.5% of those under the age of 18 and 7.4% of those 65 or over.

Economy

The three largest employers in the Westfir area are the Oakridge School District, Armstrong Wood Products, and Oakridge Sand & Gravel.

Education

Westfir students are served by the Oakridge School District, which has an elementary, middle, and

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Oakridge. Westfir Middle School closed in 2006, after serving for a time as the district's middle school. The Westfir school district merged with the Oakridge school district in 1967.

Media

The '' Dead Mountain Echo'' was a weekly newspaper published in Oakridge that also served the Westfir community. It closed in 2020.

References

External links

Entry for Westfir
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 ...

''
The Westfir Story
by the Plywood Pioneers Association {{authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Lane County, Oregon Company towns in Oregon 1923 establishments in Oregon Populated places on the Willamette River