Vernonia, Oregon

Vernonia is a city located in Columbia County, Oregon. The community was first settled in 1876 by Judson Weed and Ozias Cherrington, both of Ohio. Sometime afterwards, the question of a name for the community came up, and Cherrington suggested the name of his daughter in Ohio, which was adopted. Unfortunately, since he had left Ohio around 1873, he misremembered his daughter's name, which was Vernona, so the town is not actually named after her. Cherrington died of a farming accident in 1894, having never seen his daughter since his departure from Ohio.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 2,228.

Geography Vernonia is located at 45°51'35" North, 123°11'21" West (45.859846, -123.189125)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²). 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 2.53% water.

Demographics As of the census of 2000, there are 2,228 people, 789 households, and 583 families residing in the city. The population density is 558.6/km² (1,444.2/mi²). There are 880 housing units at an average density of 220.6/km² (570.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 95.38% White, 0.18% African American, 1.39% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. 2.24% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 789 households out of which 41.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% are married couples living together, 10.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% are non-families. 20.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.82 and the average family size is 3.29.

In the city the population is spread out with 34.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 99.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $41,181, and the median income for a family is $48,563. Males have a median income of $37,447 versus $24,219 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,647. 9.7% of the population and 8.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 12.0% are under the age of 18 and 6.4% are 65 or older.

History Vernonia started to become more than an isolated farming community on July 10, 1924 when the Oregon-American Lumber company opened a state-of-the-art lumber mill[?], which was supported by a railroad line connecting Vernonia to the rest of the country. Oregon-American merged with Long-Bell in May, 1953, which itself merged with International Paper Company[?] in November, 1957. International Paper judged the mill antiquated, and closed it on December 20, 1957.