Silverton, Oregon

Image:Silver Creek autumn - Oregon.jpg

Silverton is situated on the eastern edge of the Willamette Valley, a fertile and alluvial plain which stretches from the western foothills of the Cascade Range on the east, known as the Waldo Hills, to the eastern foothills of the Oregon Coast Range on the west.{{sfn|Allen|2010|pp=E1–E9}} Silverton lies on either side of Silver Creek, a tributary of the Pudding River, which joins the Molalla River before emptying into the northward-flowing Willamette River. Abiqua Creek also empties into the Pudding River; it flows across the eastern valley north of Silverton, further draining the land around the city.

Silverton's elevation is between {{convert|200|and|250|ft|m}} above mean sea level with the steep-sided, heavily-wooded Waldo Hills to the south rising an additional {{convert|200|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Allen|2010|pp=E1–E9}} The agricultural richness of the environs is due to massive and repeated floods from prehistoric Lake Missoula in western Montana. Beginning approximately 13,000 years before the present, repeated flooding from Lake Missoula scoured eastern Washington and Oregon, carved out the Columbia River Gorge, and periodically swept down the Columbia River; when floodwaters met ice jams in southwest Washington, the backed-up water spilled over and filled the entire Willamette Valley to a depth of {{convert|300|to|400|ft|m}} above current sea level,John Elliott Allen, Marjorie Burns, Sam C. Sargent, Cataclysms on the Columbia: A Layman's Guide to the Features Produced by the Catastrophic Bretz Flood in the Pacific Northwest, Timber Press (Portland, OR 1986), ASIN B003XPEPX2, pp 175–189 creating a body of water known as Lake Allison. The gradual receding of Lake Allison's waters left layered sedimentary volcanic and glacial soils to a height of about {{convert|180|to|200|ft|m}} above current sea level throughout the Tualatin, Yamhill and Willamette Valleys.{{cite book|author1=Orr, Elizabeth L.|author2=Orr, William N.|author3=Baldwin, Ewart M.|title=Geology of Oregon|publisher=Kendall Hunt|edition=4th|date=December 1992|isbn=0840380585|pages=211–14}}

Image:ChristmasTreeFarm.jpg near Silverton]]

Until the mid-19th century, the Silverton area was a broad, open grassland with small stands of Oregon white oak, ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. Stands of Oregon white oak, red alder, big leaf maple, and black cottonwood lined streams and river banks. While these tree species are extant today, widespread farming in the Willamette Valley between 1850 and 1870 altered the land through the discontinuation of widespread seasonal burning in the valley plains previously employed by the Kalapuya people. Large stands of Douglas fir and western red cedar, mixed with Oregon white oak, remain in the Silverton area, especially on eastern ridge tops and on the slopes of the Waldo Hills to the south. Due to decades of intensive timber extraction, mature second- and third-growth trees comprise existing evergreen stands.{{sfn|Allen|2010|p=2}}{{sfn|Evans|1996|p=7}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|3.47|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|3.43|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.04|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2012-12-21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archive-date=2012-01-25}}

This region experiences warm (with occasional hot spells) and dry summers, but with no average monthly temperatures above {{convert|71.6|F|C}}. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Silverton has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=908753&cityname=Silverton%2C+Oregon%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Silverton, Oregon] The climate is relatively mild, considering Silverton's northern latitude, and temperature fluctuations are generally small. Precipitation, primarily in the form of fall and winter rain, ranges between {{convert|40|and|50|in|mm}} annually. Silverton's climate and its soil have made the area well suited for a variety of crops and for livestock grazing.{{sfn|Evans|1996|pp=2–3}}

{{Weather box

|location = Silverton

|single line = Y

| Jan record high F = 66

| Feb record high F = 71

| Mar record high F = 74

| Apr record high F = 86

| May record high F = 102

| Jun record high F = 100

| Jul record high F = 103

| Aug record high F = 104

| Sep record high F = 103

| Oct record high F = 91

| Nov record high F = 72

| Dec record high F = 66

| year record high F = 104

| Jan high F = 46.0

| Feb high F = 50.6

| Mar high F = 54.7

| Apr high F = 59.0

| May high F = 65.8

| Jun high F = 71.5

| Jul high F = 78.7

| Aug high F = 79.2

| Sep high F = 74.1

| Oct high F = 62.9

| Nov high F = 52.0

| Dec high F = 45.6

| year high F = 61.7

| Jan low F = 33.8

| Feb low F = 35.4

| Mar low F = 38.0

| Apr low F = 40.6

| May low F = 45.5

| Jun low F = 50.6

| Jul low F = 54.2

| Aug low F = 54.5

| Sep low F = 50.6

| Oct low F = 44.0

| Nov low F = 38.6

| Dec low F = 33.9

| year low F = 43.3

| Jan record low F = 4

| Feb record low F = 6

| Mar record low F = 19

| Apr record low F = 28

| May record low F = 32

| Jun record low F = 37

| Jul record low F = 42

| Aug record low F = 40

| Sep record low F = 34

| Oct record low F = 23

| Nov record low F = 13

| Dec record low F = 0

| year record low F = 0 | precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation inch = 6.83

| Feb precipitation inch = 4.85

| Mar precipitation inch = 5.11

| Apr precipitation inch = 3.69

| May precipitation inch = 2.83

| Jun precipitation inch = 1.94

| Jul precipitation inch = 0.69

| Aug precipitation inch = 0.87

| Sep precipitation inch = 1.77

| Oct precipitation inch = 3.63

| Nov precipitation inch = 7.08

| Dec precipitation inch = 7.52

| year precipitation inch = 46.82

| Jan precipitation days = 20

| Feb precipitation days = 17

| Mar precipitation days = 19

| Apr precipitation days = 17

| May precipitation days = 13

| Jun precipitation days = 9

| Jul precipitation days = 4

| Aug precipitation days = 4

| Sep precipitation days = 7

| Oct precipitation days = 13

| Nov precipitation days = 21

| Dec precipitation days = 21

|source 1 = {{cite web

|url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?or7823 |title=Silverton, OR (357823) |access-date=November 26, 2015 |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center }}

|date=November 2015

}}

{{US Census population

|1880= 229

|1890= 511

|1900= 656

|1910= 1588

|1920= 2251

|1930= 2462

|1940= 2925

|1950= 3146

|1960= 3081

|1970= 4301

|1980= 5168

|1990= 5635

|2000= 7433

|2010= 9222

|2020= 10484

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:41&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=Oct 12, 2022}}

}}

Image:Wolf Building - Silverton Oregon.jpg

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,222 people, 3,452 households, and 2,442 families residing in Silverton. The population density was {{convert|2691.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 3,477 housing units, 18.1% of which were housing units in multi-unit structures. The homeownership rate was 64.3% and the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $229,700. The racial makeup of the city was 84.1% White, 12.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.7% from other races, 1.0% Asian, 0.7% Native American, 0.2% African American, and 0.1% Pacific Islander.{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2014-10-27}}

Of the 3,452 households in Silverton, 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 54% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.

The median age in Silverton was 35.8 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 17.2% were 62 years of age or older. Silverton's gender makeup was 47.6% male and 52.4% female. 91.7% were high school graduates, and 29.1% held bachelor's or higher degrees. The median household income was $51,687. 16.1% of the population lived at or below the poverty level.

Image:Silverton East Main 1.jpg

As of the census of 2000,Census Viewer 2000 and 2010 http://censusviewer.com/city/OR/Silverton there were 7,414 people, 3,452 households, and

2,442 families residing in Silverton. There were 2,865 housing units, and the population density was {{convert|2716.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. Silverton's homeownership rate was 60.7%, while 39.9% of occupied housing units were rented. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $148,800. The racial makeup of Silverton was 89.4% White, 11.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.09% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.21% African American, and 8.83% other races.

Image:Mill on Silver Creek at Silverton, Oregon (3387330195).jpg

The median age in Silverton was 33 (31 for males and 35 for females). 37.7% were under the age of 18, 13.4% were 65 years of age or older, 47% were male and 53% female. Of the population 25 years of age and older, 7.1% possessed a graduate or professional degree, 15.3% held a bachelor's degree, 5.2% held an associate degree, 28% had some college education but no degree, while an additional 28.8% had graduated from high school or its equivalent but had not received any college education. 15.6% failed to complete high school.

The median salary for a male was $34,707 while the median for a female was $24,479. Major employers in Silverton in 2000 included the Silver Falls School District (400+ employees), Silverton Hospital (402), Champion Homes (200+), Brucepac (100+), and Mallorie's Dairy (90). The median household income was $38,429. 11.7% of Silverton households earned less than $10,000 per year, while 2.5% earned $150,000 or more. About 10.4% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Image:Silverton Hospital birth center - Silverton, Oregon.JPG

Silverton is the population core of the Silver Falls School District, which, in addition to Silverton, serves nearby Scotts Mills in as well as communities in the surrounding foothills up to Silver Falls State Park. Currently there are twelve elementary schools in the district, and the campus of Silverton High School on Pine Street, which was completed in 2009. Voters passed a bond levy in 1994 for construction of a new high school to be completed in two phases. The first phase of the new high school was completed in 1997, with a capacity for 500 students. The second phase was not completed until the summer of 2009, after voters passed a new bond levy in November 2006. In autumn 2009, students at the high school's old campus moved into the new campus at 802 Schlador Street. As of October 2014, the School District was seeking proposals from architectural firms for completion of the Middle School Schlador Campus Reconstruction in Silverton.[http://silverfallsschools.org/ Silver Falls School District]

Image:Frog kite 01284.JPG

In 2006, Silverton and Silver Falls School District formed a partnership to support, maintain, and operate Silverton's local access cable channel, SCAN-TV.[http://www.scan-tv.org/site/ SCAN-TV, Silverton, OR]

In 2014, Silverton High School's enrolled students numbered 1,196. Of those students, 39% were judged to be economically disadvantaged. 36.9% were entitled to receive a free or reduced-rate lunch. 14% of the student population were disabled, 11% were English language learners. Compared to other similar high schools, Silverton High School students' scholastic achievements rated above average. The racial makeup of the school was 81.7% White, 14.5% Hispanic, 0.9% African-American, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian. 1.9% were Other/Unknown.[http://schools.oregonlive.com/school/Silver-Falls/Silverton-High-School/ Silverton High School 2014 Performance Ratings]

The first white settlers arrived at Silver Creek in the 1800s. Two settlers, James Smith and John Barger created a sawmill along the creek in 1846. The town was originally known as Milford. In 1854, the town was abandoned and the settlers moved downstream to the current spot of Silverton. The town was first known as Silver Creek but the name was changed a year later. The town expanded and grew and was incorporated in 1885. The town now housed about 229 people. The town continued to grow until now, where it now has over 10,000 people.{{cite web |title=History of Silverton, Silverton Origins |url=https://www.silverton.or.us/192/History-of-Silverton |publisher=City of Silverton |access-date=May 15, 2019 |archive-date=May 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516181535/https://www.silverton.or.us/192/History-of-Silverton |url-status=dead }}

In June 2008, Silverton came to international attention when an unarmed Irish citizen, Andrew James (AJ) Hanlon, aged 20, was killed by a police officer, Tony Gonzalez, in controversial circumstances.{{Cite web |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215228316322590.xml |title='Irishman's killing spurs uproar abroad' (The Oregonian, 5 July 2008) |access-date=January 15, 2014 |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116185423/http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215228316322590.xml |url-status=dead }}[http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0703/105286-hanlona/ 'Family wants answers after US shooting (RTÉ,3 July 2008)][http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?q=%22andrew%20hanlon%22%20oregon&fromDate=&toDate= 'Inquest hears Dublin shot by police was unarmed (19 March 2009)][http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7487795.stm 'Irishman shot dead by US police'][http://bocktherobber.com/2008/07/andrew-hanlon-gunned-down-by-an-american-cop/ 'Andrew Hanlon: gunned down by an American cop'] Gonzalez, who was responding to a reported disturbance of the peace, shot the unarmed Hanlon five times, although Hanlon's sister recalled seeing seven bullets in her brother's body.[http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/andrew-hanlon-shot-seven-times-by-us-police-368411.html 'Andrew Hanlon shot seven times by US police']

The death, which Hanlon's sister described as the only shooting in Silverton in the past twenty years, was greeted with shock there as well as in Ireland, particularly when it emerged that Hanlon had been experiencing psychological issues and had most probably gotten lost on his way home to his sister's house in Silverton.[http://bocktherobber.com/2008/07/andrew-hanlon-gunned-down-by-an-american-cop/ 'Andrew Hanlon: gunned down by an American cop (Bock the Robber, 3 July 2008)] Complaints were made by Hanlon's family that it took six hours for the police to inform his sister of her brother's death, despite her living only a mile away,{{Cite web |url=http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irish-voice/news/Articles/irishman-oregon100708.aspx |title='Cops kill Irishman in Oregon' (IrishAbroad, 10 July 2008) |access-date=January 15, 2014 |archive-date=January 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109150911/http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irish-voice/news/Articles/irishman-oregon100708.aspx |url-status=dead }} and questions were asked why the police had not used a tazer, which was available to them. Requests for transparency were greeted by obfuscation and secrecy and claims that, in Andrew Hanlon's mother's words, the city's establishment "had closed ranks on" the Hanlon family to protect Gonzalez.{{Cite web |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215228316322590.xml |title='Irishman's killing spurs uproar abroad' (The Oregonian, 5 July 2008) |access-date=January 15, 2014 |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116185423/http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215228316322590.xml |url-status=dead }} while the Consulate in San Francisco of the Government of Ireland registered concern over the killing. Protests outside Silverton City Hall were also ignored.[http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1215053713170810.xml&coll=7 'Almost 100 protest deadly police shooting' (The Oregonian, 3 July 2008)] On 24 July 2008, a Marion County grand jury found that because Gonzalez had testified that he believed that Andrew James Hanlon was armed, his killing was justified.[http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/07/grand_jury_irish.html 'Grand jury: Silverton police officer justified in shooting death' (The Oregonian, 24 July 2008)] Eight days later, on August 1, 2008, and just over a month after Andrew was killed on the 30th of June, Gonzalez resigned from Silverton's police department. He had been arrested in July and charged with child abuse.[http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2008/0714/world/us-officer-who-killed-dubliner-arrested-67290.html 'US officer who killed Dubliner arrested'(Irish Examiner,(14 July 2008)] On December 7, 2008, Gonzalez was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months imprisonment when he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a teenage girl.[http://www.katu.com/news/local/35804874.html 'Former Silverton cop pleads guilty to sex abuse' (Katu.com, 9 December 2008)]

Image:Homer Davenport self-portrait 1901.jpg's self-portrait, November 1901]]

• Silverton is the gateway to Silver Falls State Park, Oregon's largest state park. Town Square Park in downtown is a small park with a footbridge crossing Silverton Creek and a war memorial.
• The Oregon Garden, an {{convert|80|acre|ha|adj=on}} botanical park, is in Silverton.
• Shrine of Bobbie the Wonder Dog replica of Bobbie and his 1920s era doghouse
• Gordon House, located on the grounds of Silverton's Oregon Garden, is the only house in the Pacific Northwest designed by Frank Lloyd Wright which is open to the public. Gordon House was one of the last of Lloyd Wright's famed Usonian designs.
• Silverton has a number of outsized murals, including Norman Rockwell's The Four Freedoms originally painted on the side of a building located at 402 Main Street in Silverton, and visible from Second Street[http://www.silvertonor.com/murals/index.htm Silverton's Mural Society] In 2015, the original building was razed and, after abandoning hopes to salvage them, the murals were destroyed during demolition. However, community efforts replaced them with a new replica at 990 N. First St.[http://ourtownlive.com/ourtown/?p=5550 Our Town Newsletter]
• Every August, the Homer Davenport Community Festival celebrates Silverton's most famous citizen—writer, political cartoonist, and Arabian horse breeder Homer Davenport (1867–1912)—with exhibits, entertainment, an arts and crafts fair, rides, races, contests, a cartooning competition, a party, and a parade.
• The Palace Theater in Silverton's Commercial Historic District is a movie theater constructed in the early 1900s. Originally called the Opera House, it has been showing motion pictures to the public since at least 1909. The Palace Theater has survived two fires, one in 1935 that destroyed a large portion of downtown,{{Cite web|url=https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/silverton/#.WmGw8_mnGM8|title = Silverton}} and the other in April 2012. The 2012 fire was mostly limited to the concession area, although the smoke damage was extensive and caused at least one other business to temporarily close.{{cite news |url= http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20120412/NEWS/304120014/Will-show-go-after-Silverton-theater-fire-?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CNews |title= Will the show go on after Silverton theater fire? |work= Statesman Journal |access-date =April 13, 2012}} The theater was later co-owned by the former mayor, Stu Rasmussen, the first openly transgender mayor in the United States.{{cite web |url= http://www.palace-silverton.com/palacefire.html |title= Palace Theater - Fire Damage Report |publisher= Palace Theater |access-date =April 13, 2012}}

• Greg Craven, climate change activist who produced a viral video on YouTube[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2004083774_terrifyingvideo20m.html "Teacher's video on global warming a hit online"], Newhouse News Service via Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 20, 2007 (accessed June 21, 2009)
• Homer Davenport, political cartoonist
• Debi Farr, member of the Oregon legislature
• Scott Gragg, NFL tackle
• Bill Grier, college basketball coach, formerly head coach at University of San Diego
• Donald Pettit, astronaut
• Stu Rasmussen, first openly transgender mayor in the United States{{cite news |first=Jack |last=Penning |title=Transgender Man Elected Mayor of Silverton |url=http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_110608_news_transgender_mayor.18a1f2fa7.html

|work=KGW |location=Portland, Oregon |publisher=Belo Corp|date=November 7, 2008}}{{cite news|author=Christy, Courtney|title=Nation's First Transgender Mayor Leaves Office|date=January 9, 2015|url=http://www.opb.org/radio/programs/thinkoutloud/segment/nations-first-transgender-mayor-leaves-office|publisher=Oregon Public Broadcasting|access-date=April 5, 2015}}

• The Appeal
• The first bank robbery and chase scene in the movie Bandits was filmed in Silverton.{{cite web |url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219965/locations |title= Bandits (2001) filming locations |publisher= Internet Movie Database |access-date= December 26, 2007}}

;Notes

{{reflist}}

;Sources

• {{cite book

| last = Evans

| first = Gail E. H.

| year = 1996

| title = Silverton, Oregon Historic Context Statement

| publisher = Oregon State Preservation Office

| location = Salem, Oregon

| url = http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/OHC/docs/marion_silverton_historiccontext.pdf

| access-date = April 5, 2015

| archive-date = September 12, 2014

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140912202246/http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/OHC/docs/marion_silverton_historiccontext.pdf

| url-status = dead

}}

• {{cite web|last=Allen|first=James M.|title=Historic Architecture in Silverton, Oregon, and Its Environs|year=2010|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service|url=http://www.silverton.or.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/847|access-date=October 27, 2014|format=PDF}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/local/cities/s-y/silverton.aspx Entry for Silverton] in the Oregon Blue Book
• [http://silvertonchamber.org/ Silverton Chamber of Commerce]

{{Marion County, Oregon}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1854 establishments in Oregon Territory

Category:Cities in Marion County, Oregon

Category:Cities in Oregon

Category:Populated places established in 1854

Category:Salem, Oregon metropolitan area