Fossil, Oregon
Fossil, Oregon | |
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City | |
Main Street
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Location in Oregon Location in Oregon |
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Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
Country | United States |
State | Oregon |
County | Wheeler |
Incorporated | 1891 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Carol E. MacInnes |
Area[1] | |
• Total | 0.79 sq mi (2.05 km2) |
• Land | 0.79 sq mi (2.05 km2) |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
Elevation | 2,654 ft (809 m) |
Population (2010)[2] | |
• Total | 473 |
• Estimate (2012[3]) | 466 |
• Density | 598.7/sq mi (231.2/km2) |
Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
• Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
ZIP code | 97830 |
Area code(s) | 541, 458 |
FIPS code | 41-26650[4] |
GNIS feature ID | 1120903[5] |
Website | www.cityoffossil.org |
Fossil is a city in and the county seat of Wheeler County, Oregon, United States.[6] The name was chosen by the first postmaster, Thomas B. Hoover, who had found some fossil remains on his ranch. The population was 473 at the 2010 census.[7]
Contents
History
The Fossil post office was established on February 28, 1876, on Thomas Benton Hoover's ranch along Hoover Creek. He named the place Fossil after finding fossils in a clay-like rock formation on his ranch. In 1881, Hoover and Thomas Watson opened a store near the confluence of Butte and Cottonwood creeks and moved the post office to the store. When the city was incorporated in 1891, Hoover became the first mayor.[8]
After creating Wheeler County in 1899, the Oregon Legislature chose Fossil as the temporary county seat. A county-wide election held in 1900 to determine the permanent county seat yielded 436 votes for Fossil, 267 for Twickenham, and 82 for Spray.[9]
Winlock W. Steiwer and George S. Carpenter founded Steiwer & Carpenter Bank, the first bank in the city and the county.[10] By the early 20th century in addition to the bank, Fossil had a flour mill, a blacksmith shop, a drug store, a jewelry and optical store, a livery stable, and three stores with general merchandise. In the 1920s, William Jennings Bryan was one of the guest speakers at a Chautauqua meeting in Fossil. Later in the decade the John Day Valley Coal & Oil Company drilled an exploratory oil well within the city limits, but it was not successful.[8]
Geography and climate
Fossil is the county seat of Wheeler County.[11] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.79 square miles (2.05 km2), all of it land.[1]
Fossil is located in north-central Oregon at the intersection of Oregon Route 19 with Oregon Route 218.[12] Butte Creek, a tributary of the John Day River, flows through the city.[13] The Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is 18 miles (29 km) west of the city along Route 218.[14] The city is about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Spray and about 20 miles (32 km) south of Condon along Route 19.[12] By highway, Bend, to the southwest, is about a two-hour drive from Fossil, and Portland, to the west, is about a three-hour drive.[15]
The average temperature in Fossil in January is 39 °F (4 °C), and in July it is 70 °F (21 °C). The highest recorded temperature for Fossil was 111 °F (44 °C) in 2003, and the lowest recorded temperature was −26 °F (−32 °C) in 1957. The average wettest month is May.[16] According to the Köppen climate classification system, Fossil has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb).
Climate data for Fossil | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 67 (19) |
72 (22) |
78 (26) |
87 (31) |
100 (38) |
102 (39) |
111 (44) |
106 (41) |
100 (38) |
98 (37) |
75 (24) |
67 (19) |
111 (44) |
Average high °F (°C) | 41.8 (5.4) |
47.1 (8.4) |
52.5 (11.4) |
59.3 (15.2) |
67.7 (19.8) |
74.8 (23.8) |
85.1 (29.5) |
84.2 (29) |
76.4 (24.7) |
65.3 (18.5) |
49.9 (9.9) |
43 (6) |
62.3 (16.8) |
Average low °F (°C) | 24.4 (−4.2) |
27.1 (−2.7) |
29.2 (−1.6) |
32.2 (0.1) |
37.1 (2.8) |
42.7 (5.9) |
45.7 (7.6) |
45.4 (7.4) |
40.3 (4.6) |
34.6 (1.4) |
30.2 (−1) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
34.6 (1.4) |
Record low °F (°C) | −26 (−32) |
−22 (−30) |
2 (−17) |
12 (−11) |
15 (−9) |
25 (−4) |
25 (−4) |
28 (−2) |
18 (−8) |
3 (−16) |
−16 (−27) |
−24 (−31) |
−26 (−32) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.58 (40.1) |
1.16 (29.5) |
1.35 (34.3) |
1.25 (31.8) |
1.53 (38.9) |
1.3 (33) |
0.41 (10.4) |
0.49 (12.4) |
0.71 (18) |
1.16 (29.5) |
1.69 (42.9) |
1.7 (43) |
14.34 (364.2) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.7 (14.5) |
2.5 (6.4) |
1.6 (4.1) |
0.4 (1) |
0.1 (0.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.1 (0.3) |
0.2 (0.5) |
1.4 (3.6) |
3.1 (7.9) |
15.1 (38.4) |
Average precipitation days | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 70 |
Source: [17] |
Demographics
Historical population | |||
---|---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± | |
1880 | 100 | — | |
1890 | 153 | 53.0% | |
1900 | 288 | 88.2% | |
1910 | 421 | 46.2% | |
1920 | 519 | 23.3% | |
1930 | 538 | 3.7% | |
1940 | 532 | −1.1% | |
1950 | 645 | 21.2% | |
1960 | 672 | 4.2% | |
1970 | 511 | −24.0% | |
1980 | 535 | 4.7% | |
1990 | 399 | −25.4% | |
2000 | 469 | 17.5% | |
2010 | 473 | 0.9% | |
Est. 2014 | 449 | [18] | −5.1% |
source:[2][19] |
As of the census of 2010, there were 473 people, 224 households, and 124 families residing in the city. The population density was 598.7 inhabitants per square mile (231.2/km2). There were 265 housing units at an average density of 335.4 per square mile (129.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.4% White, 2.7% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.3% of the population.[2]
There were 224 households of which 18.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.6% were non-families. 40.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.75.[2]
The median age in the city was 56.1 years. 18.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 14.2% were from 25 to 44; 30.5% were from 45 to 64; and 32.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.[2]
At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the city was $30,250, and the median income for a family was $37,125. Males had a median income of $29,688 versus $20,893 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,236. About 12.0% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.[2]
Arts and culture
Annual events
During the second weekend in August, Fossil hosts the Wheeler County Fair and Rodeo; on the first weekend of July the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival is held on the courthouse lawn.[20] For more than 30 years, the American Bikers Aimed Toward Education (ABATE) of Oregon has held motorcycle rallies in the area in late May.[21] Golf tournaments are held each year at a six-hole golf course at Kinzua, near Fossil.[15]
Museums and other points of interest
Fossil is the site of the only public fossil field in the U.S.[22][23] The field is located behind Wheeler High School.[24] After the initial discovery of the fossil field in 1949 or 1950, access was free and unrestricted until 2005, when a small interpretive center was constructed, and a collection limit of three fossils was established in exchange for a $3 entry fee.[25] The basic entry fee per person in 2011 is $5.[26]
The Oregon Paleolands Institute (OPLI) headquarters and exhibition hall are in Fossil, near the courthouse. OPLI is an educational, community-based non-profit that offers tours, hikes, and workshops related to the region's geology and paleontology.[27]
Education
Wheeler High School and Fossil Elementary School are in Fossil. In the 2011−12 school year, about 50 students were enrolled in grades 7 through 12 and about 35 in kindergarten through grade 6.[28]
Notable people
- Bill Bowerman, coach and founder of Nike, Inc. died in Fossil
- Earl C. Latourette, married Ruth Steiwer of Fossil
See also
References
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- ↑ Corning, Howard M. (1989) Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing. p. 234.
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External links
- Entry for Fossil in the Oregon Blue Book