La Grande, Oregon
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La Grande (IPA: [lə ˈɡɹænd]) is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. Originally named "Brownsville," it was forced to change its name due to that name already being used for a city in Linn County. Its current name comes from an early French settler, Charles Dause, who often used the phrase "La Grande" to describe the area's beauty. The population was 12,327 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union County[Geographic references#6GR6]. La Grande lies east of the Blue Mountains and southeast of Pendleton.
History
La Grande was incorporated as a city in 1865, two years after a post office with the same name was established. Much of La Grande's early history was lost with the destruction of a collection of the city's early newspaper following the editor's death in 1911.La Grande's Eastern Oregon University began in 1929 as Eastern Oregon Normal School, a college for women studying to be teachers. It was built on a former pioneer cemetery that had fallen out of use a decade earlier. Although a contractor was hired to disinter the remains and rebury them at another site, many were overlooked due to poor records and the state of the cemetery; university president Khosrow Fatemi discovered one month into his tenure in 2004 that stories of coffins and bodies lying exposed in a crawl space under Inlow Hall were true, and that it is likely more graves lie undetected under the campus. Fatemi has announced that he intends to properly reinter these remains.
Geography
La Grande is located at (45.327188, -118.093239)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.3 km² (4.3 mi²), all land.
Mount Emily is a recognizable Grande Ronde Valley landmark that towers over the city of La Grande to the north. It often features prominently on logos of local organizations.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 12,327 people, 5,124 households, and 2,982 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,094.1/km² (2,833.5/mi²). There were 5,483 housing units at an average density of 486.7/km² (1,260.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.92% White, 0.68% African American, 0.78% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.90% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 2.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.77% of the population.There were 5,124 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 16.5% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,576, and the median income for a family was $40,508. Males had a median income of $32,746 versus $21,930 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,550. About 8.3% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Highways traveling within, through, and near La Grande include:- Interstate 84 is the main highway through La Grande. It links La Grande with other nearby cities in the area (Pendleton, Baker City), as well as other regionally-important cities (Boise, Idaho, and the Tri-Cities area of Washington).
- U.S. Highway 30, serves as La Grande's main street under the name of Adams Avenue.
- Oregon Highway 82, which begins in La Grande at its intersection with Adams Avenue. The La Grande area's portion of OR-82 is Island Avenue, commonly known as the Island City Strip because it serves as the main road in La Grande's northern suburb of Island City. OR-82 ends in Wallowa County's town of Joseph, Oregon.
- Oregon Highway 237 begins in nearby Island City and is the main route to the nearby town of Cove. It ends in North Powder and joins Interstate 84.
- Oregon Highway 203 starts southeast of La Grande, near the intersection of Interstate 84 and U.S. Highway 30. It is the main route to the town of Union. It ends a few miles north of Baker City.
External links
- [La Grande City Web Page]
- [Oregon Blue Book entry for La Grande]
- [Eastern Oregon University]
- [Union County Tourism]
- [Union County Chamber of Commerce]
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