Cottage Grove, Oregon
Nickname: Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon
Location in Oregon
Coordinates: 43°47′41″N 123°3′9″W / 43.79472, -123.0525
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Lane
Incorporated	1887
Government
- Mayor	Gary Williams
Area
- Total	3.3 sq mi (8.6 km²)
- Land	3.2 sq mi (8.56 km²)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.04 km²)
Elevation	640 ft (195 m)
Population (2007)
- Total	9,345
- Density	2,561.6/sq mi (988.1/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	97424, 97472
Area code(s)	541
FIPS code	41-15950[1]
GNIS feature ID	1166636[2]
Website: www.cottagegrove.org

Cottage Grove is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It received its name from its first postmaster, G. C. Pierce, in September 1861. Pierce's home at the time was in an oak grove. The population was 8,445 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 9,345 residents.^[3]

History

Centennial Bridge and Veterans Memorial

As was common in Oregon pioneer days, post offices for locations would move with each new postmaster, and it wasn't until the later 1860s that the Cottage Grove post office arrived at its final location, in the extreme southwest of present day Cottage Grove. When the Southern Pacific Railroad built their line through the area, they built their station more than half a mile to the northeast of the post office, starting a bitter neighborhood disagreement. Since the inhabitants near the post office would not allow it to be moved next to the railroad station, a post office was established near the station, called Lemati, after the Chinook word lemiti for mountain. In 1887, Cottage Grove was incorporated as a city, but the eastern community still used the name Lemati intermittently until both communities were merged in 1898.

In 1926 the spectacular locomotive crash from Buster Keaton's The General was filmed in the countryside, and the wrecked train became a minor tourist attraction until it was dismantled for scrap during World War II. The 1973 movie Emperor of the North Pole was filmed in and around Cottage Grove, as were parts of the 1978 movie Animal House. The 25th anniversary of Animal House's release was celebrated August 30, 2003 by the citizens with a toga party on Main Street. Main Street is where the climactic parade sequence from the movie was filmed. Portions of the movie Stand By Me were filmed along the railroad tracks east of Cottage Grove.

In May 1994, Cottage Grove was one of four Oregon cities to pass a law promoted by the Oregon Citizens Alliance denying discrimination protection to gays and lesbians. This vote and the events leading up to it are profiled in "The Stranger Next Door" by Arlene Stein. Cottage Grove is the real name of the town referred to using the pseudonym "Timbertown".^[4]

Geography

Cottage Grove is located at 43°47′43″N, 123°3′39″W (43.795370, -123.060904).^[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.6 km²), of which, 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.60%) is water.

Cottage Grove lies at the confluence of the Row River and the Coast Fork Willamette River. This confluence effectively marks the southern end of the Willamette Valley.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 8,445 people, 3,264 households, and 2,183 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,561.6 people per square mile (988.1/km²). There were 3,430 housing units at an average density of 1,040.4/sq mi (401.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.84% White, 0.15% African American, 1.21% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 3.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.94% of the population.

There were 3,264 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,442, and the median income for a family was $37,457. Males had a median income of $30,775 versus $23,485 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,550. About 15.6% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2007)

Transportation

• Jim Wright Field

External links

• City of Cottage Grove
• Oregon Blue Book entry on Cottage Grove
• South Lane School District

• Cottage Grove, Oregon is at coordinates 43°47′43″N 123°03′39″W / 43.79537, -123.060904 (Cottage Grove, Oregon)Coordinates: 43°47′43″N 123°03′39″W / 43.79537, -123.060904 (Cottage Grove, Oregon)

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Lane County, Oregon
County seat: Eugene
Cities	Coburg | Cottage Grove | Creswell | Dunes City | Eugene | Florence | Junction City | Lowell | Oakridge | Springfield | Veneta | Westfir
Communities	Alvadore | Belknap Springs | Blachly | Cheshire | Crow | Deadwood | Dexter | Dorena | Elmira | Finn Rock | Goshen | Jasper | Low Pass | Mapleton | Marcola | McKenzie Bridge | Nimrod | Noti | Pleasant Hill | Swisshome | Triangle Lake | Vida | Walterville | Walton