City of Eugene
—  City  —
The Wayne L. Morse Federal Courthouse
Official seal of City of Eugene Seal
Nickname(s): Emerald Valley, The Emerald City, Track Town
Motto: A Great City for the Arts and Outdoors
Coordinates: 44°03′07″N 123°05′12″W / 44.05194°N 123.08667°W / 44.05194; -123.08667Coordinates: 44°03′07″N 123°05′12″W / 44.05194°N 123.08667°W / 44.05194; -123.08667
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Lane
Founded	1846
Incorporated	1862
Government
• Type	Council-manager
• Mayor	Kitty Piercy
• City manager	Jon Ruiz
Area[1]
• City	43.76 sq mi (113.3 km2)
• Land	43.72 sq mi (113.2 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	430 ft (131.1 m)
Population (2010)[2]
• City	156,185
• Density	3,600/sq mi (1,400/km2)
• Metro	351,715
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	97401-97405, 97408, 97440
Area code(s)	458 and 541
Twin cities
• Kathmandu	Nepal
• Irkutsk	Russia
• Kakegawa	Japan
• Jinju	South Korea
FIPS code	41-23850[3]
GNIS feature ID	1120527[4]
Website	www.eugene-or.gov

Eugene ( /juːˈdʒiːn/) is a major city in the state of Oregon. It is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the county seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about 50 miles (80 km) east of the Oregon Coast.

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Eugene has a population of 156,185, and Lane County (co-located with the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area) (MSA) has a population of 351,715.^[2][5] While Eugene has long been the second largest city in Oregon, it was briefly surpassed by Salem between 2005 and 2007.^[6][7][8] The Eugene-Springfield, Oregon MSA is the 144th largest metropolitan statistical area of the U.S, and the third largest in the state, behind the Portland Metropolitan Area and the Salem Metropolitan Area.

Eugene is home to the University of Oregon. The city is also noted for its natural beauty, recreational opportunities (especially bicycling, running/jogging, rafting, kayaking), focus on the arts, activist political leanings, and residents with "alternative" lifestyles. Eugene's slogan is "A Great City for the Arts and Outdoors." It is also referred to as the "Emerald City", and as "Track Town, USA."^[9] The Nike corporation had its beginnings in Eugene.

History[link]

Willamette Street c. 1920

Eugene is named after its founder, Eugene Franklin Skinner. In 1846, Skinner erected the first cabin in the area. It was used as a trading post and was registered as an official post office on January 8, 1850. At this time the location was known as Skinner's Mudhole. Skinner founded Eugene in 1862 and later ran a ferry service across the Willamette River where the Ferry Street Bridge now stands.

The first major educational institution in the area was Columbia College, founded a few years earlier than the University of Oregon. It fell victim to two major fires in four years, and after the second fire the college decided not to rebuild again. The part of south Eugene known as College Hill was the former location of Columbia College. There is no college there today.

The town raised the initial funding to start a public university, which later became the University of Oregon, with the hope of turning the small town into a center of learning. In 1872, the Legislative Assembly passed a bill creating the University of Oregon as a state institution. Eugene bested the nearby town of Albany in the competition for the state university. In 1873, community member J. H. D. Henderson donated the hilltop land for the campus, overlooking the city.

The University first opened in 1876 with the regents electing the first faculty and naming John Wesley Johnson as president. The first students registered on October 16, 1876. The first building was completed in 1877; it was named Deady Hall in honor of the first Board of Regents President and community leader Judge Matthew P. Deady.

Eugene grew rapidly throughout most of the twentieth century, with the exception being the early 1980s when a downturn in the timber industry caused high unemployment. By 1985, the industry had recovered and Eugene began to attract more high tech industries.

Geography and climate[link]

Geography[link]

View of Downtown Eugene from Skinner Butte

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.54 square miles (105.00 km²),^[1] with 40.50 square miles (104.89 km²) of it being land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (0.10%) of it is water. Eugene is located at an elevation of 426 feet (130 m).

To the north of downtown is Skinner Butte. Northeast of the city are the Coburg Hills. Spencer Butte is a prominent landmark south of the city. Mount Pisgah is southeast of Eugene and includes Mount Pisgah Arboretum and Howard Buford Recreation Area, a Lane County Park. Eugene is surrounded by foothills and forests to the south, east and west, while to the north the land levels out into the Willamette Valley and consists of mostly farmland.

The Willamette and McKenzie rivers run through Eugene and neighboring city, Springfield. Another important stream is Amazon Creek, whose headwaters are near Spencer Butte. The creek discharges into Fern Ridge Reservoir west of the city.

Neighborhoods[link]

Eugene has 23^[10] neighborhood associations:

Though it is not actually part of Eugene, Glenwood is a small (unincorporated) community located between Eugene and Springfield on Franklin BLVD (HwY. 99), and is a neighborhood in its own right. It was once managed by Eugene, but has since been taken over by Springfield. The area, however, is separated from Springfield by the Willamette River, and though travelers must pass under Interstate 5 to reach Glenwood from Eugene, the community is assumed by most in the area to be more a part of Eugene than Springfield. Glenwood residents have Springfield phone numbers and Eugene addresses.

Downtown Eugene as seen from Skinner Butte in North Eugene

Climate[link]

Like the rest of the Willamette Valley, Eugene lies in the Marine West Coast climate zone (Koppen Cfb), with some Mediterranean characteristics. Temperatures are mild year round, with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Spring and fall are also moist seasons, with light rain falling for long periods. Winter snowfall does occur, but it is sporadic and rarely accumulates in large amounts: the average seasonal amount is 5 inches (12.7 cm), and the median is 0.^[11] The hottest months are July and August, with average highs of around 82 °F (28 °C), with an average of 15 days per year above 90 °F (32.2 °C). The coolest month is December, with the average daytime high in the mid 40s °F (7-8 °C), and nights averaging just above freezing. There are 54 nights per year with a low below freezing, and about 3 days with highs not exceeding freezing.^[11]

The result of heavy snow in a winter in Eugene

Eugene's average annual temperature is 52.1 °F (11.2 °C), and annual precipitation at 50.9 inches (1,290 mm).^[11] Eugene is slightly cooler on average than Portland. Despite being located about 100 miles (160 km) south and having only a slightly higher elevation, Eugene has a more continental climate, less subject to the maritime air that blows inland from the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River. Eugene's average August low is 50.8 °F (10.4 °C),^[11] while Portland's average August low is 56.5 °F (13.6 °C).^[12] Average winter temperatures (and summer high temperatures) are similar for the two cities. This disparity may be additionally caused by Portland's urban heat island, where the combination of black pavement and urban energy use raises nighttime temperatures. A lesser heat island may also exist in the immediate downtown of Eugene.

Extreme temperatures range from −12 °F (−24 °C), recorded on December 8, 1972,^[13] to 108 °F (42 °C) on August 9, 1981.^[14]

Environmental issues[link]

The combination of being in the downwind end of the Willamette Valley, the undisputed "grass-seed capital of the world"^[16] and the confining shape of the hills has led to Eugene being “the area of the highest grass pollen counts in the USA (> 1,500 pollen grains/m 3 of air).”^[17] These high pollen counts have led to difficulties for some of the track athletes who compete in Eugene. In the Olympic trials in 1972, “Jim Ryun won the 1,500 after being flown in by helicopter because he was allergic to Eugene's grass seed pollen.”^[18] Further, six-time Olympian Maria Mutola abandoned Eugene as a training area “in part to avoid allergies”.^[19]

Demographics[link]

Graph of Eugene's population from 1860 to 2010^[5][20][21]

2010 Census data[link]

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Eugene's population was 156,185.^[2] The population density was 3,572.2 people per square mile. There were 69,951 housing units at an average density of 1,600 per square mile.^[5] Those age 18 and over accounted for 81.8% of the total population.^[5]

The racial makeup of the city was 90.2% White, 5.7% Asian, 2.4% Black or African American, 2.8% Native American, 0.6% Pacific Islander, and 3.4% from other races.^[5]

Hispanics and Latinos of any race accounted for 7.8% of the total population.^[22] Of the non-Hispanics, 82% were White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race alone, and 3.4% were of two or more races.^[5]

Females represented 51.1% of the total population, and males represented 48.9%. The median age in the city was 33.8 years.^[23]

2000 Census data[link]

The census^[3] of 2000 showed that there were 137,893 people, 58,110 households, and 31,321 families residing in the city of Eugene. The population density was 3,404.8 people per square mile (1,314.5/km²). There were 61,444 housing units at an average density of 1,516.4 per square mile (585.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.15% White, down from 99.5% in 1950,^[24] 3.57% Asian, 1.25% Black or African American, 0.93% Native American, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.18% from other races, and 3.72% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 58,110 households, of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was 20.3% under the age of 18, 17.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,850, and the median income for a family was $48,527. Males had a median income of $35,549 versus $26,721 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,315. About 8.7% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Religion[link]

Religious institutions of higher learning in Eugene include Northwest Christian University and New Hope Christian College. Northwest Christian University (formerly Northwest Christian College), founded in 1895, has ties with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). New Hope Christian College (formerly Eugene Bible College) originated with the Bible Standard Conference in 1919, which joined with Open Bible Evangelistic Association to create Open Bible Standard Churches in 1932. Eugene Bible College was started from this movement by Fred Hornshuh in 1925.^[25]