West Linn

West Linn, Oregon
—  City  —
West Linn City Hall
Flag Seal
Motto: City of Hills, Trees and Rivers
Location in Oregon
Coordinates: 45°21′55″N 122°38′28″W / 45.36528°N 122.64111°W / 45.36528; -122.64111Coordinates: 45°21′55″N 122°38′28″W / 45.36528°N 122.64111°W / 45.36528; -122.64111
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Clackamas
Incorporated	1913
Named for	Lewis F. Linn
Government
• Mayor	John Kovash[1]
Area
• Total	7.9 sq mi (20.5 km2)
• Land	7.4 sq mi (19.1 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Elevation	105 ft (32 m)
Population (2006)
• Total	24,180
• Density	3,013.7/sq mi (1,163.1/km2)
	[dated info]
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
ZIP code	97068
Area code(s)	503
FIPS code	41-80150[2]
GNIS feature ID	1128884[3]
Website	westlinnoregon.gov

West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. Now a southern suburb within the Portland metropolitan area, West Linn has a history of early development, prompted by the opportunity to harvest energy from nearby Willamette Falls. It was named after U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, who had advocated the American occupation of Oregon as a counterclaim to the British. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 22,261. The 2006 estimate^{[dated info]} is 24,180 residents.^[4]

History

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Prior to settlement by Oregon pioneers, the area which became known as West Linn was the home of ancestors of some of the present-day Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.

19th century

Major Robert Moore was an early settler arriving in 1839—before the Champoeg Meetings—having been the senior member of the first attempt to create an American state in Oregon, the Peoria Party.^[5] Sometime after journeying around the Willamette Valley and Columbia Basin, Moore bought title to approx. 1,000 acres (400 ha) on the west side of Willamette Falls, across the Willamette River from Oregon City, from a local Native American chief,^[vague] on which he platted a town he called "Robin's Nest" in early 1843.^{[citation needed]} He also filed a provisional claim with the then government of the Oregon Country, not knowing if his transaction would be honored by the eventual governing laws. The Oregon Territorial Legislature voted to rename it Linn City on December 22, 1845 as a memorial to Senator Lewis F. Linn after whom Linn County is also named. Linn was a neighbor and family friend of the Moores from their time as settlers in the early Missouri Territory.^{[citation needed]}

For many years Linn City was a political and commercial rival to the adjacent town of Oregon City,^{[citation needed]} but it suffered a series of natural and man-made setbacks. A major fire and the Great Flood of 1862 put a halt to the pioneer settlement in 1861, dispersing many of the surviving family members throughout the Pacific Northwest.

20th century

This section requires expansion.

West Linn was incorporated in 1913 and merged with the adjacent town of Willamette in 1916, which had incorporated five years earlier.^[6]

21st century

A number of embezzlement cases were discovered by the new administration and council in 2006,^[7] with the largest involving the embezzlement of $1.4 million by the finance manager,^[8] who was on a first-name basis with the staff of the Spirit Mountain Casino, about 50 miles (80 km) away. Although Oregon law requires that municipal accounts be audited yearly, the City of West Linn had discontinued these audits in 2002. Regular audits were reinstated in 2006, after the completion of a forensic auditor's investigation into the missing funds.^[9]

A West Linn street in a hilly neighborhood.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, West Linn has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20 km²), of which 7.4 square miles (19 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (6.57%) is water. The city is located between the Willamette and Tualatin rivers; it includes the former townsites/developments of Bolton, Multnomah City, Sunset City, and West Oregon City.^{[citation needed]}

The Nature Conservancy maintains the Camassia Natural Area in central West Linn as one of its conservancy preserves.^[10] The 26-acre (11 ha)-area is located on a rocky plateau exposed by the Bretz Floods and now named after the camas which bloom there in spring; it hosts about 300 other species, including the white rock larkspur, a species located in only a half dozen other places in the world.^[11] It supports Oregon white oak-madrone woodlands, a stand of quaking aspen, wet meadows, ponds, and vernal pools.^[11]

West Linn is located in the area where the Willamette Meteorite was placed by the Missoula Floods.

Climate

Extremes range from −2 °F (−19 °C), recorded in 1950, to 107 °F (42 °C), recorded in 1956 and 1981.^[12]

Demographics

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Historic Willamette Business District.

Historic Gothic revival house, Willamette District

As of the census^[2] of 2000,^{[dated info]} there were 22,261 people, 8,161 households, and 6,275 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,013.7 people per square mile (1,163.1/km²). There were 8,697 housing units at an average density of 1,177.4 per square mile (454.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.32% White, 2.91% Asian, 0.54% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.74% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.87% of the population.

There were 8,161 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.5% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 18.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $72,010, and the median income for a family was $83,252 (These figures had risen to $94,844 and $108,821 respectively as of a 2007 estimate^[14]). Males had a median income of $61,458 versus $38,733 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,671, among the state's top five. About 2.9% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools in West Linn, including West Linn High School, are part of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. It is also home to Columbia Academy, a private school licensed by Applied Scholastics.^[15]

The city operates a public library that is part of the Library Information Network of Clackamas County.

Media

• West Linn Tidings

Notable people

• Steve Blake, basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers, twice a former player for the Portland Trail Blazers^[16]
• Gert Boyle, the chairwoman of Columbia Sportswear, resident beginning in 1987^[17]
• Darlene Hooley, United States Congresswoman
• Nate McMillan, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers^[18]
• Cade McNown, football player
• Cole Gillespie, baseball player
• Robert Moore, founder of Linn City
• Brandon Roy, former basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers
• Chael Sonnen, mixed martial artist^[19]
• Mitch Williams, baseball player^[20]
• Monty Williams, former NBA player, former assistant coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, head coach of the New Orleans Hornets^[21]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: West Linn, Oregon

• City of West Linn (official website)
• West Linn listing in the Oregon Blue Book
• West Linn] Chamber of Commerce
• West Linn Arts Commission

v t e Municipalities and communities of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States County seat: Oregon City Cities Barlow Canby Damascus Estacada Gladstone Happy Valley Johnson City Lake Oswego‡ Milwaukie‡ Molalla Oregon City Portland‡ Rivergrove‡ Sandy Tualatin‡ West Linn Wilsonville‡ CDPs Jennings Lodge Oak Grove Oatfield Sunnyside Hamlets Beavercreek Molalla Prairie Mulino Stafford Village Mount Hood Village Unincorporated communities Barton Boring Brightwood Bull Run Carus Carver Cazadero Cherryville Clackamas Colton Cottrell Eagle Creek Government Camp Jean Kelso Ladd Hill Lakewood Liberal Logan Lone Elder Macksburg Marmot Marquam Marylhurst Milwaukie Heights Mountain Air Park Needy New Era Redland Rhododendron Ripplebrook Riverside Shadowood Springwater Wankers Corner Welches Wemme Yoder Zigzag Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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