Prineville, Oregon
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Prineville is a city located in, and the county seat of Crook CountyTemplate:GR. It was named for the first merchant located in the present location, Barney Prine. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,356.
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History
Prineville was founded in 1877 when Monroe Hodges filed the original plat for the city. The post office for the community had been established with the name of Prine in April 13, 1871, but changed to Prineville on December 23, 1872. The city incorporated in 1880, and obtained its first high school in 1902.
Long the major town in central Oregon, Prineville was snubbed in 1911 when the railroad tycoons James J. Hill and Edward H. Hillman bypassed the city as they laid track south from The Dalles. In a period when the presence of a railroad meant the difference between prosperity and the eventual fate as a ghost town, in a 1917 election, Prineville residents voted 355 to 1 to build their own railway, and raised the money to connect their town to the main line 19 miles away.
Helped by timber harvests from the nearby Ochoco National Forest, the City of Prineville Railroad prospered for decades. The profits from the railroad were so abundant that between 1964 and 1968, the city levied no property taxes. However, with the decline of the timber industry in Oregon, the revenue from the railroad have vanished: in 2003, the railroad reported a loss of $400,000.
Geography
ORMap-doton-Prineville.png
Location of Prineville, Oregon
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.2 km² (6.7 mi²). 17.2 km² (6.7 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 7,356 people, 2,817 households, and 1,907 families residing in the city. The population density is 427.1/km² (1,105.9/mi²). There are 3,022 housing units at an average density of 175.5/km² (454.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 91.80% White, 0.01% African American, 1.50% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 4.50% from other races, and 1.44% from two or more races. 7.42% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,817 households out of which 35.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% are married couples living together, 11.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% are non-families. 27.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.55 and the average family size is 3.09.
In the city the population is spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,435, and the median income for a family is $36,587. Males have a median income of $31,224 versus $22,852 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,163. 14.3% of the population and 10.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 16.6% of those under the age of 18 and 13.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- City of Prineville web page (http://www.cityofprineville.com)
- Prineville Chamber of Commerce web page (http://www.prineville-crookcounty.org)
- A Brief History of the City of Prineville Railroad (http://www.pnwc-nrhs.org/rr-history/rr-history-COP.html)