Astoria, Oregon

The city of Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. ^GR6 It is situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, and was named after the American investor (and first millionaire) John Jacob Astor. The population was 9,813 at the 2000 census. A 2006 estimate raises it to 9,970 residents.^[1]

History

The Lewis and Clark Expedition spent the winter of 1805-1806 at Fort Clatsop, a small log structure south and west of modern day Astoria. The expedition had hoped a ship would come by to take them back east, but instead endured a torturous winter of rain and cold, then returned east the way they came. Today the fort has been recreated and is now a national monument.

Several years later, in 1810, John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company sent the Astor Expedition that founded Fort Astoria as its primary fur-trading post in the Northwest, and in fact the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. It was an extremely important post for American exploration of the continent and was influential in establishing American claims to the land. The company failed, and the fort and fur trade were sold to the British in 1813. The house was restored to the U.S. in 1818, though the fur trade would remain under British control until American pioneers following the Oregon Trail began filtering into the port town in the mid-1840's.

Washington Irving, considered the greatest American writer at the time, was approached by John Jacob Astor to mythologize the three-year reign of his Pacific Fur Company. Irving's book, Astoria (1835), cemented the importance of the region in the American psyche.^{[citation needed]} In Irving's words, the fur traders were "Sinbads of the wilderness", and their venture was a staging point for the spread of American economic power into both the continental interior and into the Pacific.

As the Oregon Territory grew and became increasingly more settled, Astoria likewise grew as an ocean/river port city. The first U.S. Post Office west of the Rocky Mountains was established in Astoria in 1847. In 1876, the community was legally incorporated. It attracted a host of Scandinavian settlers, and the area still holds a high concentration of descendants of these original settlers.

In 1883, and again in 1922, downtown Astoria was devastated by fire, but the city economy was strong enough in both cases to rebuild and thrive. Astoria has served as a port of entry for over a century and remains the trading center for the lower Columbia basin.

In addition to Fort Clatsop, another popular point of interest includes the Astoria Column, a tower 38 m high built atop the hill above the town, with an inner circular staircase allowing visitors to climb to see a breathtaking view of the town, the surrounding lands, and the mighty Columbia flowing into the Pacific. The column was built in 1926 to commemorate the region's early history by the Astor family.

Eclipsed by Portland and other ports further inland along the Columbia, Astoria's economy centered around fishing, fish processing, and lumber. In 1945, about 30 canneries could be found along the Columbia; however, in 1974 Bumblebee Seafood moved its headquarters out of Astoria, and gradually reduced its presence until 1980 when the company closed its last cannery. The timber industry likewise declined, with Astoria Plywood Mill, the city's largest employer, closing in 1989, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway announcing in 1996 that they were discontinuing service.

In 1966 the Astoria-Megler Bridge was opened completing U.S. Route 101 and linking Astoria with Washington State.

Today, tourism, Astoria's growing art scene, and light manufacturing are the main economic activities of the city. It is a port of call for cruise ships, with many docking in 2004, 2005, 13 in 2006, and 14 already scheduled for 2007.

Astoria is also the western terminus of the TransAmerica Trail, a bicycle touring route created by the American Cycling Association.

Geography and climate

Astoria is located above the equator (46.188825, -123.821007)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.5 km² (10.6 mi²). 15.9 km² (6.1 mi²) of it is land and 11.6 km² (4.5 mi²) of it (42.18%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 9,813 people, 4,235 households, and 2,469 families residing in the city. The population density was 617.1/km² (1,597.6/mi²). There were 4,858 housing units at an average density of 305.5/km² (790.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.08% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 1.14% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 2.67% from other races, and 2.46% from two or more races. 5.98% of the population were Hispanic American or Latino of any race.

There were 4,235 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,011, and the median income for a family was $41,446. Males had a median income of $29,813 versus $22,121 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,759. About 11.6% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Astoria School District has five schools, each of which serves a different age group of students:

• Captain Robert Gray Elementary School
• John Jacob Astor Elementary School
• Lewis & Clark Elementary School
• Astoria Middle School
• Astoria High School

Media

• The Daily Astorian

Astoria in popular culture

Astoria was the setting of the 1985 hit movie The Goonies, which was filmed on location. Other movies filmed in Astoria include Overboard, Short Circuit, The Black Stallion, Kindergarten Cop, Free Willy, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Benji the Hunted, The Ring, [2] and The Ring Two.

An album by the rock band The Ataris, so long, astoria, has cover art and a title song depicting the city.

Astoria is mentioned in Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash as the best place at that point in the novel to get to the USS Enterprise.

Astoria was also mentioned in the movie Eight Below; it was the current hometown of character Jerry Shepherd. Most recently it was mentioned in the movie about the Coast Guard "The Guardian" with Kevin Costner.

Other points of interest

• Columbia River Maritime Museum
• Peter Iredale shipwreck
• Scandinavian Festival
• Astoria Regional Airport

Sister city

Astoria has one sister city [3], as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Walldorf, Germany

Notable residents

• Brian Bruney, New York Yankees reliever, born in Astoria
• Ranald MacDonald, first man to teach the English language in Japan, born in Astoria.
• Donald Malarkey, member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the US 101st Airborne Division during World War II, portrayed in the HBO series Band of Brothers, born and raised in Astoria.

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