Seneca, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Seneca is a city in Grant County
, Oregon
, United States
. It is located in the Blue Mountains
about 23 miles south of Canyon City
, on U.S. Route 395
, on the edge of the Malheur National Forest
. The population was 223 at the 2000 census.
While early homesteaders moved into the valley in the late 1800s, Seneca only began growing in the 1929 when it became the northern terminus of the now-vacated Oregon and Northwestern Railroad
, owned by the Edward Hines Lumber Company
, which extended south to Burns
. At that time, large-scale shipping of Ponderosa Pine logs from Seneca and the surrounding national forest began to the Hines sawmill
in Hines
. The company established a planing mill
and railroad shops in Seneca, and it became essentially a company town
. In 1940 Seneca's population was 275. Logging
in the area began to decline in the 1970s, and the Hines company ceased operations of its lumber mills and railroad in 1984. The town was incorporated
as a city in 1970 as lumber company control began to wane. According to the 1980 census, Seneca's population was 285. The estimated population in 2007 was 270.
, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.
Situated at the confluence of Bear Creek and the Silvies River
, Seneca is in Bear Valley at the northern edge of the Great Basin
. Seneca experiences the coolest weather in Grant County and has the distinction of the coldest official temperature recorded in the Oregon: 54 degrees below zero in 1933.
of 2000, there were 223 people, 95 households, and 64 families residing in the city. The population density
was 267.8 people per square mile (103.7/km2). There were 115 housing units at an average density of 138.1 per square mile (53.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 99.10% White, 0.45% Asian, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population.
There were 95 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 31.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 110.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,333, and the median income for a family was $26,806. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $12,636. About 24.0% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
-8
school. After 8th grade students attend Grant Union High School in John Day
. Seneca School was built in the 1930s to serve the employees of the Hines Lumber Company. As of 2011, the school had 58 students.
Grant County, Oregon
Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is included in the 8 county definition of Eastern Oregon. In 2010, its population was 7,445. It is named for President Ulysses S. Grant, who served as an army officer in the Oregon Territory, and at the time of the county's creation...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located in the Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains (Oregon)
The Blue Mountains are a mountain range in the western United States, located largely in northeastern Oregon and stretching into southeastern Washington...
about 23 miles south of Canyon City
Canyon City, Oregon
Canyon City is a city in Grant County, Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Grant County, and is about a mile south of John Day on U.S. Highway 395. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 703.-History:...
, on U.S. Route 395
U.S. Route 395 in Oregon
In the U.S. state of Oregon, U.S. Route 395 traverses the desert and rural areas on the eastern side of the state. The largest cities that US 395 passes through are Pendleton, the county seat of Umatilla County, and Hermiston, also in Umatilla County....
, on the edge of the Malheur National Forest
Malheur National Forest
The Malheur National Forest is a National Forest in the U.S. state of Oregon. It contains 1.7 million acres in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon. The forest include high desert grasslands, sage, juniper, pine, fir, and other tree species. Elevations vary from about 4000 feet to the 9038...
. The population was 223 at the 2000 census.
History
Seneca post office was established in 1895 and named by postmaster Minnie Southworth for her brother-in-law, prominent Portland judge Seneca Smith.While early homesteaders moved into the valley in the late 1800s, Seneca only began growing in the 1929 when it became the northern terminus of the now-vacated Oregon and Northwestern Railroad
Oregon and Northwestern Railroad
The Oregon and Northwestern Railroad evolved from the defunct Malheur Railroad in 1928 and eventually ran between Hines, Oregon, and Seneca, along the present-day route of the U.S. 395 in Oregon...
, owned by the Edward Hines Lumber Company
Edward Hines Lumber Company
The Edward Hines Lumber Company, based in Buffalo Grove, in the U.S. state of Illinois, is a business firm specializing in lumber, plywood, decking, doors, windows, trim, and other wood products. It also sells related services such as consultations and cost estimates for building projects...
, which extended south to Burns
Burns, Oregon
Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 2,806.-History:Burns was established in the early 1880s and incorporated upon Harney county's creation in 1889...
. At that time, large-scale shipping of Ponderosa Pine logs from Seneca and the surrounding national forest began to the Hines sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
in Hines
Hines, Oregon
Hines is a city in Harney County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,563 at the 2010 census.-History:A community named Herrick was formed just southwest of Burns when railroad promoter and sawmill operator Fred Herrick founded a lumber company there...
. The company established a planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
and railroad shops in Seneca, and it became essentially a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
. In 1940 Seneca's population was 275. Logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
in the area began to decline in the 1970s, and the Hines company ceased operations of its lumber mills and railroad in 1984. The town was incorporated
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
as a city in 1970 as lumber company control began to wane. According to the 1980 census, Seneca's population was 285. The estimated population in 2007 was 270.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.
Situated at the confluence of Bear Creek and the Silvies River
Silvies River
The Silvies River flows for about through Grant and Harney counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The river drains of the northern Harney Basin....
, Seneca is in Bear Valley at the northern edge of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
. Seneca experiences the coolest weather in Grant County and has the distinction of the coldest official temperature recorded in the Oregon: 54 degrees below zero in 1933.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 223 people, 95 households, and 64 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 267.8 people per square mile (103.7/km2). There were 115 housing units at an average density of 138.1 per square mile (53.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 99.10% White, 0.45% Asian, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population.
There were 95 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 31.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 110.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,333, and the median income for a family was $26,806. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $12,636. About 24.0% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
Education
Seneca is served by the Grant County School District (formerly the John Day School District). Seneca School is a KKindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
-8
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
school. After 8th grade students attend Grant Union High School in John Day
John Day, Oregon
John Day is a city located about north of Canyon City in Grant County, Oregon, at the intersection of U.S. Routes 26 and 395. The city was named for the nearby John Day River, which had been named for a Virginian member of the 1811 Astor Expedition, John Day...
. Seneca School was built in the 1930s to serve the employees of the Hines Lumber Company. As of 2011, the school had 58 students.
External links
- Entry for Seneca in the Oregon Blue BookOregon Blue BookThe Oregon Blue Book is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon copyrighted by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. As Governor Ted Kulongoski notes in his introduction for the 2005–2006 edition, it "provides...
- Seneca Community Profile from the Oregon Business Development Commission
- Seneca History Project from Seneca School
- Historic images of Seneca from Salem Public Library