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Cottage Grove, Oregon

Cottage Grove is a city located in Lane County, Oregon. It received its name from its first postmaster, G. C. Pierce, in September 1861. Pierce's home at the time was in an oak grove. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,445.

Table of contents
1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History

Geography

Cottage Grove is located at 43°47'43" North, 123°3'39" West (43.795370, -123.060904)1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.6 km² (3.3 mi²). 8.5 km² (3.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.60% water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 8,445 people, 3,264 households, and 2,183 families residing in the city. The population density is 988.1/km² (2,561.6/mi²). There are 3,430 housing units at an average density of 401.3/km² (1,040.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 92.84% White, 0.15% African American, 1.21% Native American, 0.92% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.55% from other races, and 3.23% from two or more races. 4.94% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 3,264 households out of which 33.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% are married couples living together, 13.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% are non-families. 28.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.54 and the average family size is 3.05.

In the city the population is spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $30,442, and the median income for a family is $37,457. Males have a median income of $30,775 versus $23,485 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,550. 19.8% of the population and 15.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 29.0% are under the age of 18 and 13.0% are 65 or older.

History

As was common in Oregon pioneer days, post offices for locations would move with each new postmaster, and it wasn't until the later 1860s that the Cottage Grove post office arrived at its final location, in the extreme south west of present-day Cottage Grove. When the Southern Pacific Railroad built their line through the area, they built their station more than half a mile to the northeast of the post office, starting a bitter neighborhood disagreement. Since the inhabitants near the post office would not allow it to be moved next to the railroad station, a post office was established near the station, called Lemati, after the Chinook word lemiti for mountain. In 1887 Cottage Grove was incorporated as a city, but the eastern community still used the placename Lemati intermittently until both communities were merged in 1898.

Parts of the movie Animal House were filmed in Cotage Grove, and the 25th anniversary of the movie's release was celebrated August 30, 2003 by the citizens with a toga party on Main Street.