Weston, Oregon

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Weston, Oregon
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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imagesize = 250px
image_caption = Historic Main street.


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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Oregon


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Oregon
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Umatilla
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Barbara Byerley
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = 1878
area_magnitude =
area_total_sq_mi = 0.5
area_total_km2 = 1.4
area_land_sq_mi = 0.5
area_land_km2 = 1.4
area_water_sq_mi = 0
area_water_km2 = 0
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_urban_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
area_metro_km2 =
population_as_of = 2000
population_note =
population_total = 717
population_metro =
population_urban =
population_density_km2 = 512.7
population_density_sq_mi = 1318.7
timezone = Pacific
utc_offset = -8
timezone_DST = Pacific
utc_offset_DST = -7
latd = 45 |latm = 48 |lats = 51 |latNS = N
longd = 118 |longm = 25 |longs = 28 |longEW = W
elevation_m = 547.4
elevation_ft = 1796
website =
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 97886
area_code = 541
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 41-80350GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1128919GR|3
footnotes =

Weston is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. This city was named around 1869 by T.T. Lieuallen after his hometown, Weston, Missouri. The population was 717 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Pendleton–Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Weston is best known for its connection with novelist Nard Jones (1904 - 1972), who lived in the city with his parents between 1919 and 1927, and whose first novel "Oregon Detour" was set in an Oregon town of 600 inhabitants called "Creston". When his novel, written according to the tenets of the New Realism literary movement (established years before by Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis and others) was published in 1930, many of the residents were convinced that his characters were based on local inhabitants, and considered the work a slander against the town. While the legend that Jones was sued and ran out of town for his book is not true, members of the town made an effort to local suppress access to the book: copies of the novel were stolen from the local library; after the novel became the subject for a high school student's book report, his English teacher removed the book from both the reading list and the high school library. According to George Venn, local literary historian, even in the 1980s "trying to figure out or trying to remember who the 'real people' in the novel is still a local pastime."

Geography

Weston is located at coor dms|45|48|51|N|118|25|28|W|city (45.814143, -118.424489)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.4 km²), all of it land.

Weston is located at the foot of the Blue Mountains, on Pine Creek.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 717 people, 265 households, and 191 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,318.7 people per square mile (512.7/km²). There were 280 housing units at an average density of 515.0/sq mi (200.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.40% White, 3.35% Native American, 10.88% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.76% of the population.

There were 265 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,905, and the median income for a family was $39,063. Males had a median income of $25,682 versus $21,625 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,089. About 10.0% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

* [http://oregonstate.edu/dept/press/o-p/ORDetourIntro.html Oregon Detour] , Oregon State University Press
* [http://www.ochcom.org/jones Nard Jones (1904-1972)] , by Walt Curtis 1995 for Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission

External links

* [http://bluebook.state.or.us/local/cities/sy/weston.htm Oregon Blue Book listing for Weston]
* [http://www.oregongenealogy.com/umatilla/weston.htm Weston] , "Oregon Genealogy project"
* [http://gesswhoto.com/um-weston.html Weston] , "R. Gess Smith"