Multnomah County, Oregon

Information about Multnomah County, Oregon

Multnomah County, Oregon
Map
Enlarge picture
Map of Oregon highlighting Multnomah County

Location in the state of Oregon

Oregon 's location in the USA
Statistics
Founded22 December 1854
SeatPortland
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
1,206 km² (466 mi²)
1,127 km² (435 mi²)
79 km² (30 mi²) , 6.53%
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density
660,486
586/km 
Website: | www.co.multnomah.or.us |
Multnomah County (IPA: [ml̩t ˈno mə]) is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous[1] as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city. The county is likely named after Native American people first recorded in the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Mulknomans, who lived in a village on the east side of present-day Sauvie Island. (An alternative theory holds that Multnomah is a corruption of nematlnomaq, meaning down river.) In 2000, the county's population was 660,486.

History

Multnomah County (the thirteenth in Oregon Territory) was created on December 22, 1854, formed out of the eastern part of Washington and the northern part of Clackamas counties. Its creation was a result of a petition for earlier that year by businessmen in Portland complaining of the inconvenient location of the Washington County seat in Hillsboro and of the share of Portland tax revenues leaving the city to support Washington County farmers. County commissioners met for the first time on January 17, 1855.

At various times in the 20th century, an initiative has been placed on the county ballot to merge Portland with the county government. None of these proposals have been approved.

Since 2000

Enlarge picture
Multnomah County Court House in Downtown Portland.
In the 2000 presidential election, Multnomah played a decisive role in determining the winner of the the state's electoral votes. Al Gore carried the county by more than 104,000 votes, enough to offset the nearly 100,000-vote advantage that George W. Bush had earned among Oregon's 35 other counties.

In February 2001, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously accepted the recommendation of the Library Advisory Board and authorized the library to enter into a lawsuit to stop the Children's Internet Protection Act.[2] The US Supreme Court ultimately decided in 2003 that the law was constitutional in US v. ALA. However, the library chose to turn down $104,000 per year of federal funding under CIPA to be able to continue to offer unfiltered Internet access.

Faced with decreasing government revenues due to a recession in the local economy, voters approved a three-year local income tax (Measure 26-48) on May 20, 2003 to prevent further cuts in schools, police protection, and social services. Multnomah County was one of the few local governments in Oregon to approve such a tax increase.

In May 2003, the Multnomah County Department of Human Services named Klingon on a list of 55 languages for which it might conceivably need interpreters; this story was circulated out-of-context as an urban legend claiming that the department was looking to hire a Klingon interpreter.[3] County Chair Diane Linn called the listing the "result of an overzealous attempt to ensure that our safety net systems can respond to all customers and clients."

Enlarge picture
Couples waiting for same-sex marriage licenses in Multnomah County
On March 2, 2004, Multnomah County Chair Linn announced the county would begin granting licenses for same-sex marriages, pursuant to a legal opinion issued by its attorney deeming such marriages lawful under Oregon law. Her announcement was supported by three other commissioners (Serena Cruz, Lisa Naito & Maria Rojo de Steffey), but criticised by Lonnie Roberts, who represents the eastern part of Multnomah county and was left out of the decision.[1][2] Within a few days, several groups joined to file a lawsuit to halt the county's action; see Same-sex unions in Oregon.

Law and government

Elected Officials
  • County Commission (one chair, four commissioners; nonpartisan)
  • Chair: Ted Wheeler
  • Commissioner, District 1: Maria Rojo de Steffey
  • Commissioner, District 2: Jeff Cogen
  • Commissioner, District 3: Lisa Naito
  • Commissioner, District 4: Lonnie Roberts
  • District Attorney: Michael Schrunk
  • Sheriff: Bernie Giusto
  • Auditor: LaVonne Griffin-Valade
  • Circuit Court district 4
Appointed Officials
  • Elections: John Kauffman
  • Finance: Mindy Harris
  • Surveyor: Robert Hovden
Map of Multnomah County legislative districts

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,206 km² (466 mi²). 1,127 km² (435 mi²) of it is land and 79 km² (30 mi² or 6.53%) of it is water.

The county includes Mount Tabor, an extinct volcano, and its northern eastern border forms the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Economy

The principal industries of Multnomah County are manufacturing, transportation, wholesale and retail trade, and tourism. Since Oregon does not have a sales tax, it attracts shoppers from southwest Washington.

The Port of Portland, established in 1891 and combined with the City of Portland's Commission of Public Docks in 1973, ranks third in total waterborne commerce on the West Coast. Portland is one of the five largest auto import ports in the nation and is the West Coast's leading exporter of grain and lumber. The Port of Portland is also responsible for Portland International Airport in the Northeast section of Portland.

The Multnomah County Library has a small impact on the county budget: the county library, which supplies Internet service to area libraries, turns down $104,000 per year in federal funding, starting in 2004, to obviate the need to comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act so as to maintain unfiltered Internet access.

Tourism

The county is home to a number of Portland-area attractions and venues, including Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland Art Museum, Memorial Coliseum, Oregon Convention Center, Rose Garden Arena, Washington Park, Oregon Zoo, International Rose Test Garden, Portland Classical Chinese Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, and Pittock Mansion.

It is also home to Columbia River Highway, Multnomah Falls, and Oxbow Park.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.%
18604,150
—
187011,5100%
188025,2030%
189074,8840%
1900103,1670%
1910226,2610%
1920275,8980%
1930338,2410%
1940355,0990%
1950471,5370%
1960522,8130%
1970556,6670%
1980562,6400%
1990583,8870%
2000665,8100%
As of the 2000 census2, there are 660,486 people in the county, organized into 272,098 households and 152,102 families. The population density is 586/km² (1,518/mi²). There are 288,561 housing units at an average density of 256/km² (663/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 79.16% White, 5.70% Asian, 5.67% Black or African American, 1.03% Native American, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 4.03% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races. 7.51% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 83.5% spoke English, 6.3% Spanish, 1.7% Vietnamese and 1.3% Russian as their first language.

There are 272,098 households out of which 26.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% are married couples living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.1% are non-families. 32.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 3.03.

In the county, the population is spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $41,278, and the median income for a family is $51,118. Males have a median income of $36,036 versus $29,337 for females. The per capita income for the county is $22,606. 12.70% of the population and 8.20% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.40% of those under the age of 18 and 9.80% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

See also

References

1. ^ Oregon Almanac: Abbreviation to Counties. Oregon Blue Book. State of Oregon. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
2. ^ Children's Internet Protection Act; Questions and Answers. Multnomah County Library. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
3. ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Oregon Hires Klingon Interpreter. Snopes. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.

External links

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State of Oregon

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Nickname(s): Beaver State
Motto(s): Alis volat propriis

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Capital Salem
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Portland, Oregon

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Nickname: "Rose City," "P-Town," "Stumptown," "Bridgetown," "PDX"
Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon
Coordinates:
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Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. The term Surface area is the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an object.

Units

Units for measuring surface area include:
square metre = SI derived unit

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Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of surface area, the square metre, one of the SI derived units. 1 km² is equal to:
  • 1,000,000 m²
  • 100 ha (hectare)
Conversely:
  • 1 m² = 0.

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square mile is an imperial and US unit of area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. It should not be confused with the archaic miles square, which refers to the number of miles on each side squared.
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population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
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The Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census.
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Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, humans in particular.

Biological population densities


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county of the United States is a local level of government smaller than a state and not smaller than a city or town, in a U.S. state or territory. The word "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states, while Louisiana uses the term "parish" and Alaska uses the word "borough.
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State of Oregon

Flag of Oregon (front) Seal
Nickname(s): Beaver State
Motto(s): Alis volat propriis

Official language(s) (none)[1]

Capital Salem
Largest city Portland

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A county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there.
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Portland, Oregon

Flag
Seal
Nickname: "Rose City," "P-Town," "Stumptown," "Bridgetown," "PDX"
Location of Portland in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon
Coordinates:
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Oregon Geographic Names is an authoritative compilation of the origin and meaning of place names in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of 2003, the book is in its seventh edition and is compiled and edited by Lewis L.
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American Indian and Alaska Native
One race: 2.5 million[1]
In combination with one or more other races: 1.6 million[2]
Regions with significant populations  United States

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The Multnomah were a tribe of Chinookan people who lived in the area of Portland, Oregon in the United States up through the early 19th century. Multnomah villages were located throughout the Portland basin and on both side of the Columbia River.
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Sauvie Island, in the U.S. state of Oregon, is the largest island along the Columbia River, at 26,000 acres (105 km²). It lies approximately ten miles northwest of downtown Portland, between the Columbia River to the east, the Multnomah Channel to the west, and the Willamette River
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The Oregon Territory is the name applied both to the unorganized Oregon Country claimed by both the United States and Britain (but normally referred to as the Oregon Country), as well as to the organized U.S. territory formed from it that existed between 1848 and 1859.
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19th century - 20th century
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1851 1852 1853 - 1854 - 1855 1856 1857

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Washington County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Originally named Twality in 1843, the territorial legislature renamed it for the first president of the United States, George Washington, in 1849. In 2000 census, its population was 445,342.
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Clackamas County (IPA: [ˈklæ kə mɪs]) is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The county was named after the Native Americans living in the area, the Clackamas Indians, who were part of the Chinookan
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Hillsboro, Oregon
Downtown with Mount Hood and Tuality Hospital in the background.

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