Baker City, Oregon
Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward Dickinson Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
ted in 1865, Baker City grew slowly in the beginning. A post office was established on March 27, 1866, but Baker City was not incorporated until 1874. Even so, it supplanted Auburn as the county seat in 1868. The city and county were named in honor of U.S. Senator Edward D. Baker, the only sitting senator to be killed in a military engagement. He died in 1861 while leading a failed charge of 1,700 Union Army soldiers up a ridge at Ball's Bluff, Virginia, during the American Civil War.The Oregon Short Line Railroad came to Baker City in 1884, prompting growth; by 1900 it was the largest city between Salt Lake City and Portland and a trading center for a broad region. In 1910, Baker City residents voted to shorten the name of the city to simply Baker, the name change becoming official in 1911; another vote in 1989 restored the name to Baker City.
The establishment of the Oregon Lumber Company by Charles W. Nibley, the creation of a lumber mill by David Eccles on the North Powder River, and the purchase of sugar beet farms led to the migration of Latter-day Saint families to the Baker area. The first branch in Oregon was created in Baker City on July 23, 1893.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baker was established on June 19, 1903, after which the Saint Francis de Sales Cathedral was built in Baker City. In 1918, Baker was the subject of national interest when the 1918 solar eclipse took place and the U.S. Naval Observatory based its observations there. The path of totality of the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, included Baker City as well.
One of its former councilors, Adam Nilsson, who also served for the Baker City Public Arts Commission, was charged with criminal mischief for graffiti on August 1, 2017, while holding office. A police officer made connections through the tag "Provolotus", which has been found in other graffiti complaints as well as on Nilsson's Instagram profile. The graffiti was on a Baker County-owned property when Nilsson and his friend Ashley E. Schroder were cited. Nilsson, who has pled guilty to spray painting graffiti at the Lime plant, contends his constitutional rights were violated and has filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Baker County and the county sheriff in August 2019. In this lawsuit, Nilsson wrote that he was negotiating with the artist, whose moniker is "Thrashbird" to obtain art as "public art" for Baker City. By September 27, 2023, all claims by Nilsson were dismissed.
In spring 2023, the city council voted to remove mayor Beverly Calder as a result of an op-ed piece she had written in the Baker City Herald. She retained her seat on the city council but mayoralship was given to Matt Diaz. Diaz resigned in July, following a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ meme, claiming he was moving out of town. The city council reinstated Calder as the city's mayor.
Beginning in August additional city councilors began resigning their posts, culminating in the entire city council, including Calder, resigning leaving all positions vacant. Before resigning, the three remaining city councilors in September made an attempt to appoint new people to fill the vacancies but they were not able to satisfy quorum requirements, after which they resigned in an attempt to force a special election but Oregon state law requires the vacancies to be filled by the county commissioners.
Government
Baker City's city council consists of seven councilors who are elected by the residents of the city. The councilors select one of their members to serve as mayor for a two-year term.Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total land area of.The city is situated in a valley between the Wallowa Mountains to the east and the Elkhorn Mountains, part of the Blue Mountains to the west, with the Powder River running through the center of downtown on its way to the Snake River.
Climate
Baker City has a cool semi-arid climate, with a large diurnal temperature variation most of the year, peaking at in August. July is generally the warmest month, with a normal mean temperature of. The highest recorded temperature,, occurred on August 10, 2018 and August 2, 2024. December is the coldest month, with a normal mean temperature of. On December 23, 1983, the temperature fell to, the lowest recorded in the city. May is typically the month of highest precipitation, averaging. Snowfall averages about a year.Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Baker City had a population of 10,099. The median age was 43.6 years. 20.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.7 males age 18 and over.96.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 4,321 households in Baker City, of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.1% were married-couple households, 20.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,656 housing units, of which 7.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.2% were owner-occupied and 35.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.
| Race | Number | Percent |
| White | 8,971 | 88.8% |
| Black or African American | 66 | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 116 | 1.1% |
| Asian | 61 | 0.6% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 13 | 0.1% |
| Some other race | 239 | 2.4% |
| Two or more races | 633 | 6.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 531 | 5.3% |
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 9,828 people, 4,212 households, and 2,529 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 4,653 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 94.57% White, 1.12% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.44% African American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.97% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.52% of the population.There were 4,212 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1.2% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.85. In the city, the population was 23.7% under the age of 19, 5.0% from 20 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males. In 2005, the median income for a household in the city was $29,020, and the median income for a family was $34,790. Males had a median income of $26,638 versus $20,313 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,179. About 10.7% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
Annual events
Baker City hosts many annual festivals, including the Miners' Jubilee on the third weekend of July, which celebrates the mining history of the area and the filming of the 1969 Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood musical comedy Paint Your Wagon in the city.The Miners' Jubilee was originally launched in 1934 as the Baker Mining Jubilee, but lapsed after 1941 because of World War II and a declining interest in mining. The event was revived by Richard and Marge Haynes in 1975. The couple organized the celebration for two years before handing it over to the Baker County Chamber of Commerce.
Museums and other points of interest
The Baker Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places, is located on about centered on Main Street in downtown Baker City. Within its boundaries are more than 130 properties, about half of which include structures built between the late 1880s and about 1915. Many of these as well as others built as early as 1870 are two-story masonry commercial buildings. The city hall, county courthouse, the former post office, former library, former social clubs, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and an Episcopal Church are among notable buildings within the district.Baker City Tower, a nine-story structure in the historic district, is the tallest building east of the Cascade Range in Oregon. Opening in 1929 as the Baker Community Hotel, it was converted to other uses in 1970. The concrete Art Deco structure features terracotta eagles at each ground-floor entrance and is topped by an octagonal observation center with an eight-sided hip roof and a flagpole.
Also in the historic district is the Geiser Grand Hotel, a three-story, stucco-clad, brick structure that at the time of its opening in 1889 had plate glass windows, electric lights, baths, an elevator, and a dining room that seated 200. Originally called the Washauer Hotel, it became the Geiser Grand in about 1895 after its purchase by the John Geiser family, which had large mining investments in Baker County and elsewhere.
Baker Heritage Museum, previously the Oregon Trail Regional Museum, is housed in the Natatorium built in 1920 on Grove street across from the city park. The exhibits interpret the history of the region including mining, ranching, timber, early Baker City life, Chinese culture, and wildlife. The Adler House Museum, the former home of Leo Adler is now the Baker Heritage Museum's largest artifact. Learn the story of Leo Adler, Baker City philanthropist who donated millions to the people of Baker County in his will. The Adler house has been restored to his original splendor with original furnishings and interiors.
The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, about east of the city, offers exhibits, theater performances, workshops, and other events and activities related to the Oregon Trail, the ruts of which pass through the center's site. Established in 1992, the site is managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management and Trail Tenders, a group of volunteers.
Other points of interest in Baker City include the Crossroads Art Center, in a former Carnegie library; the downtown U.S. Bank, featuring a gold display that includes the Armstrong Nugget, weighing ; the Eltrym, Baker City's only movie theater, housed in a single-story structure built in the late 1940s.