Silverton, Oregon

Silverton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The city is situated along the 45th parallel about northeast of Salem, in the eastern margins of the broad alluvial plain of the Willamette Valley. The city is named after Silver Creek, which flows through the town from Silver Falls into the Pudding River, and thence into the Willamette River. The community of Milford was founded in 1846 with a sawmill, store and several other buildings two miles upstream from the present location of Silverton. In about 1853 a second sawmill was built on Silver Creek near where the Silverton city hall now stands. In 1854 the town of Silverton was platted and registered with Marion County. Human habitation of the Silverton area extends back approximately 6,000 years before the present. In historical times, the region was dominated by the Kalapuya and Molala peoples, whose seasonal burns of the area made it plow-ready and attractive to early 19th century Euro-American settlers. Farming was Silverton's first major industry, and has been a dominant land-use activity in and around Silverton since the mid-19th century.
Silverton is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the population core of the Silver Falls School District. The population was 10,484 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 9,222 in 2010.

Geography

Silverton is situated on the eastern edge of the Willamette Valley, a fertile alluvial plain which stretches from the western foothills of the Cascade Range on the east, known as the Waldo Hills, to the eastern foothills of the Oregon Coast Range on the west. Silverton lies on either side of Silver Creek, a tributary of the Pudding River, which joins the Molalla River before emptying into the northward-flowing Willamette River. Abiqua Creek also empties into the Pudding River; it flows across the eastern valley north of Silverton, further draining the land around the city.
Silverton's elevation is between above mean sea level with the steep-sided, heavily-wooded Waldo Hills to the south rising an additional. The agricultural richness of the environs is due to massive and repeated floods from prehistoric Lake Missoula in western Montana. Beginning approximately 13,000 years before the present, repeated flooding from Lake Missoula scoured eastern Washington and Oregon, carved out the Columbia River Gorge, and periodically swept down the Columbia River; when floodwaters met ice jams in southwest Washington, the backed-up water spilled over and filled the entire Willamette Valley to a depth of above current sea level, creating a body of water known as Lake Allison. The gradual receding of Lake Allison's waters left layered sedimentary volcanic and glacial soils to a height of about above current sea level throughout the Tualatin, Yamhill and Willamette Valleys.
Image:ChristmasTreeFarm.jpg|left|thumb|A Christmas tree farm near Silverton
Until the mid-19th century, the Silverton area was a broad, open grassland with small stands of Oregon white oak, ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. Stands of Oregon white oak, red alder, big leaf maple, and black cottonwood lined streams and river banks. While these tree species are extant today, widespread farming in the Willamette Valley between 1850 and 1870 altered the land through the discontinuation of widespread seasonal burning in the valley plains previously employed by the Kalapuya people. Large stands of Douglas fir and western red cedar, mixed with Oregon white oak, remain in the Silverton area, especially on eastern ridge tops and on the slopes of the Waldo Hills to the south. Due to decades of intensive timber extraction, mature second- and third-growth trees comprise existing evergreen stands.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which are land and, or 1.04%, are water.

Climate

This region experiences warm and dry summers, but with no average monthly temperatures above. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Silverton has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps. The climate is relatively mild, considering Silverton's northern latitude, and temperature fluctuations are generally small. Precipitation, primarily in the form of fall and winter rain, ranges between annually. Silverton's climate and its soil have made the area well suited for a variety of crops and for livestock grazing.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Silverton had a population of 10,484. The median age was 39.2 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.2 males age 18 and over.
98.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,983 households in Silverton, of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 52.7% were married-couple households, 13.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,173 housing units, of which 4.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.2% were owner-occupied and 32.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%.

Race	Number	Percent
White	8,532	81.4%
Black or African American	63	0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native	106	1.0%
Asian	70	0.7%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	14	0.1%
Some other race	604	5.8%
Two or more races	1,095	10.4%
Hispanic or Latino	1,425	13.6%

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,222 people, 3,452 households, and 2,442 families residing in Silverton. The population density was. There were 3,477 housing units, 18.1% of which were housing units in multi-unit structures. The homeownership rate was 64.3% and the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $229,700. The racial makeup of the city was 84.1% White, 12.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.7% from other races, 1.0% Asian, 0.7% Native American, 0.2% African American, and 0.1% Pacific Islander.
Of the 3,452 households in Silverton, 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 54% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.
The median age in Silverton was 35.8 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 17.2% were 62 years of age or older. Silverton's gender makeup was 47.6% male and 52.4% female. 91.7% were high school graduates, and 29.1% held bachelor's or higher degrees. The median household income was $51,687. 16.1% of the population lived at or below the poverty level.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,414 people, 3,452 households, and
2,442 families residing in Silverton. There were 2,865 housing units, and the population density was. Silverton's homeownership rate was 60.7%, while 39.9% of occupied housing units were rented. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $148,800. The racial makeup of Silverton was 89.4% White, 11.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.09% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.21% African American, and 8.83% other races.
Image:Mill on Silver Creek at Silverton, Oregon.jpg|thumb|upright|Fischer's Mill on Silver Creek in Silverton, c.1908
The median age in Silverton was 33. 37.7% were under the age of 18, 13.4% were 65 years of age or older, 47% were male and 53% female. Of the population 25 years of age and older, 7.1% possessed a graduate or professional degree, 15.3% held a bachelor's degree, 5.2% held an associate degree, 28% had some college education but no degree, while an additional 28.8% had graduated from high school or its equivalent but had not received any college education. 15.6% failed to complete high school.
The median salary for a male was $34,707 while the median for a female was $24,479. Major employers in Silverton in 2000 included the Silver Falls School District, Silverton Hospital, Champion Homes, Brucepac, and Mallorie's Dairy. The median household income was $38,429. 11.7% of Silverton households earned less than $10,000 per year, while 2.5% earned $150,000 or more. About 10.4% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Silverton is the population core of the Silver Falls School District, which, in addition to Silverton, serves nearby Scotts Mills in as well as communities in the surrounding foothills up to Silver Falls State Park. Currently there are twelve elementary schools in the district, and the campus of Silverton High School on Pine Street, which was completed in 2009. Voters passed a bond levy in 1994 for construction of a new high school to be completed in two phases. The first phase of the new high school was completed in 1997, with a capacity for 500 students. The second phase was not completed until the summer of 2009, after voters passed a new bond levy in November 2006. In autumn 2009, students at the high school's old campus moved into the new campus at 802 Schlador Street. As of October 2014, the School District was seeking proposals from architectural firms for completion of the Middle School Schlador Campus Reconstruction in Silverton.
Image:Frog kite 01284.JPG|right|thumb|A frog kite hangs from the ceiling of O'Briens, a coffee house on Water Street
In 2006, Silverton and Silver Falls School District formed a partnership to support, maintain, and operate Silverton's local access cable channel, SCAN-TV.
In 2014, Silverton High School's enrolled students numbered 1,196. Of those students, 39% were judged to be economically disadvantaged. 36.9% were entitled to receive a free or reduced-rate lunch. 14% of the student population were disabled, 11% were English language learners. Compared to other similar high schools, Silverton High School students' scholastic achievements rated above average. The racial makeup of the school was 81.7% White, 14.5% Hispanic, 0.9% African-American, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian. 1.9% were Other/Unknown.