Yachats, Oregon
Yachats is a small coastal city in the southernmost area of Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, the name comes from the Siletz language and means "at the foot of the mountain". There is a range of differing etymologies. William Bright says the name comes from the Alsea placename yáx̣ayky. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 994.
History
Archeological studies have shown that the Yachats area has been inhabited for at least 1,500 years. Remains of a pit-house in Yachats have been radiocarbon dated at approximately 570 AD. Yachats is built on seashell middens and numerous graves left by its past inhabitants. Excavations for construction of buildings and U.S. Route 101 uncovered a great many skeletons and artifacts. Most of these became part of the fill dirt forming the base of the current highway and city.For many centuries the Native Americans in this area were hunter-gatherers who migrated between summer camps and winter residences. The Alsea Tribe had as many as 20 permanent villages on the Alsea River and the central Oregon coast. Archeological and linguistic evidence support the existence of a southern Alsea village known as the Yahuch band, located on the coast at the Yachats River. By 1860, the Yahuch band was extinct, many having succumbed to European diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis.
In order to open up land in the Coos Bay area for homesteading in the early 1860s, the U.S. Army forcibly marched the Coos and Lower Umpqua Indians north over rugged terrain to the Alsea Sub-Agency reservation in Yachats where the peaceful Indians, treated by the Army as though they were prisoners of war, were incarcerated. Amanda's Trail, named for a blind Indian woman who suffered greatly on the march, was dedicated on July 19, 2009. The trail climbs from downtown Yachats to the summit of Cape Perpetua where it links with the extensive trail system of the Siuslaw National Forest.
In Yachats the hunter-gatherer tribes were forced to learn to make a living by agriculture. Crops planted near the ocean failed, resulting in many deaths from starvation. Approximately 300 Indians died in just 10 years. Twelve years after the Alsea Sub-Agency had opened, the Indians were allowed to establish a trail and develop agricultural plots up the Yachats River Valley, where they were able to grow potatoes, oats, wheat, and corn. They were also allowed to return to hunting. Once the Indians had built a new life there, the U.S. government opened up the area for homesteading in 1875, and once again, forced the Indians to move—some returned to their ancestral homelands, others went north to the Siletz Reservation. Many of the Indians died during this relocation.
Homesteaders used the Indian farms and trails to develop the Yachats area. In 1892 the first post office was established in Yachats. Until Yachats could be reached by a macadam road, rains made it impossible for the mail to be carried by car. The Roosevelt Memorial Highway, carved out of the rock of Cape Perpetua in 1931, changed all this by opening up a route from the town of Florence. Despite the early difficulties of reaching Yachats, the tourist industry began in 1905 with the conversion of a chittum bark warehouse into the first hotel. Today tourism is the city's main industry.
Yachats was part of the war effort in both world wars. Spruce was needed for airplanes during World War I, and in 1918 the U.S. Army Signal Corps under the Spruce Production Division wanted to commence logging of the Blodgett Tract area, an area about north of Yachats. A logging railroad, the Alsea Southern Railroad, needed for transporting logs to the Yaquina River was completed by the Spruce Production Division from South Beach, Oregon to Yachats on November 8, 1918, just three days before the war ended. Logs could then be floated on the river to the mill in Toledo, Oregon. A private company, the Pacific Spruce Corporation under its Manary Logging Company subsidiary, purchased the railroad and completed a large centralized logging facility called "Camp 1" north of Yachats in September 1922. Camp 1 contained a machine shop, locomotive shed, bunkhouses, bungalows, mess hall, school, and commissary. Manary Logging and its successors continued the logging operations in the area until 1937.
Early in World War II, the West Shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps near the top of Cape Perpetua was used as an observation site and radar station for the detection of enemy submarines and aircraft. In Yachats, foxholes and gun emplacements were installed along the ocean drive. Military personnel were housed in a local skating rink and the Ladies Club was rented for recreation. After the war, the U.S. Coast Guard discovered Japanese mines that had floated onto the beaches. These were hauled out to sea and destroyed.
The Little Log Church is a historical museum displaying many artifacts relating to Yachats's past. The church, built in 1926, was designed in the shape of a cross. Sir Robert Perks, who owned most of Yachats at the time, provided the property; the logs were donated as well and the work was contributed by local citizens. The museum is now owned by the city.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Yachats had a population of 994. The median age was 65.4 years. 8.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 51.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 83.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.4 males age 18 and over.99.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.8% lived in rural areas.
There were 559 households in Yachats, of which 11.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.4% were married-couple households, 18.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 42.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 29.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 961 housing units, of which 41.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.4% were owner-occupied and 35.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.6%.
| Race | Number | Percent |
| White | 888 | 89.3% |
| Black or African American | 2 | 0.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 6 | 0.6% |
| Asian | 5 | 0.5% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0 | 0% |
| Some other race | 28 | 2.8% |
| Two or more races | 65 | 6.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 59 | 5.9% |
2010 census
As of the United States Census of 2010, there were 690 people, 400 households, and 198 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 807 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 95.2% White, 0.1% African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 4.8% of the population.There were 400 households, of which 5.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 50.5% were non-families. 42.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.72 and the average family size was 2.22.
The median age in the city was 62.3 years. 4.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 10.8% were from 25 to 44; 39.5% were from 45 to 64; and 41.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.7% male and 53.3% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 617 people, 333 households, and 185 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 619 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 96.27% White, 0.16% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.81% Asian, and 2.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.76% of the population.There were 333 households, out of which 10.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.85 and the average family size was 2.34.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 11.7% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 13.0% from 25 to 44, 39.4% from 45 to 64, and 32.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 56 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,308, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $36,875 versus $31,806 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,143. About 12.8% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Of city residents age 25 or older in 2000, 94.0% achieved a high school education or higher, compared to the national average of 80.4%, and 40.3% held a bachelor's degree or higher compared to 24.4% nationally.