Albany, Oregon, United States of America

Albany is a city in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 42,280 making it the 12th largest city in Oregon. Albany was named for Albany, New York by the brothers Walter and Thomas Monteith, a family of early prominence in the area, in 1850. It is the county seat of Linn County. Albany is the home of Linn-Benton Community College.

Albany History

The site of the city at the confluence of the Calapooia River with the Willamette. In the 19th century, the area was inhabited by Kalapuya, a Penutian-speaking Native American people who inhabited the middle Willamette Valley. The Kalapuya called the area Tekenah, from a word meaning "the deep pool where the rivers meet" (and often humorously translated to "hole in the ground"). The name specifically refers to a location near the confluence of the Calapooia where the current had cut a hole near the bank. It is the earliest known name for the locality, and was also the name for a neighboring Kalapuya settlement as late as the 1850s.

The first white settler inside the current city limits of Albany arrived in 1846. Although Albany replaced Calapooia as the county seat in 1851, it was not until 1864 that Albany was incorporated as a city.

In the 1970s Albany attempted to extend its city limits to cover the land to include a zirconium processing plant of Wah Chang Corporation. Wah Chang responded in 1974 by sponsoring a vote to incorporate the desired properties as Millersburg.

Albany Geography

Albany is located at 44°37'49" North, 123°5'46" West (44.630188, -123.095992).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.6 km² (16.1 mi²). 41.1 km² (15.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.18% water.

Albany Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 42,280 people, 16,108 households, and 10,808 families residing in the city. The population density is 993.3/km² (2,571.8/mi²). There are 17,374 housing units at an average density of 422.4/km² (1,093.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 91.68% White, 0.53% African American, 1.22% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.65% from other races, and 2.56% from two or more races. 6.09% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 16,108 households out of which 33.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% are married couples living together, 11.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% are non-families. 26.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 2.99.

In the city the population is spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 91.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $39,409, and the median income for a family is $46,094. Males have a median income of $36,457 versus $24,480 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,570. 11.6% of the population and 9.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.1% of those under the age of 18 and 7.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Transportation

Albany, Oregon is adjacent to Interstate 5, while Highway 99E runs through it in a north and south direction and Highway 20 runs through it in an east and direction.

Public transportation within Albany is provided by Albany Transit System (ATS). Transit to Corvallis, Oregon is provided by bus service via the Linn-Benton Loop and the Valley Retriever inter-county bus systems.

Albany also has an Amtrak station near downtown, providing daily stops for both the Coast Starlight and Amtrak Cascades. ATS, the Linn-Benton Loop, Greyhound, and the Valley Retriever all provide bus service to and from the station.

Albany Trivia

• Albany is known as the rare metals capitol of the world:
• Local industry produces zirconium, hafnium and titanium.
• Local farms grow varying crops like corn, beans, mint, hazel nuts, and grass seed, just to name a few.
• Zipcodes 97321 and 97322
• Albany has a local reputation for an intermittent "Smell," which actually comes from a Weyerhauser paper mill in nearby Millersburg
• Albany is the home of Gary The Retard, a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show, as well as rapper Stupendous.

External links

• NowTowns.com Complete local info
• Albany City Web Page
• Welcome to Albany

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Albany,_Oregon".