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Arlington, Oregon
Community of Arlington
Community of Arlington
Location in Oregon
Location in Oregon
Country United States
State Oregon
County Gilliam
Incorporated 1885
Area
 • Total 3.17 sq mi (8.21 km2)
 • Land 2.55 sq mi (6.60 km2)
 • Water 0.62 sq mi (1.61 km2)
Elevation
285 ft (87 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 628
 • Density 246.27/sq mi (95.10/km2)
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-7 (Pacific)
ZIP codes
97812, 97861
Area code(s) 541
FIPS code 41-02800
GNIS feature ID 2409730
Website https://www.cityofarlingtonoregon.com/

Arlington is a city in Gilliam County, Oregon, United States. The city's population was 586 at the 2010 census and has a 2019 estimate of 591.

History

The account of how the city received its name varies; one tradition claims it was named after the lawyer Nathan Arlington Cornish, while another tradition claims that the Southern inhabitants of the city had enough clout to rename the city after Arlington, Virginia, home of general Robert E. Lee. Originally named Alkali, Arlington came into existence as a place for shipping cattle down the Columbia River. It was incorporated as Arlington by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on November 20, 1885.

Following the completion of the John Day Dam, the original location of Arlington was moved to higher ground in 1963 to avoid the resulting inundation.

In 2008, it was discovered that Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist had posted photos of herself in lingerie online, which, along with several other issues, led to her recall from office.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.22 km2), of which, 1.78 square miles (4.61 km2) is land and 0.62 square miles (1.61 km2) is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Arlington has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Climate data for Arlington, Oregon, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 66
(19)
74
(23)
81
(27)
97
(36)
107
(42)
117
(47)
114
(46)
115
(46)
104
(40)
90
(32)
84
(29)
74
(23)
117
(47)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 56.2
(13.4)
59.4
(15.2)
67.8
(19.9)
79.3
(26.3)
90.2
(32.3)
96.4
(35.8)
103.4
(39.7)
102.1
(38.9)
93.8
(34.3)
79.9
(26.6)
65.4
(18.6)
56.7
(13.7)
104.8
(40.4)
Average high °F (°C) 40.8
(4.9)
46.9
(8.3)
55.6
(13.1)
63.7
(17.6)
73.2
(22.9)
79.7
(26.5)
89.5
(31.9)
88.9
(31.6)
80.0
(26.7)
65.5
(18.6)
50.4
(10.2)
41.1
(5.1)
64.6
(18.1)
Daily mean °F (°C) 35.3
(1.8)
38.7
(3.7)
45.6
(7.6)
52.8
(11.6)
61.7
(16.5)
68.2
(20.1)
76.3
(24.6)
75.5
(24.2)
66.5
(19.2)
53.7
(12.1)
42.4
(5.8)
35.5
(1.9)
54.4
(12.4)
Average low °F (°C) 29.7
(−1.3)
30.6
(−0.8)
35.7
(2.1)
42.0
(5.6)
50.1
(10.1)
56.6
(13.7)
63.2
(17.3)
62.0
(16.7)
53.1
(11.7)
42.0
(5.6)
34.4
(1.3)
29.9
(−1.2)
44.1
(6.7)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 15.4
(−9.2)
18.3
(−7.6)
24.8
(−4.0)
31.1
(−0.5)
37.0
(2.8)
46.2
(7.9)
52.6
(11.4)
51.0
(10.6)
40.9
(4.9)
28.4
(−2.0)
20.9
(−6.2)
16.7
(−8.5)
8.9
(−12.8)
Record low °F (°C) −18
(−28)
−21
(−29)
7
(−14)
19
(−7)
26
(−3)
37
(3)
42
(6)
40
(4)
26
(−3)
11
(−12)
−5
(−21)
−12
(−24)
−21
(−29)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.47
(37)
0.98
(25)
0.83
(21)
0.61
(15)
0.75
(19)
0.48
(12)
0.10
(2.5)
0.15
(3.8)
0.33
(8.4)
0.81
(21)
1.13
(29)
1.66
(42)
9.30
(236)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 2.0
(5.1)
1.2
(3.0)
0.2
(0.51)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.1
(0.25)
0.4
(1.0)
1.4
(3.6)
5.3
(13.46)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 11.2 8.1 8.5 6.1 6.5 3.5 1.0 1.7 2.5 6.8 9.7 11.4 77.0
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 1.7 1.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.8 5.4
Source 1: NOAA
Source 2: National Weather Service

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1890 356
1900 388 9.0%
1910 317 −18.3%
1920 529 66.9%
1930 601 13.6%
1940 609 1.3%
1950 686 12.6%
1960 643 −6.3%
1970 375 −41.7%
1980 521 38.9%
1990 425 −18.4%
2000 524 23.3%
2010 586 11.8%
2020 628 7.2%
U.S. Decennial Census
DSCN6633 arlingtonoregonelevator e
Park in Arlington, looking towards the Columbia River

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 586 people, 256 households, and 149 families residing in the city. The population density was 329.2 inhabitants per square mile (127.1/km2). There were 315 housing units at an average density of 177.0 per square mile (68.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.2% White, 0.2% African American, 1.0% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 2.2% Pacific Islander, 2.6% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.7% of the population.

There were 256 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.8% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.92.

The median age in the city was 43.6 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.9% were from 25 to 44; 32.9% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.9% male and 46.1% female.

Economy

The area around Arlington is largely agricultural farm land with wheat, barley and beef cattle being the principal products.

Waste disposal

Aerial view of Arlington, OR 01
Aerial view of Arlington, 2015

Arlington is home to a sizable Waste Management landfill, notably receiving all of Seattle, Washington's trash and some from Portland, Oregon. In March 2010, Waste Management announced their plans to build a waste gasification plant next to their landfill that uses a plasma gasification technology that at the time was considered experimental. The plasma gasification plant was built in conjunction with the company, InEnTec, whose efforts to build such plants in California and elsewhere have met protest. The plant went into pilot operation in November 2011.

Wind farms

The area around Arlington is the location of several wind farms:

Station Location Capacity (MW) Status Notes No. of turbines
Willow Creek Wind Farm Gilliam County and Morrow County 72 Operational 48
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm Gilliam County and Morrow County 845 Operational 338
Rattlesnake Road Wind Farm Gilliam County 103 Operational 49
Leaning Juniper Wind Project Gilliam County 302.3 Operational 200
Pebble Springs Wind Farm Gilliam County 99 Operational 47
Wheatfield Wind Farm Gilliam County 97 Operational 46
Montague Wind Power Facility Gilliam County Phase 1 - 201 (Proposed - 404) Operational Phase 1 - 56

112-269

Saddle Butte Wind - Four Mile Wind Gilliam County and Morrow County 399 Proposed 133
2Morrow Energy Gilliam County and Morrow County 900 Proposed
H3 Montague Wind Power Project
Montague Wind Project under construction.

Caithness Energy has the Shepherds Flat Wind Farm, one of the largest land-based wind farms in the world. Approved in 2008 by state regulators, groundbreaking came in 2009. It officially opened in September 2012 and "reached full commercial operations in November 2012." There have been some controversies around the project that emerged in 2009 and 2010.

In fall 2017, construction was started on the Montague Wind Power Project, a project owned and operated by Avangrid Renewables to provide power to Apple Inc.'s Prineville Data Center through Oregon's Direct Access Program. "Apple says Montague will provide it 560,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually."

Along with the wind farm there have been several proposed solar farms. On April 20, 2020, Avangrid requested to change the boundary and site layout of its Montague Wind Power Facility. This request was to split "the existing site certificate into three new site certificates for facilities to be named Montague Wind, Montague Solar, and Oregon Trail Solar; and, transfer of site certificates for Montague Solar and Oregon Trail Solar to new limited liability companies, Montague Solar, LLC and Oregon Trail Solar, LLC, wholly owned subsidiaries of the current certificate holder owner, Avangrid Renewables, LLC."

Transportation

Sign welcoming visitors to Arlington, Oregon
Welcome sign

Arlington is located at the intersection of Interstate 84 and Oregon Route 19. I-84 travels west towards Portland and east towards Boise, Idaho; OR 19 connects Arlington to Condon and U.S. Route 26 near Dayville.

The Port of Arlington offers access the Columbia River water way and hosts

  1. a marina with a water depth of 24 feet that features a fuel dock and 8 transient moorage slips, 1 side tie dock, 11-30’ slips, and 7-20’ slips;
  2. Mid Columbia Producer, LLC River Terminal; and
  3. a windsurfing and kiteboarding launch.

The city has a small airport named Arlington Municipal Airport, located on a nearby plateau. In 2011, the U.S. Air Force proposed Arlington as the site of a future United States Department of Defense unmanned aerial vehicle base.

Notable people

Public services

  • Arlington Health Clinic
  • North Gilliam Medic
  • North Gilliam Rural Fire Protection District
  • Gilliam County Sheriff's Office

Churches

  • Arlington United Methodist Church
  • Arlington Church of the Nazarene
  • St. Francis Catholic Church

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Arlington (Oregón) para niños

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