Keizer, Oregon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Keizer
City
Keizer City Hall
Location in Marion County, Oregon
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Marion
Incorporated	1982
Area
• Total	7.30 sq mi (18.91 km2)
• Land	7.18 sq mi (18.61 km2)
• Water	0.12 sq mi (0.30 km2)
Elevation	128 ft (39 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	39,376
• Density	5,480.31/sq mi (2,115.91/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (Pacific)
ZIP codes	97303, 97307
Area code(s)	503
FIPS code	41-38500
GNIS feature ID	2410171
Website	City of Keizer

Keizer (pronounced KY-zer) is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. It is located right on the 45th parallel, which is halfway between the Equator and the North Pole!

In 2020, about 39,376 people lived in Keizer. This makes it the 14th largest city in Oregon. Keizer is in the Willamette Valley, a fertile area, and is part of the larger Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city was named after an early pioneer, Thomas Dove Keizur, and his family. They arrived in Oregon during the Wagon Train of 1843.

Keizer's Story

The first settlement in the area was called Keizer Bottom. It was located close to the Willamette River. The community got its name from Thomas Dove Keizur, one of the first people to settle there. His name was accidentally spelled "Keizer" in official records.

The settlement faced big challenges from floods. A major flood in 1861 forced people to rebuild their homes on higher ground. More floods happened in 1943, 1945, 1946, and 1948. These floods made it hard for the community to grow. Things changed in the 1950s when dams were built. These dams helped control the Willamette River, allowing Keizer to finally grow and thrive.

For many years, the nearby City of Salem tried to make Keizer part of its city. However, starting in 1964, some Keizer residents, like Janet and Richard Bauer, believed it would be better and cheaper for Keizer to become its own city. Finally, on November 2, 1982, with support from the nearby community of Clear Lake, residents voted to make Keizer an official city.

Today, Keizer Bottom is home to Keizer Rapids Park. This public park has many fun things to do. You can find a dog park, a playground, and even boat-in camping. There are also nature trails, a disc golf course, and sports courts.

Where is Keizer?

Keizer covers a total area of about 7.21 square miles (18.67 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 7.09 square miles (18.36 square kilometers), is land. The remaining 0.12 square miles (0.31 square kilometers) is water.

Who Lives in Keizer?

Keizer Station shopping center

Volcanoes Stadium

In 2010, there were 36,478 people living in Keizer. These people lived in 13,703 households, with 9,498 of them being families. The city had about 5,145 people per square mile.

Keizer is a diverse city. About 82.5% of the people were White. Other groups included African American (0.8%), Native American (1.3%), Asian (1.6%), and Pacific Islander (0.6%). About 9.0% of residents were from other races, and 4.1% were from two or more races. About 18.3% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.

Many households in Keizer have children. About 36.9% of households had children under 18 living with them. Most households (51.0%) were married couples living together. The average household had 2.64 people, and the average family had 3.13 people.

The average age of people in Keizer was 35.7 years old. About 27.3% of residents were under 18, and 13.3% were 65 or older. The city's population was 48.0% male and 52.0% female.

Fun Things to Do in Keizer

Annual Events

Keizer has a special event each May called KeizerFEST. It used to be known as the Iris Festival. This festival celebrates Keizer's important iris-growing industry. Schreiner's Iris Gardens, one of the biggest iris growers in the country, started the festival. The Keizer Chamber of Commerce has helped organize it since 1987.

KeizerFEST is full of fun activities. There's a carnival with rides and games. You can also find craft and food vendors selling unique items and tasty treats. The festival includes a 5k walk/run for active people and a vintage car show for car lovers. A parade is also a highlight of the event.

Museums and Other Cool Places

The Keizer Heritage Museum is located inside the Keizer Heritage Community Center. This building used to be the Keizer School, built in 1916. It has been fully restored and is the only public historic building in Keizer.

The Keizer Heritage Community Center is a busy place! Besides the museum, it also houses the Keizer Community Library. You can also find the Keizer Art Association and its gallery there. The Keizer Chamber of Commerce also has its offices in this historic building.

Sports in Keizer

Keizer is home to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. This is a single-A short-season minor league baseball team. They play their games at Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer. Besides minor league baseball, Volcanoes Stadium has also hosted other important games. These include the OSAA baseball championship and a "Civil War" baseball game between the University of Oregon Ducks and Oregon State University Beavers.

Keizer also strongly supports its local high school sports teams, the McNary Celtics. The school's teams have won many state championships recently. For example, the baseball team won the state championship in 2009 at Volcanoes Stadium.

Learning in Keizer

Keizer is part of the Salem-Keizer School District. The city has one high school, McNary High School. There are also two middle schools: Claggett Creek and Whiteaker. Keizer has seven elementary schools: Clear Lake, Cummings, Forest Ridge, Gubser, Keizer, Kennedy, and Weddle.

The very first schoolhouse in the Keizer area was built in 1878. Its first teacher was Nina McNary, who was the older sister of U.S. Senator Charles L. McNary. The original school was replaced in 1916 by the building that is now the Keizer Heritage Community Center. By the 1980s, the 1916 Keizer Elementary School was considered unsafe. A new school was built in 1987. Cummings School was built in 1953 because the area's population was growing. In 1955, the Keizer School District and Salem School District joined together to form the Salem-Keizer School District.

Keizer News

• Keizertimes — a weekly newspaper that shares local news.

Famous People from Keizer

• Grayson Boucher (born 1984) – a famous streetball player known for the AND1 Mixtape Tour.
• Deen Castronovo (born 1964) – a talented drummer who has played for bands like Ozzy Osbourne and Journey.
• Daniel R. Hokanson – a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army.
• Charles L. McNary – a well-known U.S. Senator.

See also

In Spanish: Keizer (Oregón) para niños