McMinnville, Oregon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids McMinnville
City
McMinnville, Oregon
Pioneer Hall at Linfield University
Nickname(s):  Mac
Location in Oregon
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Yamhill
Founded	1856
Incorporated	1876
Area
• Total	10.57 sq mi (27.39 km2)
• Land	10.57 sq mi (27.39 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	157 ft (47.9 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	32,187
• Estimate  (2019)	34,743
• Density	3,285.39/sq mi (1,268.50/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (Pacific)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (Pacific)
ZIP code	97128
Area code(s)	503, 971
FIPS code	41-45000
GNIS feature ID	1163136
Website	City of McMinnville

McMinnville is the county seat of and largest city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. According to Oregon Geographic Names, it was named by its founder, William T. Newby (1820–1884), an early migrant on the Oregon Trail, for his hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2019 census, the city had a population estimate of 34,743.

McMinnville is at the confluence of the North and South forks of the Yamhill River in the Willamette Valley. The city's economy has both industry: Cascade Steel (a Schnitzer Steel Industries company), and service businesses: Oregon Mutual Insurance Company, the Woodworth Contrarian Hedge Fund. Linfield University provides higher education, including new degrees in wine studies. Attractions include Wings and Waves Water Park, Joe Dancer Park, and Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, the home of Howard Hughes's famed Spruce Goose flying boat. The city identifies as a center of the well-developed wine industry in the Willamette Valley, which has hundreds of wineries and vineyards.

History

McMinnville founder William T. Newby.

Town founder William T. Newby joined the Great Migration of 1843, later claiming land in 1844 on the present site of McMinnville in what was then known as the Oregon Country. He built a grist mill in 1853 at what would become the west end of Third Street. On May 5th, 1856 Newby platted a town and named it after his hometown of McMinnville, Tennessee. Newby would later make a substantial donation of land for the founding of an institution of higher learning in the town, originally called McMinnville College but known today as Linfield College.

McMinnville was incorporated as a town in 1876 and became a city in 1882. County residents voted to move the county seat of Yamhill County from Lafayette to McMinnville in 1886.

McMinnville UFO photographs

McMinnville is known among UFO researchers for photographs published on the front page of the June 9, 1950, edition of the city's newspaper, the News-Register (then known as the Telephone-Register), reportedly of an unidentified flying object seen almost a month earlier, May 11. The Oregonian published the photographs the next day, and within a month they were published in LIFE magazine.

Although these images have come to be known as the "McMinnville UFO photographs", the Trent farm was actually located just outside Sheridan, Oregon, nine miles southwest of McMinnville. The heated debate which followed between UFO researchers and skeptics made the town's name famous and has spurred an annual "UFO Festival" in McMinnville, the second largest such gathering in the United States to that of Roswell, New Mexico.

Geography

McMinnville is located 50 miles (80 km) from the Pacific Ocean, 35 miles (56 km) from Portland, and 26 miles (42 km) from Salem, the state capital.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.58 square miles (27.40 km²), all of it land.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F (22.0 °C). According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, McMinnville has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 32,187 people, 11,674 households, and 7,779 families living in the city. The population density was 3,042.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,174.6/km²). There were 12,389 housing units at an average density of 1,171.0 per square mile (452.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.2% White, 0.7% African American, 1.2% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 10.7% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.6% of the population.

There were 11,674 households, of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.4% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.

The median age in the city was 34 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 22.2% were from 45 to 64; and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.

Arts and culture

Annual cultural events

Pioneer Hall at Linfield College

Turkey Rama is a three-day festival held in downtown McMinnville celebrating the ongoing tradition of the turkey barbecue. The barbecue was started in 1938 by turkey farmers in Yamhill County, when the main source of wealth in the county was based on the booming turkey-farming industry. Now, commercial exhibitions have replaced the "turkey exhibitions", and so the turkey-judging competitions and turkey races have been eliminated in favor of more "turkey-friendly" rides, booths, and outdoor entertainment.

The Dragging the Gut Festival is a three-day event held annually in downtown McMinnville on the fourth weekend in August. The festival gives participants the chance to relive the classic 1950s car cruising on the main street that took place for decades in small towns. The Dragging the Gut Festival's Car Show is a traditional sitting car show held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Saturday (August 26, 2017) of the Dragging the Gut Festival. The car show is held in McMinnville at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, home of Howard Hughes' famed "Spruce Goose" flying boat. The car show is a side event of the festival before the Saturday main cruising event begins.

The International Pinot Noir Celebration has been held every July since 1987 on the Linfield College campus.

Museums and other points of interest

The Evergreen Aviation Museum

The Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum is located in McMinnville and is best known as the home of the Spruce Goose, the world's largest propeller-driven seaplane, built by the famed aviator Howard Hughes. The museum, home to another 80 historic aircraft and exhibits, is a pair of large symmetrical buildings with glass facades, a local landmark which can be seen for miles. Additional major exhibits include a SR-71 "Blackbird", a Titan II SLV Missile (with its launch control center), and a Grumman F6F3 "Hellcat." There is also an "IMAX class" digital 3D theater, the Wings & Waves indoor waterpark (containing wave pool, 4 slides emerging from 747 on building's roof, and educational displays), and the newly built Boy Scout Jamboree park. The space museum houses classrooms for the Engineering and Aerospace Academy of McMinnville High School.

Parks and recreation

McMinnville Community Center is headquarters for the McMinnville Parks and Recreation Department, which administers several parks throughout the city. Among these are Joe Dancer Park, which was named after a longtime city manager. It is a 100-acre (0.40 km²) park with soccer, baseball, and softball fields, a playground, and the Drew Ottley Memorial Skate Park. City Park is within walking distance from the downtown business district. It opened 1910, when the city sold $3,000 in park bonds to finance construction of a bandstand and a small zoo featuring bears, deer and other local animals. Near the site of Lower City Park, along Cozine Creek, there used to be a large flour mill, called the Star Mill. The mill was closed in 1921 and was damaged by a fire in 1927. The City of McMinnville sold $8,500 in bonds to finance the purchase of the property. The tract ran from Star Mill Way to Cozine Creek and West Second Street, to the Mill pond site. The pond site is now occupied by tennis courts. Wortman Park is a large forested park with a small stream running through it. A disc golf course was installed 1991 and is home to the annual Squirrel Open, an Oregon Disc Sports Association's Oregon Series tournament.

Economy

Michelbook Country Club, a private 18-hole par 72 championship golf course, was developed on the farmland of Captain Francis Michelbook. Land development in the area of the country club has been a factor in McMinnville's growth in the late 20th century. In the early 1960s, Kelton Peery, Chuck Colvin and Willard Cushing believed it was time for the city to have a private golf course and began to search for property. They soon persuaded Captain Francis Michelbook, former Commander of the Oregon National Guard’s Third Infantry Company A, that a country club would be the proper use for his land. Captain Michelbook established certain conditions: the country club would bear his family name "Michelbook". The country club has a driving range, practice facility, golf shop and a Class A PGA Professional.

Residential and related real estate development has contributed to the growth of McMinnville and Yamhill county, especially around Michelbook Country Club. The first home on the golf course was built by John and Helen McMillan at 1811 St. Andrews Drive along the ninth fairway. The fourth addition of residential development was opened to help pay for a 35-par second nine and remodeling of four holes on the first nine. The cost of these improvements was $700,000. The second nine was opened on July 27, 1984. A newly completed 4-bedroom home, built nearest the club house, sold for $610,000 in 2021.

Sunset Magazine reported on the 'Best Small Towns to Live in the United States' and included McMinnville for its "charming architecture", among other factors.

Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum

In 2019 the Oregon International Air Show was moved to the McMinnville Municipal Airport. The annual airshow promotes aviation and honors the US military and veterans. It attracts numerous attendees and related economic activity. In addition, the Air Show sponsors involve their community; grants are provided to the host city. Since 1988 the Air Show has generated more than $3 million in donations to hMcMinnville (Yamhill County), Hillsboro (Washington County), Oregon and southwest Washington. The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were to be showcased in the 2021 Oregon International Air Show at the McMinnville Airport in July and August.

McMinnville has a wide-array of banking, credit unions, and options for investments. Founded in 1922, First Federal Savings and Loan Association Headquarters in McMinnville was ranked in 2021 by Newsweek Magazine as one of the best small banks in the United States. The city has brick-and-mortar locations for many of the largest national banks in the United States including Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, KeyBank, US Bank, and Bank of America.

Credit unions have been increasing membership in McMinnvillen,for instance the Oregon State Credit Union, established in 1919. It has made donations to the elementary and middle-school travel baseball program of the city. Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU) also serves the city and county, as the county has had aviation manufacturing. BECU supports McMinnville High School graduating seniors, and undergraduate students currently enrolled at Chemeketa Community College and Linfield University, with $2,500 Foundation Scholarships. OnPoint Community Credit Union, founded as Portland Teachers Credit Union, has a branch in McMinnville. OnPoint Community Credit Union provides funding and foundational investments in the McMinnville Education Foundation and McMinnville Music Boosters. The downtown area also offers branch locations for Federal Reserve Non-Member Banks, Citizens Bank and Columbia Bank.

McMinnville has fine restaurants and the McMinnville Downtown Association has marketed Dine Out(Side), creating more of a . Dine Out(Side) has encouraged pedestrians in downtown McMinnville, partnering with a number of locally owned businesses to create a promenade along Third Street. A downtown Farmers market operates from May until October.

Members of the McMinnville Chamber of Commerce offer expertise in their industry. The city also has a chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The McMinnville Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) has an extended network to support business owners in gaining resources, grants, and planning execution.

Headquarters of the Oregon Mutual Insurance Company

Founded in 1894, Oregon Mutual Insurance is located in downtown McMinnville.

Since the late 20th century, winemaking has been developed throughout the Willamette Valley: as of 2021 there are 597 wineries in the valley and 764 vineyards. The majority of the vineyards of the Willamette Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) are in the area surrounding McMinnville. It identifies as the capital of Oregon's wine industry.

In January 2005, a McMinnville AVA was established after an application from Youngberg Hill Vineyards. The AVA includes 14 wineries and 523 acres (2.12 km²) within the Willamette Valley AVA. The city is at the northeastern border of its AVA namesake. Linfield University expanded to offer a B.A. or B.S. in wine studies.

McMinnville also has local breweries making craft beers, often associated with pubs. McMinnville is home to 6 craft breweries, including 2 gluten-free breweries.

Traditional industry includes Cascade Steel, which specializes in producing high-quality finished steel products from recycled steel. Cascade Steel Rolling Mills uses electric arc furnace (EAF) mini-mill production for a wide range of hot rolled products including rebar, coiled reinforcing bar, wire rod, and merchant bar. Cascade Steel operates as a subsidiary of Schnitzer Steel, a publicly -traded Fortune 1000 company.

In 2016, Organic Valley purchased Farmers Cooperative Creamery in McMinnville. It serves 72 co-op members in Oregon and Washington. The company claims to be the nation's largest farmer-owned organic cooperative and one of the world's largest organic consumer brands. In 2021 a massive 3-alarm fire decimated the McMinnville Creamery, forcing residents to evacuate a 1/2-mile radius.

Education

Along with several private schools, the city enjoys a growing school district and two Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), Chemeketa Community College and Linfield University.

Pioneer Hall at Linfield College

In 1858, Linfield University was founded as Baptist College of McMinnville. Later renamed McMinnville College and then Linfield College, in 2020 the Board of Trustees renamed the school Linfield University. Linfield is an independent, comprehensive institution of higher education for undergraduate and graduate studies in 56 unique majors. The University enrolls roughly 2,000 students from 24 states with nearly 95% of students utilizing financial aid.

Linfield University is located on nearly 200 acres with over 60 facilities. The Linfield University athletic program is part of the Northwest Conference, NCAA Division III rostering varsity sports, along with intercollegiate sports and activities. In 2020 the football program upgraded their facility with the largest scoreboard in NCAA Division III. The 1,800 square foot display measures in at 60 feet wide and 30 feet high. The football program notched it's 64th consecutive winning season in 2019.

In the mid to late 70's community locations for Chemeketa Community College expanded to McMinnville. Chemeketa Yamhill Valley received accreditation as a college campus in the fall of 2011 and McMinnville became the home of the second multi-campus community college in the state of Oregon. The Yamhill Valley campus provides numerous services including; academic advising, counseling support services, student clubs and activities, student accessibility services, library/tutoring centers, open computer labs, testing services, bookstore, conditioning/fitness center, and cafe/coffee shop. The campus is also set up to issue student identifications and has WI-FI available in the parking lot.

McMinnville High School

Nearly two decades after McMinnville College was founded, the city of McMinnville levied a tax to build the first public school house. The McMinnville School District is responsible for the education of nearly 7,000 K-12 school children. The McMinnville School District superintendent is Debbie Brocket. The largest high school of the county, McMinnville High School (MHS), has an enrollment of over 2,000 students.

Along with MHS, the school district offers two middle schools and five elementary schools in the city. Children from outside of the city limits and unincorporated areas of Yamhill County attend McMinnville City Schools. The school district also bears the burden of oversight, administration, and maintenance of Wascher Elementary in the nearby community of Lafayette, Oregon.

Private schools in McMinnville include the McMinnville Montessori School, McMinnville Christian Academy (MCA) and St. James Catholic Elementary School. Each private school offers a unique experience for students and parents. The McMinnville Montessori School provides before and after school care utilizing Joe Dancer and City Parks. McMinnville Christian Academy provides pre-school education all the way through middle-school. Additionally, MCA provide cost-effective and superior after-school programs. St James Catholic Elementary School recently implemented multi-age learning in all classrooms where students will stay with the same teacher over a period of two years. The school provides excellent activities through numerous fundraisers working in concert with community partners.

Infrastructure

Transportation

McMinnville is on Oregon Route 99W approximately 38 miles (61 km) south of downtown Portland and approximately 46 miles (74 km) north of Corvallis. Oregon Route 18 forms a bypass around the city along its southern border and connects McMinnville with the Oregon Coast just north of Lincoln City approximately 55 miles (89 km) west. Oregon Highway 18 is also known as Three Mile Lane from its McMinnville city center interchange east to the McMinnville Municipal Airport. The southern end of Oregon Route 47 is just northeast of city limits and connects McMinnville with Washington County.

Major thoroughfares in McMinnville are Highway 99W and Adams and Baker Streets which form a north–south couplet through the center of the town; Lafayette Avenue (which was at one time the route of U.S. Highway 99W), East Third Street (the main street through the downtown core), and West Second Street (the main street connecting downtown with the western residential areas). Baker Creek Road, Evans Street, Riverside Drive, South Davis Street, Fellows Street, Cypress Street and Booth Bend Road are also important collector streets connecting industrial or residential areas with the downtown core or the primary arterial streets.

McMinnville Municipal Airport is owned and operated by the City of McMinnville.

The Portland & Western Railroad serves McMinnville on its Westside Branch. Major railroad shippers include Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Land O'Lakes Purina LLC, RB Rubber Products and McMinnville Gas. P&W maintains a depot in downtown McMinnville, itself a remnant from the Red Electric interurban passenger service which served McMinnville from 1914–1929. McMinnville is a hub for P&W, with trains operating between McMinnville and Newberg, Willamina, Dallas and Albany.

Historically, McMinnville had a landing for riverboats traveling up the Yamhill River. The Yamhill Lock near Lafayette helped facilitate river navigation up to McMinnville. However, the use of the Yamhill River for commercial purposes was short-lived; the city's only recreational boat dock has been unusable for years. River levels are unpredictable and difficult for boaters (water levels can be very high in winter and very low in summer).

Public Transit is provided by the Yamhill County Transit Area. Three city routes provide Monday–Friday service starting at 6:30 AM and continuing through 7:50 PM. A Saturday "Loop" runs from 10:00 AM through 6:00 PM. YCTA also provides intercity service to all communities in Yamhill County on four different routes; hourly weekday and infrequent Saturday service to Newberg and Tigard, and weekday commuter trips to Hillsboro and Salem.

Intercity bus service is also provided by Caravan Airport Transportation and Valley Retriever between Portland and Newport, each with one daily trip in each direction stopping in McMinnville. Greyhound Bus formerly served McMinnville until 2004 with a stop on its Portland–San Francisco route, ending nearly 80 years of service on the route dating back to the Southern Pacific Railroad's rail and bus passenger service.

Electricity and Water

Since 1888, the city has been served by McMinnville Water and Light, a municipal utility. Economic development experts cite low utility rates as an important recruiting effort with McMinnville offering the 2nd lowest electricity rates and the 3rd lowest water rates in the entire state.

Notable people

• Whitney Blake - Actress and mother of actress Meredith Baxter Birney
• Scott Brosius - Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series MVP Award-winning baseball player
• Jim Bunn - Oregon politician
• Troy Calhoun - NCAA Football Head Coach, Air Force
• Pat Casey - Oregon State University NCAA Baseball Head Coach
• Catt family - 21st Century bank-robbing family
• Beverly Cleary - Children's author, National Book Award and Newbery Medal recipient
• Verne Duncan - Oregon and Idaho politician
• Matthew Haughey - Noted blogger
• Bill Krueger - Major League Baseball (MLB) and Senior Baseball Analyst for Root Sports Northwest
• Elgen Long – Aviator, researcher and author
• Ehren McGhehey - Jackass cast member
• Joe Paterson - Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for Arizona Diamondbacks
• Ad Rutschman - College Football Hall of Fame Coach
• Ross Shafer - Comedian, television host, and motivational speaker
• Raemer Schreiber - Physics pioneer that worked at Los Alamos during WWII
• Charlie Sitton - Former National Basketball Association (NBA) professional basketball player
• Will Vinton - Oscar-winning director and producer of animated films

Images for kids

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  Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum

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  Headquarters of the Oregon Mutual Insurance Company

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  Yamhill Valley Heritage Center Museum

See also

In Spanish: McMinnville (Oregón) para niños