Pendleton, Oregon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pendleton, Oregon
|
|
|---|---|
Downtown Pendleton
|
|
| Motto(s):
The Real West
|
|
Location of Pendleton in Umatilla County, Oregon (left) and of Umatilla County in Oregon (right)
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Umatilla |
| Incorporated | 1880 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11.51 sq mi (29.81 km2) |
| • Land | 11.51 sq mi (29.81 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,099 ft (335 m) |
| Population
(2020)
|
|
| • Total | 17,107 |
| • Density | 1,486.27/sq mi (573.85/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (Pacific) |
| ZIP Code |
97801
|
| Area code(s) | 541 and 458 |
| FIPS code | 41-57150 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2411399 |
| Website | www.pendleton.or.us |
Pendleton is a city in Oregon, United States. It is the main city, or county seat, of Umatilla County. In 2020, about 17,107 people lived here. This number includes around 1,600 people who live at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, which is a prison.
Pendleton is one of the two main cities in the Hermiston-Pendleton Micropolitan Statistical Area. This area also includes Morrow and Umatilla counties. In 2020, about 92,261 people lived in this larger area.
Contents
History of Pendleton
A trading center started here in 1851. Dr. William C. McKay set up a trading post near McKay Creek. In 1865, a post office opened. It was first called Marshall, but later its name was changed to Pendleton. The city officially became a city on October 25, 1880.
By 1900, Pendleton was growing fast. It had 4,406 people and was the fourth-largest city in Oregon. The famous Pendleton Woolen Mills and the Pendleton Round-Up became important parts of the city. An artist named Walter S. Bowman painted early pictures of these places.
Many Chinese immigrant workers helped build the railroad in Eastern Oregon. Some of them settled in Pendleton. They created a lively Chinatown in the city. There are stories about a network of tunnels under this area. Today, these tunnels are a popular tourist attraction. However, some people wonder if they were really built by the Chinese workers.
Pendleton is seen as a cultural hub for Eastern Oregon. The "Old town" area of Pendleton is a special place. It is listed as a Historic District because of its important history.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) live nearby. They have built the Wild Horse Casino and a golf course. These help bring money for their community. They also created the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute. This center teaches about their cultures and history.
Pendleton's Economy
.jpg)
The Pendleton Woolen Mills is a famous company. It makes wool blankets, shirts, and other wool products. The company started in 1909. It was founded by Clarence, Roy, and Chauncey Bishop. They built on earlier businesses that used wool from the many sheep farms in the area.
In 1893, a plant opened in Pendleton to wash raw wool. In 1895, this plant started making wool blankets for Native Americans. These early businesses did not last. But the Bishop brothers, with local help, made the mill bigger and better. They created popular clothes and blankets with "bright colors and detailed designs."
St. Anthony Hospital is a medical center in Pendleton. It has 25 beds for patients.
The Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution (EOCI) is in Pendleton. It is the only place in Oregon where people in prison make "Prison Blues" denim clothing. The prison also has a large laundry service. It washes clothes for the prison itself, other prisons, Pendleton High School, and a local flour mill. Some people in the prison also work as clerks or in food service.
Geography and Climate
Pendleton covers about 10.52 square miles (27.25 square kilometers) of land.
The city was built on both sides of the Umatilla River. This river has sometimes flooded and caused damage. In the past, the river was very important. It was used for travel and trade by early settlers. It also provided water and power. The river connected Pendleton to the Columbia River.
Pendleton has a semi-arid climate. This means it has short, cool winters and hot summers. On August 10, 1898, Pendleton recorded the highest temperature in Oregon. It was 119 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius).
| Climate data for Pendleton Municipal Airport (1981–2010 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 71 (22) |
76 (24) |
83 (28) |
95 (35) |
103 (39) |
109 (43) |
114 (46) |
119 (48) |
104 (40) |
93 (34) |
80 (27) |
75 (24) |
119 (48) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 41.8 (5.4) |
46.8 (8.2) |
55.2 (12.9) |
62.1 (16.7) |
70.0 (21.1) |
78.2 (25.7) |
88.0 (31.1) |
86.8 (30.4) |
77.4 (25.2) |
63.7 (17.6) |
49.2 (9.6) |
39.5 (4.2) |
63.2 (17.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 28.8 (−1.8) |
30.3 (−0.9) |
35.0 (1.7) |
39.2 (4.0) |
45.6 (7.6) |
51.5 (10.8) |
57.2 (14.0) |
56.8 (13.8) |
49.4 (9.7) |
40.1 (4.5) |
33.4 (0.8) |
27.0 (−2.8) |
41.2 (5.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −26 (−32) |
−21 (−29) |
1 (−17) |
17 (−8) |
22 (−6) |
28 (−2) |
38 (3) |
30 (−1) |
21 (−6) |
11 (−12) |
−13 (−25) |
−28 (−33) |
−28 (−33) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.44 (37) |
1.11 (28) |
1.32 (34) |
1.19 (30) |
1.34 (34) |
.98 (25) |
.32 (8.1) |
.38 (9.7) |
.57 (14) |
1.01 (26) |
1.52 (39) |
1.47 (37) |
12.65 (321.8) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 3.7 (9.4) |
3.2 (8.1) |
.6 (1.5) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
.1 (0.25) |
1.4 (3.6) |
5.8 (15) |
14.8 (37.85) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 12.1 | 9.3 | 11.6 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 6.3 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 6.8 | 12.3 | 12.0 | 97.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 3.0 | 1.8 | .9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .1 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 11.3 |
| Source: NOAA (extremes 1892–present) | |||||||||||||
People of Pendleton
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 243 | — | |
| 1880 | 730 | 200.4% | |
| 1890 | 2,506 | 243.3% | |
| 1900 | 4,406 | 75.8% | |
| 1910 | 4,460 | 1.2% | |
| 1920 | 6,837 | 53.3% | |
| 1930 | 6,621 | −3.2% | |
| 1940 | 8,847 | 33.6% | |
| 1950 | 11,774 | 33.1% | |
| 1960 | 14,434 | 22.6% | |
| 1970 | 13,197 | −8.6% | |
| 1980 | 14,521 | 10.0% | |
| 1990 | 15,126 | 4.2% | |
| 2000 | 16,354 | 8.1% | |
| 2010 | 16,612 | 1.6% | |
| 2020 | 17,107 | 3.0% | |
| source: | |||
In 2010, there were 16,612 people living in Pendleton. There were 6,220 households and 3,789 families. The city had about 1,579 people per square mile. There were 6,800 homes, with about 646 homes per square mile.
Most people in the city were White (87.3%). Other groups included African American (1.4%), Native American (3.2%), and Asian (1.1%). About 9.7% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.
About 30.5% of households had children under 18. About 42.9% were married couples. The average household had 2.37 people. The average family had 2.96 people.
The average age in Pendleton was 36.9 years old. About 21.9% of people were under 18. About 12.8% were 65 or older. There were slightly more males (53.4%) than females (46.6%).
Arts and Culture in Pendleton
Fun Annual Events
Pendleton is famous for its yearly rodeo, called the Pendleton Round-Up. It first started in 1910. This rodeo is part of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit. It is one of the top ten rodeos for prize money.
Pendleton also hosts the annual Pendleton Whiskey Music Festival [1]. This event takes place in July at the historic Pendleton Round-up Arena. Famous performers like Maroon 5, Toby Keith, and Post Malone have played here.
The Festival of Trees happens every December. It is an event that raises money for the St. Anthony Hospital Foundation.
Museums and Other Cool Places
Pendleton has several art places. These include the Pendleton Center for the Arts. It is located in the city's old Carnegie Library building. There is also the Crow's Shadow Institute of the Arts. It is on the nearby Umatilla Indian Reservation.
The Heritage Station Museum is run by the Umatilla County Historical Society. It is in the old 1909 Pendleton Train Depot. The museum has two galleries about local history. It also has a one-room schoolhouse, a family cabin, a caboose, a barn, and a signal house.
The Pendleton Farmers' Market is open on Friday evenings. You can visit it from May through October on South Main Street.
Sports and Recreation
Pendleton hosts the yearly Oregon School Activities Association 2A basketball tournament. It takes place at the Pendleton Convention Center. Eight boys' teams and eight girls' teams compete for championships. The tournament lasts four days. City leaders say this event is a big boost to the local economy. It is second only to the Round-Up in importance. In 2010, over 13,000 people attended the tournament.
The Pendleton Aquatic Center is managed by Pendleton Parks & Recreation. It has two tall water slides, tubes, and smaller slides. There are also three pools, a diving area, and picnic spots. The aquatic center is right next to the high school.
Getting Around Pendleton
Major roads in Pendleton include Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30. These run east and west. U.S. Route 395 runs north and south. The city is also served by Oregon Route 37 and Oregon Route 11.
Pendleton is on the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) line. This railroad was built through the area in the 1880s. It was first built by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company (OR&N). By 1885, Pendleton was a stop on two major train lines. The UP took over the OR&N line in 1889.
From 1977 to 1997, the city was a stop for Amtrak's Pioneer train. This train traveled between Chicago and Seattle.
For air travel, there is the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. It is about 3 miles (5 km) outside Pendleton. The city of Pendleton owns this airport. Boutique Air offers daily flights between Pendleton and Portland. These flights started in 2016.
News and Media
Two newspapers are published in Pendleton. The East Oregonian is a daily newspaper. It has about 6,800 copies printed. The Pendleton Record is a weekly newspaper. It prints about 900 copies.
KFFX-TV (Fox 11) is a television station in Pendleton. It serves a wide area, including cities in Washington. Several radio stations are also based in or near Pendleton. These include KTIX (1240 AM), KUMA (1290 AM), and OPB station KRBM (90.9 FM). Other stations are KLKY (96.1 FM), KNHK-FM (101.9 FM), KWHT (103.5 FM), and KWVN-FM (107.7 FM).
Famous People from Pendleton
- Tracy Baker – A baseball player; born in Pendleton
- Walter S. Bowman – A professional photographer who worked in Pendleton
- John Bunnell – Hosted World's Wildest Police Videos; born in Pendleton
- Dave Cockrum – A comic book artist; born in Pendleton
- Dave Kingman – A baseball player, three-time All-Star; born in Pendleton
- Michael J. Kopetski – A former representative for Oregon's 5th congressional district; born in Pendleton
- James Lavadour – A painter; lived on the Umatilla Reservation
- Bob Lilly – A famous football player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame; graduated from Pendleton High School
- Donald McKay – A scout and leader of the Warm Springs Indians
- William Cameron McKay – An Oregon pioneer doctor and scout
- Elaine Miles – An actress from Northern Exposure; spent her early childhood on Umatilla Reservation
- Frances Moore Lappé – An author and activist; born in Pendleton
- Lee Moorhouse – An Indian agent and amateur photographer in Pendleton
- Charles Sams – Director of the National Park Service; from Pendleton
- Roy Schuening – A football player for Oregon State and the NFL; born in Pendleton
- Gordon Smith – A former U.S. Senator from Oregon; born in Pendleton
- Milan Smith – A judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; born in Pendleton
- Kenneth Snelson – A sculptor and photographer; spent childhood in Pendleton
- Dan Straily – A baseball player; grew up in Pendleton
- Archie R. Twitchell – A test pilot and actor
- Quade Winter – An opera singer
Sister Cities
Pendleton has a special "sister city" relationship with Marikina, a city in the Philippines. This connection started in 1971. The mayors of both cities had their daughters switch schools for a short time.
Pendleton also has a sister city in Japan, called Minamisōma. It is in Fukushima Prefecture. Minamisoma is about 16 miles (26 km) north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This plant was damaged by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Japanese exchange students from Minamisoma still visit Pendleton. However, students from Pendleton have stopped visiting Minamisoma due to worries about radiation.
See also
In Spanish: Pendleton (Oregón) para niños
