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Phoenix, Oregon
Phoenix City Hall (2013)
Phoenix City Hall (2013)
Motto(s): 
The Other Phoenix
Location within County and State
Location within County and State
Country United States
State Oregon
County Jackson
Incorporated 1910
Area
 • Total 1.43 sq mi (3.69 km2)
 • Land 1.43 sq mi (3.69 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
1,543 ft (470.3 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 4,475
 • Density 3,138.15/sq mi (1,211.42/km2)
Time zone UTC-8 (Pacific)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-7 (Pacific)
ZIP code
97535
Area code(s) 541 and 458
FIPS code 41-57500
GNIS feature ID 1161474

Phoenix is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. The population was 4,538 at the 2010 census. Phoenix is a part of the Medford Metropolitan Statistical Area, in the Rogue Valley, and is 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Medford on Interstate 5.

History

The area was settled in about 1850 by brothers Hiram and Samuel Colver. Samuel Colver laid out the town in 1854. Early residents included Milton Lindley, who operated a sawmill that provided timbers in 1855 for a blockhouse as well as a flouring mill owned by Sylvester M. Wait. For a time, the settlement was known locally as Gasburg after a talkative employee in the kitchen serving the mill hands. Wait, who was an agent for the Phoenix Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, assigned the official name, Phoenix, to the community and, in 1857, to its post office. Waitsburg, Washington, was later named after Wait.

2020 fire

On September 8, 2020, much of Phoenix, along with neighboring Talent and parts of Medford and Ashland, were destroyed by the Almeda Drive Fire. On September 11, 2020, authorities said they were preparing for a mass fatality incident. On September 11, it was reported that 600 homes and 100 commercial buildings were been destroyed by the Almeda Drive Fire, but on September 18, that number was updated to 2,800. Officials stated that the Almeda Drive Fire was human-caused. On September 11, a man was arrested for arson, for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed multiple homes in Phoenix and merged with the Almeda Drive Fire. A separate criminal investigation into the origin point of the Almeda Drive Fire in Ashland was ongoing as of September 2020.

Geography

Bear Creek Greenway 01
The Bear Creek Greenway in Phoenix
Fern Valley Interchange (14067137767)
Construction work on Interstate 5 next to The Home Depot in Phoenix in 2014

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.44 square miles (3.73 km2), all of it land.

The city is south of Medford and north of Talent and Ashland along Interstate 5 and Oregon Route 99. This is toward the southern end of the Rogue River Valley, near the Siskiyou Mountains and the border with California.

Coleman Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek, joins the larger stream at Phoenix. The Bear Creek Greenway, a biking and hiking trail connecting Ashland, Talent, Medford, and Central Point along Bear Creek, also passes through Phoenix.

Climate

This region experiences hot and dry summers, and cool and wet winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Phoenix has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated Csa on climate maps.

Phoenix's record-high temperature is 115 °F (46.1 °C) on June 27, 2021, and the record-low temperature is −8 °F (−22.2 °C) on December 9, 1972.

Climate data for Phoenix, Oregon
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 70
(21)
77
(25)
81
(27)
93
(34)
98
(37)
115
(46)
109
(43)
109
(43)
106
(41)
95
(35)
76
(24)
68
(20)
115
(46)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 47.1
(8.4)
53.2
(11.8)
58.6
(14.8)
64.5
(18.1)
71.2
(21.8)
78.9
(26.1)
86.4
(30.2)
87.0
(30.6)
79.4
(26.3)
67.2
(19.6)
51.1
(10.6)
45.7
(7.6)
65.9
(18.8)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 29.8
(−1.2)
32.2
(0.1)
34.4
(1.3)
37.7
(3.2)
42.2
(5.7)
47.5
(8.6)
51.2
(10.7)
50.4
(10.2)
44.1
(6.7)
37.1
(2.8)
32.8
(0.4)
30.4
(−0.9)
39.2
(4.0)
Record low °F (°C) −1
(−18)
−1
(−18)
11
(−12)
22
(−6)
25
(−4)
27
(−3)
35
(2)
37
(3)
26
(−3)
17
(−8)
9
(−13)
−8
(−22)
−8
(−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.22
(82)
2.93
(74)
2.27
(58)
1.91
(49)
1.70
(43)
0.85
(22)
0.55
(14)
0.41
(10)
0.78
(20)
1.45
(37)
4.35
(110)
4.70
(119)
25.12
(638)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 1.6
(4.1)
0.7
(1.8)
0.2
(0.51)
0.1
(0.25)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.2
(0.51)
0.9
(2.3)
3.7
(9.4)

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 277
1910 250
1920 159 −36.4%
1930 439 176.1%
1940 432 −1.6%
1950 746 72.7%
1960 769 3.1%
1970 1,287 67.4%
1980 2,309 79.4%
1990 3,239 40.3%
2000 4,061 25.4%
2010 4,538 11.7%
2020 4,475 −1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census
PhoenixOregonShoppingCentrSign
Phoenix Shopping Center sign in Phoenix

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 4,538 people, 2,001 households, and 1,178 families living in the city. The population density was 3,151.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,216.8/km2). There were 2,149 housing units at an average density of 1,492.4 per square mile (576.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.0% White, 0.9% African American, 1.5% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 7.9% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.8% of the population.

There were 2,001 households, of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.1% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.87.

The median age in the city was 44 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 22% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.9% male and 53.1% female.

Education

PhoenixOregonSnowExit24Interstate5
Snow in Phoenix

Phoenix is part of the Phoenix-Talent School District. The city is the site of two of the five schools in the district—Phoenix Elementary School and Phoenix High School, as well as Armadillo Technical Institute, a public charter school.

Notable people

In popular culture

An independent film titled Phoenix, Oregon was produced in 2018 and revolves around two characters who live in the city. Despite this, the film was actually shot in Klamath Falls, Oregon. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most US movie theaters were closed. The film was re-released in theaters in smaller cities that remained opened. Because of this, Phoenix, Oregon was the highest grossing film at the US box office for three weeks in March and April 2020. Its biggest weekend was April 10–12, 2020, when it earned more than $11,000 at the box office.

The city features in the 1995 Russian movie American Daughter, in which the main character and his daughter attempt to travel to Phoenix, Arizona, but wind up in Oregon instead.

See also

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

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