Cornelius, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Cornelius is a city in Washington County
, Oregon
, United States
. The population was 9,652 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 10,895 residents.
, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 9,652 people, 2,880 households, and 2,246 families residing in the city. The population density
was 5,095.9 people per square mile (1,971.8/km²). There were 3,003 housing units at an average density of 1,585.5 per square mile (613.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 37.39% White, 0.76% African American, 1.24% Native American, 1.04% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 24.32% from other races
, and 3.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 68.61% of the population.
There were 2,880 households out of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.31 and the average family size was 3.64.
In the city the population was spread out with 32.5% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 108.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,959, and the median income for a family was $49,456. Males had a median income of $32,164 versus $25,207 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $15,290. About 10.8% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Cornelius is known as Oregon's family town.
. The Cornelius family settled on the Tualatin Plains
, near what is now North Plains
. The same year, Benjamin Q. Tucker and Solomon Emerick staked land claims and established farms on the land that would eventually become Cornelius. At that time, the area was called Free Orchards; there was no actual community, but the name referred to the orchards on the 107 acre (0.43301402 km²) of land.
In 1871, Benjamin Cornelius's son Colonel Thomas R. Cornelius
learned that Ben Holladay
planned to extend the Oregon and California Railroad
right through Free Orchards. Holladay had been told by Forest Grove
and Hillsboro
that they would not allow the railroad free right-of-way, so Holladay planned to bypass them, and build Free Orchards into a new city that would become the new county seat of Washington County
.
The new railroad was approaching Free Orchards in 1871, and Cornelius saw an opportunity to benefit from the new railroad. He left his farm and built a new house, a warehouse, and a store in Free Orchards. The warehouse and store were located right next to the railroad, and so became natural places for local farmers to trade and store their goods. Cornelius also built a creamery to process milk, and two sawmills to supply lumber for the growing community. In addition, he helped to build the first frame schoolhouse and the Methodist Church.
In 1893, Free Orchards was incorporated and renamed "Cornelius", to honor the man who spent many years helping build the community. Though Holladay's plan to make Free Orchards into the county seat never materialized, Cornelius survives today as an agricultural town and, increasingly, as a suburb of Portland
.
In 2010, voters elected "Team 3", former mayor Neal Knight and councilors Mari Gottwald and Jamie Minshall, to city council in a close election. In office, they voted to fire city manager
Dave Waffle and cut the city's general-services fee by 10%, without indicating where the money, needed to fund emergency services, would be replaced from. Knight was also the subject of two ethics complaints that he had violated the city charter by trying to pressure Waffle into certain personnel moves. Brad Coffey, a councilor who had lost his seat to the trio, organized a recall election
that went to voters. On September 27, 2011, less than nine months after taking office, all three were recalled by wide margins in an election that attracted a higher turnout than most special elections.
and the eastern part going to the Hillsboro districts
.
, and public transit
service is provided by TriMet's bus
line 57-TV Highway, which operates seven days a week. Line 57 connects the city with Forest Grove
, to the west, and with Hillsboro
and Beaverton
to the east, via the Tualatin Valley Highway
. It also links Cornelius with the Portland region
's light rail system (MAX) in Hillsboro.
The airport serving Cornelius is Skyport Airport
.
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 9,652 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 10,895 residents.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 9,652 people, 2,880 households, and 2,246 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 5,095.9 people per square mile (1,971.8/km²). There were 3,003 housing units at an average density of 1,585.5 per square mile (613.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 37.39% White, 0.76% African American, 1.24% Native American, 1.04% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 24.32% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 68.61% of the population.
There were 2,880 households out of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.31 and the average family size was 3.64.
In the city the population was spread out with 32.5% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 108.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,959, and the median income for a family was $49,456. Males had a median income of $32,164 versus $25,207 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $15,290. About 10.8% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Cornelius is known as Oregon's family town.
History
In 1845, Benjamin Cornelius emigrated to Oregon with his family, travelling with Joseph MeekJoseph Meek
Joseph Lafayette "Joe" Meek was a trapper, law enforcement official, and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory of the United States. A pioneer involved in the fur trade before settling in the Tualatin Valley, Meek would play a prominent role at the Champoeg Meetings of 1843...
. The Cornelius family settled on the Tualatin Plains
Tualatin Plains
The Tualatin Plains are a prairie area in central Washington County, Oregon, United States. Located around the Hillsboro and Forest Grove areas, the plains were first inhabited by the Atfalati band of the Kalapuya group of Native Americans. Euro-American settlement began in the...
, near what is now North Plains
North Plains, Oregon
North Plains is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, off U.S. 26 on the northwest outskirts of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 1,605 at the 2000 census; by July 2007 the population was estimated to be 1,813.-Geography:...
. The same year, Benjamin Q. Tucker and Solomon Emerick staked land claims and established farms on the land that would eventually become Cornelius. At that time, the area was called Free Orchards; there was no actual community, but the name referred to the orchards on the 107 acre (0.43301402 km²) of land.
In 1871, Benjamin Cornelius's son Colonel Thomas R. Cornelius
Thomas R. Cornelius
Thomas R. Cornelius was a prominent American politician and soldier in the early history of Oregon. A native of Missouri, he moved to the Oregon Country with his family as a young man where he fought in the Cayuse War and Yakima Indian War against the Native Americans...
learned that Ben Holladay
Ben Holladay
Benjamin "Ben" Holladay was an American transportation businessman known as the "Stagecoach King" until his routes were taken over by Wells Fargo in 1866...
planned to extend the Oregon and California Railroad
Oregon and California Railroad
The Oregon and California Railroad was formed from the Oregon Central Railroad when it was the first to operate a stretch south of Portland in 1869. This qualified the Railroad for land grants in California, whereupon the name of the railroad soon changed to Oregon & California Rail Road Company...
right through Free Orchards. Holladay had been told by Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
and Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
that they would not allow the railroad free right-of-way, so Holladay planned to bypass them, and build Free Orchards into a new city that would become the new county seat of Washington County
Washington County, Oregon
- Major highways :* Interstate 5* Interstate 205* U.S. Route 26* Oregon Route 6* Oregon Route 8* Oregon Route 10* Oregon Route 47* Oregon Route 99W* Oregon Route 210* Oregon Route 217* Oregon Route 219-Demographics:...
.
In 1893, Free Orchards was incorporated and renamed "Cornelius", to honor the man who spent many years helping build the community. Though Holladay's plan to make Free Orchards into the county seat never materialized, Cornelius survives today as an agricultural town and, increasingly, as a suburb of Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
In 2010, voters elected "Team 3", former mayor Neal Knight and councilors Mari Gottwald and Jamie Minshall, to city council in a close election. In office, they voted to fire city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
Dave Waffle and cut the city's general-services fee by 10%, without indicating where the money, needed to fund emergency services, would be replaced from. Knight was also the subject of two ethics complaints that he had violated the city charter by trying to pressure Waffle into certain personnel moves. Brad Coffey, a councilor who had lost his seat to the trio, organized a recall election
Recall election
A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
that went to voters. On September 27, 2011, less than nine months after taking office, all three were recalled by wide margins in an election that attracted a higher turnout than most special elections.
Education
In 1851, the Cornelius Elementary School District 2 was founded. The Cornelius district was dissolved in 1960, with the western parts of the enrollment area going to the Forest Grove districtForest Grove School District
Forest Grove School District is a public school district in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It serves the communities of Cornelius, Dilley, Forest Grove and Gales Creek. Yvonne Curtis is the superintendent of the district...
and the eastern part going to the Hillsboro districts
Hillsboro School District
The Hillsboro School District 1J is a unified school district located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. The district operates 26 elementary schools, four middle schools, and four high schools. Founded in 1851, the school district covers Hillsboro, Scholls, Reedville, North Plains, West Union,...
.
Transportation
Cornelius is within the TriMet districtTriMet
TriMet, more formally known as the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon, is a public agency that operates mass transit in a region that spans most of the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon...
, and public transit
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
service is provided by TriMet's bus
Transit bus
A transit bus , also known as a commuter bus, city bus, or public bus, is a bus used for short-distance public transport purposes...
line 57-TV Highway, which operates seven days a week. Line 57 connects the city with Forest Grove
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
, to the west, and with Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
and Beaverton
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
to the east, via the Tualatin Valley Highway
Tualatin Valley Highway
The Tualatin Valley Highway No. 29 is an Oregon highway which passes through the Tualatin Valley, between the cities of McMinnville and Beaverton...
. It also links Cornelius with the Portland region
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
's light rail system (MAX) in Hillsboro.
The airport serving Cornelius is Skyport Airport
Skyport Airport
Skyport Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles north of the central business district of Cornelius, a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It is privately owned and managed by V. D. Putman.- Facilities and aircraft :...
.
External links
- Listing for Cornelius in the Oregon Blue BookOregon Blue BookThe Oregon Blue Book is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon copyrighted by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. As Governor Ted Kulongoski notes in his introduction for the 2005–2006 edition, it "provides...