Грантс-Пасс, Орегон: История и география города

Grants Pass is a city in and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. The population is 39,194 according to the 2020 census, making it the 15th most populous city in Oregon.

Early Hudson's Bay Company hunters and trappers, following the Siskiyou Trail, passed through the site beginning in the 1820s. In the late 1840s, settlers (mostly American) following the Applegate Trail began traveling through the area on their way to the Willamette Valley. The city states that the name was selected to honor General Ulysses S. Grant's success at Vicksburg. The Grants Pass post office was established on March 22, 1865. The city of Grants Pass was incorporated in 1887. The Oregon–Utah Sugar Company, financed by Charles W. Nibley, was created, leading to a sugar beet factory being built in Grants Pass in 1916. Due to labor shortages and low acreage planted in sugar beets, the processing machinery was moved to Toppenish, Washington, in 1918 or 1919. The Ku Klux Klan was active from the 1920s to 1960s.

Grants Pass is located in the Rogue Valley; the Rogue River runs through the city. U. S. Route 199 passes through the city, and joins Interstate 5. The city has a total area of 11.03 square miles (29 km2), of which 10.87 square miles (28 km2) is land and 0.16 square miles (0 km2) is water.

Grants Pass has a USDA plant hardiness zone 8b climate. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Grants Pass has a hot summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). Summer days are sunny, dry and hot, with dramatic cooling at night; the average August high temperature is and the low is Winters are cool and fairly rainy, with only occasional snow; the average January high temperature is and the low is Grants Pass receives roughly precipitation per year, with three quarters of it occurring between November 1 and March 31. The mild winters and dry summers support a native vegetation structure quite different from the rest of Oregon, dominated by madrone, deciduous and evergreen oak, manzanita, pine, bush chinquapin, and other species that are far less abundant further north. The record high temperature of was on July 4 2022. The record low temperature of was on December 21, 1990. There are an average of 51.3 afternoons annually with highs of or higher, eight afternoons reaching at least , and 77.5 mornings annually with lows of or lower. Measurable precipitation falls on an average of 110 days annually. The wettest rain year on record was from July 1955 to June 1956 with of precipitation, and the driest from July 1923 to June 1924 with The most precipitation in one month was in December 1996, and the most precipitation in one day was on October 29, 1950part of a two day fall of and ending a five day fall of There is an average of only of snow annually. The most snowfall in one month was in February 1917.

As of the census of 2010, there were 34,533 people, 14,313 households, and 8,700 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 15,561 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 90.9% White, 1.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.5% African American, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 2.3% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.5% of the population. There were 14,313 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.2% were non families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age in the city was 39.3 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 25% were from 45 to 64; and 18.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

As of the census and represented in the Oregon House of Representatives by Lily Morgan (R Grants Pass) holding Oregon's 3rd House district and Duane Stark (R Grants Pass) holding Oregon's 4th House district. They also host the Josephine County Fair which usually occurs in late August.

The historic Rogue Theatre downtown has been transformed into a performing arts venue that hosts mostly local acts. The Grants Pass Towne Center Association's "Back to the '50s" Celebration includes free concerts, a nearly 600 vehicle Classic Car Cruise, poker runs, and thematic shopping in the town's downtown historic district. Year round, there are First Friday Art Nights. On the first Friday of every month, many of the city's downtown stores hold art shows and promotional events. The Grants Pass post office contains two tempera murals done through the U. S. Treasury Department Section on Fine Arts (often mistakenly referred to as the "WPA"), both painted in 1938. There are ten government sponsored New Deal era murals in Oregon; Grants Pass is the only post office that contains two. The murals are "Rogue River Indians" by Louis DeMott Bunce (who also painted a 1959 mural at Portland International Airport) and "Early and Contemporary Industries" by Eric Lamade. The Caveman Bridge on 6th Street was built by Conde McCullough in 1933. The through arch design bridge has been a landmark of Grants Pass for many years, and the bridge was refurbished in 2019. The Redwood Empire sign at the beginning of the bridge has also been a landmark for many years, and it was redone in 2021 due to a car crash.

Grants Pass has numerous and diverse parks and green spaces. Notable city run parks include Riverside Park, summer home to the local Concerts in the Park series, and the Reinhart Volunteer Park, a park largely built through the efforts of community volunteers and featuring facilities for many sports. Grants Pass is a Tree City USA Community and has been for 35 years. The city is currently involved in litigation before the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the ability for homeless people to camp in its parks.

Grants Pass area public schools are served by Grants Pass School District, including Grants Pass High School, and Three Rivers School District, including Illinois Valley High School, North Valley High School, Rivers Edge Academy Charter School, and Hidden Valley High School. Rogue Community College's (RCC) main (Redwood Campus) is located south of Grants Pass on Redwood Highway with additional campuses located in Medford, Oregon (Riverside Campus) and White City (Table Rock Campus).

The City of Grants Pass is served by individual departments, each with their own respective buildings. The city has a Department of Public Safety as well.

The Grants Pass Daily Courier is the region's newspaper. The newspaper was established in 1885 with the name "Grant's Pass Courier" and then "Rogue River Courier." After the newspaper became a daily, the name was changed to what it is today. The other paper of record in Josephine County is the Illinois Valley News in Cave Junction established in 1937.

Grants Pass is featured in the Route 66 episode "Three Sides".