Шеридан, Орегон: История и современность города

Sheridan is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. Platted in the 1860s when it received a post office, the city was incorporated in 1880. A major fire burned much of the city in 1913, and a flood covered much of the city in 1964. The population of the city as of the 2020 Census was 6,100, a decrease from 6,127 at the 2010 census. Located in the western part of the Willamette Valley, the city is at the base of the Northern Oregon Coast Range along the South Yamhill River. Sheridan lies west of the county seat of McMinnville, along Oregon Route 18. This highway and Oregon Route 18 Business run east–west through Sheridan and nearby Willamina, parallel to the river. Sheridan Bridge is the only river crossing within Sheridan. This farming and timber community's largest employer is Federal Correctional Institution, Sheridan, a federal minimum and medium security prison. The city has a Mayor–council form of government, with daily operations run by a city manager. The community has its own school district, with a single traditional high school. The main events each year in town are Sheridan Days and the Mud Drags, both held in June. Sheridan was named in honor of the American Civil War general Philip Henry Sheridan.

Absolem B. Faulconer laid out the plat for what became the city of Sheridan in the mid 1860s. This plat was recorded with the county on December 13, 1866. He had settled in the area in 1847. Sheridan was named for General Philip Sheridan, who was posted to Yamhill County and Fort Yamhill in the latter half of the 1850s to monitor the Native Americans at what is now the Grand Ronde Reservation west of the city. At that time there was a daily train to the city as well as daily stage coach service from McMinnville, and a single wooden bridge over the river. Around 1910, the main crops included hops, clover seed, hay, potatoes, onions, and a variety of fruits including apples, prunes, and pears. 0.25 in 1910 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years. On July 18, 1913, a fire that destroyed most of the commercial district caused $300,000 in damage. There they started St. Francis Xavier's Novitiate, a school for training priests for the order. By 1940, agriculture was still a major industry, and the timber industry was growing in importance to the local economy. At that time the city had grown to a population of 1,008 people. The South Yamhill overflowed its banks and isolated the town for two days. who then opened The Delphian School at the site in 1976. In 1989, a federal minimum and medium security prison called the Federal Correctional Institution opened on the south side of the city. and expanded the renovated building in 1995. The U. S. Census Bureau erroneously listed the city's population as 3,570 in the 2000 Census after mis listing the prison's population in the wrong census tract. This error of about 2000 people was enough to throw off the state legislative districts beyond their margin of acceptance and the Oregon Supreme Court ruled the Secretary of State must re draw the boundary lines to match the correct data. The city also counts the prison population as part of the city's official population. In December 2008, a two alarm fire gutted the 1875 United Methodist Church in the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.01 square miles (5 km2), of which, 1.96 square miles (5 km2) is land and 0.05 square miles (0 km2) is water. The South Yamhill River divides the city between north and south, and is prone to flooding the city. The city lies at the foothills of the Northern Oregon Coast Range. The city receives most of its precipitation during the mild to cool winter months, with the wettest period from November through March. December is also on average the wettest month with Sheridan's lowest ever recorded temperature was on January 31, 1950.

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,127 people, 1,543 households, and 1,085 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 1,671 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 74.9% White, 5.5% African American, 4.8% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.7% Pacific Islander, 7.6% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.6% of the population. There were 1,543 households, of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.7% were non families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.22. The median age in the city was 35.7 years. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 38% were from 25 to 44; 23.8% were from 45 to 64; and 8.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 63.8% male and 36.2% female. The average household size was 2.92, while the median income for a household in the city was $49,940. Opportunity House house is an alternative high school with 49 students in grades ten through twelve, while the Sheridan Japanese School (a charter school) had 88 students in grades four through twelve. The school uses the study methods known as Study Tech that were developed by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Enrollment at the kindergarten through twelfth grade school is 260 students, which includes a majority of students living in dorms on the campus.

There are no colleges in Sheridan, but the city is within the Chemeketa Community College district that includes a campus in McMinnville. Linfield College, also in McMinnville, is the closest four year college with Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Willamette University in Salem, and George Fox University in Newberg all located in the surrounding areas.

Built in 1892, Travelers Home on northeast Yamhill was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1982, and is the only building on the NRHP in Sheridan (as of 2011). The city operates a single branch public library at Bridge and Yamhill streets on the north side of the city. In 2007, it had a collection of 33,792 items with a circulation of 187,000 among 4,256 registered users. The paper was founded in 1890 and has a circulation of 1,263. Most events are held at the high school and includes carnival type activities and rides. The Mud Drags are held in early June and sponsored by the local Rotary International group. Competitors race vehicles through the mud to win prize money. The event draws crowds of 4,000 and includes a children's race through the mud. Commercial groups include the Sheridan Chamber of Commerce and the West Valley Chamber of Commerce. Other civic groups include the Rotary International club, the Kiwanis, a Rebekah Lodge, and the Woman's Study Club of Sheridan.

In May 1950, the Sheridan farm of Paul and Evelyn Trent was the scene of the famous UFO sighting which produced the controversial McMinnville UFO photographs, first published in the McMinnville Telephone Register and later in Life Magazine. Although these pictures have come to be known as "The McMinville UFO Photographs", the Trent farm was actually located in Sheridan, not McMinnville, which is approximately nine miles to the northeast of Sheridan.