Madras, Oregon

History

The original plat for Madras was filed on July 18, 1902, by Scandinavian immigrant John A. Palmehn, for whom the town was originally named "Palmain". The name was rejected by the U.S. Postal Service over its similarity to a post office named Parmen, and the name "Madras" was adopted, inspired by the cloth fabric of the same name, itself named for the city of Madras (now Chennai) in India.

Madras was incorporated as a city in 1911. An Army Air Corps base, Madras Army Air Field, was built nearby during World War II. This airfield now serves as the Madras Municipal Airport. Homesteads approximately 5 mi north of the city on Agency Plains were based on dryland wheat.

GMO incident

In 2003, a Scotts Company large field trial of GMO bentgrass near Madras resulted in pollen spreading the transgene, which is Roundup-resistant, over an area of 310 km2. Because the grower could not remove all genetically engineered plants, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined the grower $500,000 for non-compliance with regulations in 2007.

2017 solar eclipse

The centerline of the path of totality of the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, ran through the center of Madras. Because the city is located in a high desert environment and has consistently clear skies in August, it was considered a prime eclipse viewing location. All of the hotel and motel rooms in the area had been reserved for several years. The town had prepared for an influx of about 100,000 visitors for the eclipse.

Sights

Madras is home to the Erickson Aircraft Collection, a privately owned collection of airworthy vintage aircraft. The collection is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Jefferson County Fair is held on county property along Fairgrounds Road in Madras. The annual fair takes place in late July.

Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.02 sqmi, all land.

Madras has a steppe climate (BSk) according to the Köppen climate classification system, also known as semi-arid.

| Jan record high F = 70 | Feb record high F = 76 | Mar record high F = 82 | Apr record high F = 91 | May record high F = 101 | Jun record high F = 111 | Jul record high F = 112 | Aug record high F = 109 | Sep record high F = 104 | Oct record high F = 93 | Nov record high F = 80 | Dec record high F = 68 | year record high F = 112 | Jan record low F = -40 | Feb record low F = -34 | Mar record low F = -7 | Apr record low F = 6 | May record low F = 11 | Jun record low F = 19 | Jul record low F = 26 | Aug record low F = 21 | Sep record low F = 9 | Oct record low F = -2 | Nov record low F = -15 | Dec record low F = -45 | year record low F = -45 | precipitation colour = green

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Madras had a population of 7,456. The median age was 33.8 years. 27.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over.

97.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,706 households in Madras, of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.4% were married-couple households, 18.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 2,878 housing units, of which 6.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 50.4% were owner-occupied and 49.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.0%.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,046 people, 2,198 households, and 1,430 families residing in the city. The population density was 1204.4 PD/sqmi. There were 2,569 housing units at an average density of 511.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 66.4% White, 0.7% African American, 6.9% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 19.7% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.5% of the population.

There were 2,198 households, of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.9% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.31.

The median age in the city was 31.2 years. 30.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.1% were from 25 to 44; 21.6% were from 45 to 64; and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,078 people, 1,801 households, and 1,251 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,326.9 PD/sqmi. There were 1,952 housing units at an average density of 894.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 63.55% White, 0.59% African American, 6.14% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 24.56% from other races, and 4.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.74% of the population.

There were 1,801 households, out of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.1% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,103, and the median income for a family was $33,275. Males had a median income of $27,656 versus $19,464 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,937. About 15.2% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Transportation

;Highway

• U.S. Route 26
• U.S. Route 97

;Rail

• BNSF Railway (formerly Oregon Trunk Railway)
• Union Pacific Railroad shares operations on the same tracks

;Air In addition to the public City-County Airport, Madras has several private-use airports in the area:

• Bombay Farms Airport
• St. Charles Madras Heliport
• Ochs Private Airport
• Six Springs Ranch Airport

Notable people

· Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability. · The biographical article must mention how they are associated with Madras, whether born, raised, or residing. · The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited, unless it is well-known. · alphabetical by last name please · All others will be deleted without further explanation

• Jacoby Ellsbury (b. 1983) — Major League Baseball player
• Boyd R. Overhulse (1909–1966) — attorney and state legislator
• River Phoenix (1970–1993) — actor born in Madras

Sister city

Madras has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• Japan Tōmi, Nagano, Japan (Tōmi was formed in 2004 by merger of Kitamimaki, which was already twinned with Madras, and Tōbu.)

References

References

1. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau.
3. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. (March 2009). "Certified Population Estimates for Oregon's Cities and Towns". Portland State University.
6. (Aug 20, 1958). "How did Madras get its name?". The Bulletin.
7. Templeton, Amelia. (July 17, 2012). "Madras, Almost Named Palmain, Turns 100". [[Oregon Public Broadcasting]].
8. (2004). "Evidence for landscape-level, pollen-mediated gene flow from genetically modified creeping bentgrass with ''CP4 EPSPS'' as a marker". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
9. link. (2015-12-08 USDA Assesses The Scotts Company, LLC $500,000 Civil Penalty. 26 November 2007)
10. Elliott, Hannah. (July 20, 2017). "A Tiny Oregon Town Is Prepping to Be Ground Zero for Eclipse Tourism: Madras, Ore., has a high elevation and wide open spaces with no light pollution, so it's excellent for eclipse tourism. But it has a population of just 6,000; where is everyone else going to sleep?". [[Bloomberg News]].
11. "Erickson Madras - Erickson Aircraft Collection".
12. (2018). "Fairgrounds". Jefferson County.
13. "US Gazetteer files 2010". [[United States Census Bureau]].
14. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
15. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
16. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
17. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
18. "Jacoby Ellsbury Stats - Baseball-Reference.com".
19. [http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6785327 "1957 Special Session (49th): October 28-November 15"], ''Oregon Legislators and Staff Guide 1957 Sessions'', Oregon Secretary of State, Salem, Oregon, accessed 1 February 2016.
20. Levitt, Shelley. (November 15, 1993). "River's End". Time.
21. "Online Directory: Oregon, USA".