La Grande, Oregon
| La Grande, Oregon | |||
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| City | |||
Clockwise: Aerial view of the city; the Foley Building; the Granada theater; Carnegie Library; Catherine Creek; Eastern Oregon University Pierce Library.
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| Motto: The Hub of Northeast Oregon | |||
 Location in Oregon |
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| Coordinates: 45°19′38″N 118°5′36″W / 45.32722°N 118.09333°WCoordinates: 45°19′38″N 118°5′36″W / 45.32722°N 118.09333°W | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Oregon | ||
| County | Union | ||
| Incorporated | 1865 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Steve Clements (D) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 4.61 sq mi (11.94 km2) | ||
| • Land | 4.58 sq mi (11.86 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 2,785 ft (849 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 13,082 | ||
| • Estimate (2012) | 13,048 | ||
| • Density | 2,856.3/sq mi (1,102.8/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) | ||
| ZIP code | 97850 | ||
| Area code(s) | 458 and 541 | ||
| FIPS code | 41-40350 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 1164107 | ||
| Website | La Grande, O | ||
La Grande /ləˈɡrænd/ is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. Originally named "Brownsville", it was forced to change its name because that name was being used for a city in Linn County. Its name comes from an early French settler, Charles Dause, who often used the phrase "La Grande" to describe the area's beauty. The population was 13,082 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Union County. La Grande lies east of the Blue Mountains and southeast of Pendleton.
The Grande Ronde Valley had long been a waypoint along the Oregon Trail. The first permanent settler in the La Grande area was Benjamin Brown in 1861. Not long after, the Leasey family and about twenty others settled there. The settlement was originally named after Ben Brown as Brown's Fort, Brown's Town, or Brownsville. There was already a Brownsville in Linn County, so when the post office was established in 1863, a more distinctive name was needed. It was decided to use "La Grande", a phrase used by a Frenchman, Charles Dause, to describe the area's scenic splendor. Before the post office was established, William Currey charged 50 cents a letter to carry the mail on horseback to and from the nearest post office, in Walla Walla, Washington. La Grande was incorporated as a city in 1865, and platted in 1868.
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