Monmouth, Oregon
| Monmouth, Oregon | |
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| City | |
Main Street looking east
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 Location in Oregon |
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 Monmouth, Oregon
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| Coordinates: 44°50′57″N 123°13′48″W / 44.84917°N 123.23000°WCoordinates: 44°50′57″N 123°13′48″W / 44.84917°N 123.23000°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Polk |
| Incorporated | 1859 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | John Oberst (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.24 sq mi (5.80 km2) |
| • Land | 2.24 sq mi (5.80 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 214 ft (65.2 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 9,534 |
| • Estimate (2013) | 9,906 |
| • Density | 4,256.3/sq mi (1,643.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 97361 |
| Area code(s) | 503 |
| FIPS code | 41-49550 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1163156 |
| Website | www.ci.monmouth.or.us |
Monmouth (/ˈmɒnməθ/ is a city in Polk County in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was named for Monmouth, Illinois, the origin of its earliest settlers. The population has reached 9,534 as of the 2010 census and it is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Monmouth was settled in 1853 by a group of pioneers who allocated 640 acres (2.6 km2) to build both a city and a "college under the auspices of the Christian Church", and proceeds from the sale of these lands were used to found Monmouth University, currently known as Western Oregon University. For decades, Monmouth was a dry town that banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in supermarkets, restaurants and bars. Monmouth's status as the last dry town in Oregon was ended by a popular vote in the November 2002 election.
Monmouth was settled by Elijah Davidson and his family. Originally a member of the Christian Church of Cameron (Monmouth, Illinois), Davidson was a devout advocate of prohibition. In 1852, sixty-three-year-old Elijah Davidson and his family set out for Oregon Territory By 1854, more than a dozen Disciples families from Monmouth, many of them related to each other or to Davidson, had joined him. In February 1859, Davidson and other trustees efforts to prohibit the importation, exportation, sale, and consumption of alcohol in Monmouth became a reality. One of the main arguments Davidson and his fellow religious supporters used to push prohibition legislation was, "to enable them to suppress and prevent nuisances, to render the possession of life and property more secure, [and] to enable them to improve and embellish the streets of the town."
Despite the efforts of certain merchants to repeal prohibition in Monmouth throughout its history, their efforts proved fruitless. What was most important to the local religious community was to keep prohibition for the betterment of the social order of Monmouth. Although opponents raised religious, moral, economic, and quality-of-life arguments similar to those preached during the nineteenth century, they also brought two new arguments to center stage: the historic nature of Monmouth's prohibition and the uniqueness that local prohibition brought to the town.
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