Sweet Home, Oregon
| Sweet Home, Oregon | |
|---|---|
| City | |
The Weddle Bridge spans Ames Creek in Sweet Home, Oregon.
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| Nickname(s): Gateway to the Santiam Playground | |
| Motto: Sweet Home: Oregon at its Best | |
 Location in Oregon |
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| Coordinates: 44°24′2″N 122°42′57″W / 44.40056°N 122.71583°WCoordinates: 44°24′2″N 122°42′57″W / 44.40056°N 122.71583°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Linn |
| Incorporated | 1893 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jim Gourley (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.75 sq mi (14.89 km2) |
| • Land | 5.30 sq mi (13.73 km2) |
| • Water | 0.45 sq mi (1.17 km2) |
| Elevation | 537 ft (164 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 8,925 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 9,011 |
| • Density | 1,684.0/sq mi (650.2/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | Pacific (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 97386 |
| Area code(s) | 458 and 541 |
| FIPS code | 41-71950 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1127827 |
| Website | www.ci.sweet-home.or.us |
Sweet Home is a city in Linn County, Oregon, United States. The population was 8,925 at the 2010 census. According to the city, "Sweet Home is sometimes referred to as the 'Gateway to the Santiam Playground' due to its proximity to nearby lakes, rivers and the Cascade Mountains."
Settlers first arrived in the Sweet Home Valley in the early 1850s. A community known as Buckhead developed near the mouth of Ames Creek and the South Santiam River. Buckhead was named after a saloon that featured a set of elk antlers on the gable end of its building. East of Buckhead, a community called Mossville developed with a store and post office. In 1874, the two communities merged to become one community called Sweet Home. In 1893, the city of Sweet Home was incorporated.
The Santiam Wagon Road, a toll road connecting the Willamette Valley with central Oregon, was opened in 1865. The road extended from the Sweet Home Valley across the Santiam Pass in the Cascades to Camp Polk near Sisters. The Santiam Wagon Road was a vital means of supplying livestock and goods from western Oregon to central Oregon and transporting wool from east of the Cascades back to Willamette Valley woolen mills. Competition with railroads that extended south from the Columbia River into central Oregon and the newly opened McKenzie Pass Highway made the wagon road obsolete by the late 1930s. U.S. Route 20 was constructed across much of the same route as the Santiam Wagon Road.
Sweet Home experienced significant growth during the 1940s due to the demand for timber from local forests. Further growth occurred when construction began on nearby Green Peter Dam in 1962 and continued as construction began on Foster Dam in 1966.
During the 1980s, Sweet Home experienced a number of sawmill and plywood mill closures due to economic cycles, increased competition, increased productivity, and logging restrictions placed on nearby forests resulting from environmental concerns for endangered species. In response, community members sought out other economic development opportunities such as the Oregon Jamboree country music and camping festival.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.75 square miles (14.89 km2), of which 5.30 square miles (13.73 km2) is land and 0.45 square miles (1.17 km2) is water.
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