McMinnville is the county seat and largest city of Yamhill County, Oregon. According to Oregon Geographic Names, it was named by its founder, William T. Newby, an early immigrant on the Oregon Trail, for his home town of McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 26,499.
McMinnville is located 50 miles from the Pacific Ocean, 30 miles from Portland, Oregon, and 25 miles from the state capitol, centered at 45°12'42" North, 123°11'50" West (45.2118, -123.1973).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.6 km2 (9.9 mi2), none of which is covered with water, in spite of an average of 42 inches of rain per year.
As of the census of 2000, there are 26,499 people residing in the city, among 9,367 households and 6,463 families. The population density is 1,033.5/km2 (2,675.8/mi2). There are 9,834 housing units at an average density of 383.5/km2 (993.0/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 86.39% White, 1.39% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.68% Black or African American, and 0.18% Pacific Islander. 14.64% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 7.26% identify themselves as from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races.
There are 9,367 households out of which 35.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% are married couples living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% are non-families. 23.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.66 and the average family size is 3.13.
In the city, the population is spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 14.7% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $38,953, and the median income for a family is $44,013. Males have a median income of $33,517 versus $24,405 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,085. 12.9% of the population and 8.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.0% of those under the age of 18 and 7.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. The area is slightly conservative. In the 2004 presidential elections, George W. Bush won the city 56%-43%.
McMinnville was incorporated as a town in 1876 and became a city in 1882. County residents voted to move the county seat of Yamhill County from Lafayette to McMinnville in 1886.
A tourist attraction located in McMinnville is the Evergreen Aviation Museum, which houses the Spruce Goose, the world's largest propeller-driven airplane, built by the famed aviator Howard Hughes. The museum, a large symmetrical building with a glass front, holds many airplanes used in America's wars during the twentieth century.
McMinnville is also known amongst UFO enthusiasts for photographs published on the front page of the June 9, 1950 edition of the city's newspaper, the News Register, reportedly of an unidentified flying object seen a month earlier. The Oregonian published the photographs the next day, and within a week they were published in LIFE magazine. The photographs were taken on a farm near McMinnville by a farming couple, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Trent. Mrs. Trent was the first to see the object - it resembled a classic "flying saucer" - and she pointed it out to her husband, who obtained a camera from their farmhouse and took two photos before the "saucer" flew away. A debate has raged for decades between UFO researchers, who claim that the photos are genuine and are among the best ever taken of a UFO, and UFO skeptics/debunkers, who claim that the photos are a hoax. Both sides in the debate have hired photographic experts numerous times to do a professional analysis of the photos, but so far neither side has offered convincing evidence to prove their case. The Trent's background was also thoroughly checked, and to date there has been no evidence brought forth implicating the Trents in a hoax. The whole sequence of events has led to a "UFO Festival" being held in McMinnville each year.
Another popular festival happens to be McMinnville's main summer attraction: "Turkey Rama". This event is a three-day festival held in downtown McMinnville celebrating the on-going tradition of the turkey barbecue. The barbeque was started in 1938 by turkey farmers in Yamhill County, when the main source of wealth in the county was largley based on the booming turkey-farming industry. Now, commercial exhibitions have replaced the "turkey exhibitions", and so the turkey-judging competitions and turkey races have been eliminated in favor of more "turkey-friendly" rides, booths, and outdoor entertainment.
Source:
McMinnvilleOregon.com
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