Elk City, Oregon

Elk City, Oregon
Unincorporated community
Elk City scene in 2008
Elk City scene in 2008
Elk City is located in Oregon
Elk City
Elk City
Location within Oregon
Elk City is located in the United States
Elk City
Elk City
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 44°37′10″N 123°52′46″W / 44.61944°N 123.87944°W / 44.61944; -123.87944
CountryUnited States
StateOregon
CountyLincoln
Named afterBig Elk Creek
Elevation
371 ft (113 m)
Time zoneUTC-8 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes
97391
Area code541
Coordinates and elevation from United States Geological Survey[1]

Elk City is an unincorporated city in Lincoln County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Lying along the Yaquina River east of Newport, it is on Elk City Road off U.S. Route 20 at Toledo.[2] Elk City lies at the confluence of Big Elk Creek with the river, about 23 miles (37 km) upstream from the Yaquina river mouth.[2] Ocean tides affect the water levels this far upriver.[2]

Name

Named for the creek, Elk City was "said to have been the first settlement in what is now 'Lincoln County'."[3] A post office was established at this location, then called Newton, in 1868. In 1888, the name was changed from Newton to Elk City. The Elk City post office closed in 1958.[3]

History

The Corvallis and Yaquina Wagon Road Company established Elk City in 1866 by building a warehouse with a store and by laying out a town. A year later, Elk City had a second store, a hotel, and a structure doubling as a church and schoolhouse. Boats regularly ascended the river to Elk City, the last stop on the overland mail route of the time, and delivered mail downriver by water.[4]

In the late 19th century, Elk City was one of the stops on the Oregon Pacific Railroad, linking the former port city of Yaquina to Corvallis and Albany.[5] After the Oregon Pacific failed financially, fell into receivership, and went through 17 years of financial and legal complications, it became a branch line of the Southern Pacific in 1907.[6]

In 1922, the county constructed a 100-foot (30 m) Howe truss span over the Yaquina River with 10.5-foot (3.2 m) vertical clearance[7] and a 15-ton load limit.[8] In 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places,[9] but the wooden pilings supporting the bridge suffered from wood rot,[10] and efforts to restore the bridge fell short in 1981. Fund-raising for repairs had produced $20,000, and restoration had begun when high winds caused another $90,000 damage to the structure. The county did not have enough money to pay for restoration or to pursue an insurance settlement through the courts,[11] and after its destruction, it was delisted from the National Register of Historic Places.[9]

River park

Elk City Park, operated by Lincoln County, is in Elk City. The 2-acre (0.8 ha) area has 12 campsites, parking, day-use areas, and a boat launch. Elk City Park is open all year, but the campground and restrooms are closed from November to March.[2]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Elk City". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. November 28, 1980. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Elk City Park" (PDF). Lincoln County. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  3. 1 2 McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (7th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 323. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
  4. ↑ Fagan, David D. (1885). History of Benton County, Oregon. Portland, Oregon: David D. Fagan. p. 495. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  5. ↑ Culp, Edwin D. (1978). Stations West: The Story of the Oregon Railways. New York City: Bonanza Books. pp. 82–90. OCLC 4751643.
  6. ↑ Corning, Howard McKinley (1989) [1956]. Dictionary of Oregon History (2nd ed.). Portland: Binford & Mort. p. 277. ISBN 0-8323-0449-2.
  7. ↑ "Elk City covered bridge". Oregon State Library digital collection. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Elk City covered bridge". Oregon State Library digital collection. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon City County Management Association. November 10, 2005. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2016.
  10. ↑ Cockrell, Bill (2008). Oregon's Covered Bridges. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing. p. 100. ISBN 978-0-7385-5818-9.
  11. ↑ "Elk City Bridge to Come Down Due to Damage". Eugene Register-Guard. United Press International. December 7, 1981. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
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