Sweet Home is a city located in Linn County, Oregon. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,016.
Sweet Home is located at 44°24'2" North, 122°42'57" West (44.400513, -122.715736).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.9 km2 (5.8 mi2). 13.8 km2 (5.3 mi2) of it is land and 1.1 km2 (0.4 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 7.64% water.
The region encircled by Sweet Home is rich with arsenic, presenting a problem for the residents using the drinking water there.
As of the census of 2000, there are 8,016 people, 3,063 households, and 2,131 families residing in the city. The population density is 580.7/km2 (1,504.4/mi2). There are 3,347 housing units at an average density of 242.5/km2 (628.2/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 93.64% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 1.66% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 1.00% from other races, and 2.69% from two or more races. 3.09% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 3,063 households out of which 32.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% are married couples living together, 12.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% are non-families. 25.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.59 and the average family size is 3.07.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $31,030, and the median income for a family is $35,833. Males have a median income of $32,866 versus $20,833 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,548. 17.5% of the population and 14.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 21.1% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The Sweet Home Valley of the South Santiam River was first settled in 1851. By 1865 a freight wagon and livestock toll road extended from the Sweet Home Valley across the Santiam Pass of the Cascade Mountains to Camp Polk in Central Oregon. The Santiam Wagon Road was a vital means of supplying livestock and goods from the Willamette Valley to Central Oregon and transporting wool from east of the Cascade Mountains back to Western Oregon woolen mills. The wagon road collected tolls until around 1921. Competition with railroads that extended south from the Columbia River into Central Oregon and the newly opened McKenzie River Pass highway in the 1930's made the wagon road obsolete by around 1939. Later, US Highway 20 was constructed across much the same route as the Santiam Wagon Road. In the 1990's, efforts began to restore abandoned sections of of the Santiam Wagon Road to hiking and other recreational activities.
The first community in this Sweet Home Valley was named Buckhead after the name of the Buckland saloon on nearby Ames Creek. Another community a short distance from Buckhead was called Mossville. By the 1880's the two communities had expanded towards each other and the combined village was named Sweet Home. The City of Sweet Home was incorporated in 1893. By the 1980's Sweet Home had expanded to include the community of Foster.
Source:
SweetHomeOregon.com
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