Bandon is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, on the south side of the
mouth of the Coquille River. It was named by George Bennet, an Irish peer,
who settled near by in 1873 and named the town after Bandon, Ireland, his
native home. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of
2,833.
Economy
Like many towns on the Oregon coast, Bandon had significant fishing and
timber industries which came to an end by the 1980s. Currently Bandon is a
center of cranberry production. This crop was introduced by Charles McFarlin
in 1885, for whom the MacFarlin hybrid is named.
History
Bandon was founded by the Irish peer George Bennet, who also introduced
gorse (Ulex europaeus) into the local area, which in the following decades
went wild and could be found flourishing in both the town and in the
neighboring countryside.
On September 26, 1936, embers blown from a nearby slash fire of a logging
crew enflamed gorse growing inside Bandon, and ignited a fire inside the
city that caused massive destruction to the city. The entire commercial
district of Bandon was destroyed, contributing to a total loss stated at the
time to be three million dollars, as well as killing 11 people. Stewart
Holbrook vividly described this conflagration in his essay "The Gorse of
Bandon."
Geography
Bandon is located at 43°7'8" North, 124°24'43" West (43.118976,
-124.411993).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
8.0 km˛ (3.1 mi˛). 7.1 km˛ (2.8 mi˛) of it is land and 0.9 km˛ (0.3 mi˛) of
it is water. The total area is 10.97% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 2,833 people, 1,287 households, and 736
families residing in the city. The population density is 397.8/km˛ (1,029.4/mi˛).
There are 1,535 housing units at an average density of 215.5/km˛ (557.8/mi˛).
The racial makeup of the city is 92.48% White, 0.25% African American, 1.94%
Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races,
and 3.67% from two or more races. 2.75% of the population are Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There are 1,287 households out of which 21.2% have children under the age of
18 living with them, 43.4% are married couples living together, 10.1% have a
female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% are non-families.
36.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 19.0% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.09 and the average family size is 2.71.
In the city the population is spread out with 19.1% under the age of 18,
4.7% from 18 to 24, 19.4% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 29.4% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 49 years. For every 100
females there are 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 80.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $29,492, and the median
income for a family is $37,188. Males have a median income of $28,636 versus
$22,722 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,051. 16.0% of
the population and 11.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 34.1% are under the age of 18 and 6.0% are
65 or older.
