Weston, Oregon
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Weston is a city located in Umatilla County, Oregon. This city was named around 1869 by T.T. Lieuallen after his hometown, Weston, Missouri. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 717.
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History
Weston is best known for its connection with novelist Nard Jones (1904 - 1972), who lived in the city with his parents between 1919 and 1927, and whose first novel Oregon Detour was set in an Oregon town of 600 inhabitants called "Creston". When his novel, written according to the tenets of the New Realism literary movement (established years before by Sherwood Anderson, Sinclair Lewis and others) was published in 1930, many of the residents were convinced that his characters were based on local inhabitants, and considered the work a slander against the town. While the legned that Jones was sued and ran out of town for his book is not true, members of the town made an effort to local suppress access to the book: copies of the novel were stolen from the local library; after the novel became the subject for a high school student's book report, his English teacher removed the book from both the reading list and the high school library. According to George Venn, local litarary historian, even in the 1980s "trying to figure out or trying to remember who the 'real people' in the novel is still a local pastime."
Geography
ORMap-doton-Weston.png
Location of Weston, Oregon
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 km² (0.5 mi²). 1.4 km² (0.5 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 717 people, 265 households, and 191 families residing in the city. The population density is 512.7/km² (1,318.7/mi²). There are 280 housing units at an average density of 200.2/km² (515.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 83.40% White, 0.00% African American, 3.35% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 10.88% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. 15.76% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 265 households out of which 32.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% are married couples living together, 8.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% are non-families. 25.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.71 and the average family size is 3.18.
In the city the population is spread out with 28.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $36,905, and the median income for a family is $39,063. Males have a median income of $25,682 versus $21,625 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,089. 12.9% of the population and 10.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.2% of those under the age of 18 and 14.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.