Editing Vernonia, Oregon (section)

== History ==
<gallery class="center" widths="150px" heights="225px">
File:Boat in Vernonia, Oregon flood.jpg|Vernonia during the 2007 flooding
File:Shay Park, Vernonia, Oregon.jpg|View of the [[Shay locomotive]] in Shay Park along Rock Creek in Vernonia
</gallery>
The community was first settled in 1874 by the Parker and Van Blaricom families. Cousins Judson Weed and Ozias Cherrington, both of [[Ohio]], arrived in 1876. Sometime afterwards, the question of a name for the community came up, and Cherrington suggested the name of his daughter (Vernona) in Ohio, which was adopted. Due to a clerical error during the incorporation process, an "i" was inserted into the name. Cherrington died in a farming accident in 1894, never having seen his daughter since his departure from Ohio.<ref>Lewis A. McArthur, ''Oregon Geographic names'', fifth edition (Portland: Western Imprints, 1982), pp. 760f</ref>

Vernonia started to become more than an isolated farming community on July&nbsp;10, 1924, when the Oregon-American Lumber Company opened a state-of-the-art [[lumber mill]], which was supported by a railroad line connecting Vernonia to the rest of the country. Oregon-American merged with [[Long-Bell Lumber Company]] in May 1953, which itself merged with [[International Paper]] in November 1957. International Paper judged the mill antiquated, and closed it on December&nbsp;20, 1957.

The city has been severely impacted by floods on multiple occasions. The rains that caused the [[Willamette Valley Flood of 1996]] flooded Vernonia as well; some homes in the [[floodplain]] were elevated, and some flooring materials were replaced, mitigating some damage from later flooding.<ref name=KATUflood>[http://www.katu.com/news/12124361.html Vernonia residents: Flooding is worse than 1996] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206123827/http://www.katu.com/news/12124361.html |date=December 6, 2007 }}, [[KATU]]</ref> In 2007, [[December 2007 Pacific Northwest storms|heavy storms that impacted the Pacific Northwest]] washed out roads and destroyed homes, cars,<ref name=KATUflood/> and communications infrastructure.<ref>{{cite news
 |title     = Guard Evacuates Flooded Oregon Town
 |agency      = Associated Press
 |publisher = KNX 1070 AM
 |year      = 2007
 |url       = http://www.knx1070.com/Oregon-Town-Evacuated/1284511
}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Despite preparations in 1996, in some parts of town flood water reached {{convert|4|ft|m}} above the [[100-year flood|100 year base flood elevation]].<ref name="TCLEE 33">{{cite book|title=Pacific Northwest Storms of December 1-4, 2007|year=2012|publisher=ASCE, TCLEE|location=Reston, VA|isbn=9780784412336|url=http://www.asce.org/Product.aspx?id=2147486137&productid=167605717|editor=Teresa Elliot, PE and Alex Tang PE|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316171647/http://www.asce.org/Product.aspx?id=2147486137&productid=167605717|archive-date=2014-03-16}}</ref> 
In the wake of the 2007 flood, Vernonia School District voters approved a $13 million bond in 2009 to build a new K-12 school in Vernonia.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Voters support measure to build Vernonia school
|work=The Oregonian
|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/index.ssf/2009/11/vernonia_school_district_measu.html
|date=November 4, 2009
|access-date=March 8, 2015
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vernoniaschools.org/about/community-in-need/entire-school-district-must-be-rebuilt/ |title=An entire school district must be rebuilt &#124; Catalyst |website=www.vernoniaschools.org |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228035254/http://www.vernoniaschools.org/about/community-in-need/entire-school-district-must-be-rebuilt/ |archive-date=28 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The new school opened in fall 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/08/vernonia_celebrates_opening_of.html|title=Vernonia celebrates opening of state-of-art new K-12 school to replace flood-ravaged buildings|date=22 August 2012}}</ref>
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