Biggs Junction, Oregon

Biggs Junction is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sherman County, Oregon, United States.<ref name=gnis/>

Biggs Junction is located on the south side of the Columbia River at the junction of Interstate 84/U.S. 30 and U.S. 97 where it crosses the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge over the river from Washington.<ref name=Atlas>Template:Cite book</ref> The population was 22 at the 2010 census.<ref>American FactFinder – ResultsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

History

Biggs is a station on the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) at what was once a junction with the UP's Grass Valley line to Kent that has since been abandoned.<ref name=OGN>Template:Cite OGN</ref><ref name=Impact>Template:Cite web</ref> Biggs was named for a nearby landowner, W. H. Biggs, who settled in Sherman County in 1880.<ref name=OGN /> W. H. Biggs was born on May 12, 1831; he was from Ohio.<ref name=OGN /> The rail line was originally owned by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company (OR&N). In 1885 the OR&N station at Biggs was called Spanish Hollow, after the canyon that opens on the river there.<ref name=OGN /> The canyon was said to be named because a Spanish ox died there in the days of the Oregon Trail, which runs parallel to U.S. 97.<ref name=OGN /><ref name=GNIS>Template:Cite gnis</ref><ref name=End>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=Note>Note: There was a Spanish Hollow post office from 1870 to 1882 at what is now Wasco</ref> Biggs is where travelers on the Oregon Trail would first see the Columbia River after their overland journey.<ref name=Side>Template:Cite book</ref> The current community of Biggs Junction was named for the station, which is less than a mile west of the current junction, and its location at the intersection of I-84 and U.S. 97.<ref name=OGN /><ref name=GNIS3>Template:Cite gnis</ref> Biggs post office was established in 1884 and closed in 1954.<ref name=OGN />

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Biggs Junction is across the Columbia River from Maryhill, Washington.<ref name=Atlas />

Demographics

Template:US Census population As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 50 people, 20 households, and 12 families residing in the CDP. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 22 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the CDP was 68.00% White, 6.00% Asian, 26.00% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 26.00% of the population.

There were 20 households, out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, and 40.0% were non-families. 40.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.50.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $19,167, and the median income for a family was $66,250. Males had a median income of $40,750 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,532. Some 21.4% of families and 22.5% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no one under eighteen and none of those over 64.

Economy

File:SamHillMemorialBridge.jpg

Biggs Junction (right) at the approach to the Sam Hill Memorial Bridge over the Columbia River

The community's major business is that of a rest and refueling stop for traffic along the two major highways.<ref name=Agri>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Friedman>Template:Cite book</ref> It is one of the largest truck stops on the Oregon section of I-84.<ref name=Friedman />

Biggs Junction is an important wheat shipping point, with grain storage elevators and facilities for shipping wheat by river barge and rail.<ref name=Impact /><ref name=Agri />

The Biggs Junction area is known for being a source and the point of discovery of Biggs jasper, a semi-precious gemstone.<ref name=NFMS>Template:Cite journal</ref> The jasper was originally used by the local Native Americans and was rediscovered in 1964 during the building of I-84 by road crews who were helping rebuild local bridges after the Christmas flood of that year.<ref name=NFMS />

See also

• Columbia Southern Railway

External links

• Historic images of Biggs Junction from the Salem Public Library
• Images of Biggs Junction from Flickr
• Biggs Junction to Madras Corridor Plan from the Oregon Department of Transportation