Aloha, Oregon

Aloha is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, United States. Its name is similar to the Hawaiian word, aloha, although the place name is instead of /əˈloʊhɑː/. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 41,741.

History

Name etymology

According to Oregon Geographic Names, the origin of the name Aloha is disputed. Some sources say it was named by Robert Caples, a railroad worker, but it is unknown why the name was chosen. Aloha post office was established in 1912. In 1983 Joseph H. Buck claimed that his uncle, the first postmaster Julius Buck, named the office "Aloah" after a small resort on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. Supposedly the last two letters were transposed by the Post Office Department during the application process. However, the local pronunciation has remained Ah-lowwa rather than Ah-lo-ha.

Another story comes from Frithjof G. Tollefsen, a former postmaster of Aloha. According to him, the name may have come about during a dinner party at which several of the more prominent citizens as well as some railroad men were gathered. During the party, one of the guests sang "Aloha Oe". Then a suggestion was made to call the town Aloha. This source also says that it was Julius Buck's sister, Dora Buck, who submitted the name "Aloah" (an Indian word), which is where the Buck family came from, as per above.

Geography

Aloha is located at (45.490239, -122.872007).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.1 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 41,741 people, 14,228 households, and 10,841 families residing in the community. The population density was 5,660.5 people per square mile (2,186.7/km²). There were 14,851 housing units at an average density of 2,013.9/sq mi (778.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 79.40% White, 1.35% African American, 0.78% Native American, 7.69% Asian, 0.37% Pacific Islander, 6.70% from other races, and 3.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.93% of the population.

There were 14,228 households out of which 42.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 16.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the community the population is spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.

The median income for a household in the community is $52,299, and the median income for a family was $56,566. Males had a median income of $40,369 versus $29,921 for females. The per capita income for the community is $19,685. About 5.6% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Aloha High School opened in 1969 and moved to its current location in 1970. Aloha High School received its first major remodeling/expansion in 2006, after many of the other schools in the district, including Southridge High School, which opened in 1999, had been remodeled.

References

External links