Lane County is one of the 36 counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,971, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Eugene, the state's second most populous city. It is named in honor of

Joseph Lane Joseph Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. Polk ap ...

, Oregon's first territorial governor. Lane County comprises the Eugene, OR Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the third-largest MSA in Oregon, and the 144th-largest in the country.

History

Lane County was established on January 29, 1851. It was created from the southern part of Linn County and the portion of Benton County east of Umpqua County. It was named after the

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

's first

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. Originally it covered all of southern Oregon east to the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

and south to the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

border. When the Territorial Legislature created Lane County, it did not designate a county seat. In the 1853 election, four sites competed for the designation, of which the "Mulligan donation" received a majority vote; however, since it was contiguous to the "Skinner claim" both became part of the new county seat known as Eugene. In 1846, Elijah Bristow and his wife, the former Susannah Gabbart, had become the first white settlers to build a claim cabin within the present-day boundaries of Lane County, near Pleasant Hill. They had crossed the plains to California in the previous year, and came north with Eugene F. Skinner, Captain Felix Scott, and William Dodson. As their party entered the valley between the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

, Bristow gazed around and exclaimed, "What a pleasant hill! Here is my home!" In 1852, John Diamond and William Macy led an exploration party to survey a shortcut for the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

across the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

. The shortcut over the Willamette Pass became known as the Free Emigrant Road. Around 250 wagons with 1,027 people left the usual Oregon Trail route at Vale, Oregon, and followed Elijah Elliott through the central Oregon high desert. This became known as the

Elliott Cutoff The Elliott Cutoff was a covered wagon road that branched off the Oregon Trail at the Malheur River are the site that became Vale, Oregon, United States. The first portion of the road was originally known as the Meek Cutoff after Stephen Mee ...

. When they reached what is now Bend, they sent scouts to the south to look for the road. Once settlers in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

discovered the emigrants were coming, a huge rescue effort was launched as the emigrants were out of supplies and in dire condition. The emigrants of this wagon train doubled the population of Lane County in 1853. The county has been vastly reduced from its original size by several boundary changes. One of the first changes gave it access to the Pacific Ocean, when it acquired the northern part of Umpqua County in 1853. With the creation of Wasco County in 1854, it lost all of its territory east of the Cascade Mountains. Minor boundary changes occurred with Douglas County in 1852, 1885, 1903, 1915, and 1917; with Linn County in 1907 and with Benton County in 1923.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.6%) is water. Lane County is one of two Oregon counties that extend from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the Cascades (the other is Douglas County.) A portion of the

Umpqua National Forest Umpqua National Forest, in southern Oregon's Cascade Range, covers an area of in Douglas, Lane, and Jackson counties, and borders the Crater Lake National Park in Southern Oregon. The four ranger districts for the forest are the Cottage Gro ...

is in Lane County. Portions of the Willamette, McKenzie, and Siuslaw rivers run through the county.

Adjacent counties

* Lincoln County (northwest) * Benton County (north) * Linn County (northeast) * Deschutes County (east) * Klamath County (southeast) * Douglas County (south)

National protected areas

Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge off the southwestern Oregon Coast. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges comprising the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The Oregon Islands provides ...

(part) *

Siuslaw National Forest The Siuslaw National Forest ( ) is a national forest in western Oregon in the United States. Established in 1908, the Siuslaw is made up of a wide variety of ecosystems, ranging from coastal forests to sand dunes. Geography The Siuslaw Nat ...

(part) *

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a United States National Forest, National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are National Wil ...

(part)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 322,959 people, 130,453 households, and 82,185 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 138,946 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.64%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.78%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.13% Native American, 2.00% Asian, 0.19%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.95% from other races, and 3.32% from two or more races. 4.61% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 130,453 households, out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.00% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 12.00% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,942, and the median income for a family was $45,111. Males had a median income of $34,358 versus $25,103 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $19,681. About 9.00% of families and 14.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.10% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 351,715 people, 145,966 households, and 86,938 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 156,112 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 88.3% white, 2.4% Asian, 1.2% American Indian, 1.0% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 2.8% from other races, and 4.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 21.8% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 14.9% were English, 13.8% were Irish, and 5.3% were American. Of the 145,966 households, 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 40.4% were non-families, and 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 39.0 years. Lane County pop growth

The median income for a household in the county was $42,923 and the median income for a family was $55,817. Males had a median income of $43,383 versus $32,745 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,869. About 10.0% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the

, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. Lane County is the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. It grew more slowly from 2000 to 2010 than did the three larger counties, Multnomah (the most populous Oregon county),

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

and Clackamas.

2020 Census

The racial and ethnic make up of the county was 77.9% non-Hispanic White, 1.1% African American, 0.9% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 6.9% mixed race of two or more, and 9.9% Hispanic.

Government

Lane County is governed by a

County commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to fiv ...

. Commissioners are elected officials and serve four-year terms. The current commissioners are: *David Lovell, Springfield *Ryan Ceniga, West Lane *Heather Buch, East Lane *Laurie Trieger, South Eugene *Pat Farr, North Eugene In presidential elections from the 1950s through the 70s, Lane County mostly leaned towards Republican candidates, but returned to a solidly Democratic county in 1984, coming to often back Democratic candidates in statewide elections by broad margins. It is one of many counties dominated by college towns that swung heavily Democratic in this period. Through much of the mid-1800s and the first half of the 20th century, the region served as a stronghold for the pro-slavery National Democratic Party. In the 1920s the county was considered the state headquarters for the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

. Major Luther I. Powell, a resident of the county and Klan leader, led early efforts to establish the Klan, first in Eugene and then across Oregon. Lane County is currently one of 11 counties in Oregon in which therapeutic psilocybin is legal.

Politics

Economy

As of 2022, Lane County has the fifth-largest gross domestic product among Oregon's 36 counties, totaling $17.55 billion. Tourism has become a key driver of the local economy, with direct visitor spending reaching $1.1 billion in 2023, and total travel spending hitting a record $1.4 billion. PeaceHealth Medical Group is the largest private employer in Lane County, followed by the University of Oregon, Eugene 4J School District, and U.S. Government. Growth in the next decades is predicted to shift away from timber and agriculture to services, manufacturing of transportation equipment, printing and publishing, and high technology.

Communities

Honeyman Memorial State Park Cleawox Lake

Incorporated cities

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

* Cottage Grove * Creswell * Dunes City * Eugene (county seat) *

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

* Junction City * Lowell * Oakridge * Springfield * Veneta * Westfir

Census-designated places

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

* Elmira * Heceta Beach *

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

* Mapleton * Marcola * River Road * Santa Clara (former) * Trent

Other unincorporated communities

* Ada *

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter ''aleph'' , whose name comes from the West Semitic word for ' ...

* Alvadore * Austa * Belknap Springs * Blachly * Blue River * Camp Creek * Canary * Cedar Flat *

* Cloverdale *

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

Culp Creek Culp Creek is a stream in Lane County, Oregon, in the United States. It was named for John Culp, a pioneer who settled near this stream. The creek flows northeast into the Row River. See also * Culp Creek, Oregon, an unincorporated community *L ...

* Cushman * Deadwood * Deerhorn *

* Disston * Dorena * Elmira * Finn Rock * Glenada * Glenwood * Goldson * Goshen * Greenleaf * Heceta * Horton * Indiola * Inlow *

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

* Latham * Leaburg * Linslaw * London Springs * Lorane * Low Pass * Mabel *

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just north of the city of Manila, Malabon is ...

* Mapleton * Marcola * McKenzie Bridge *

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

* Mohawk *

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

* North Beach * Noti * Pleasant Hill *

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

* Riverview *

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...

* Santa Clara * Searose Beach * Siltcoos * Swisshome *

Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

* Tiernan * Trent * Triangle Lake * Unity * Vaughn * Vida *

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is an 1854 book by American transcendentalism, transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. T ...

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

* Walterville * Walton * Wendling * Westlake * Wildwood

Former communities

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...

, now part of Eugene * Black Butte * Bohemia City * Divide * Irving, now part of Eugene * Luper * McCredie Springs *

Natron Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate ( Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. ...

* Thurston, now part of Springfield

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Alsea School District 7J * Bethel School District 52 * Blachly School District 090 * Creswell School District 40 * Crow-Applegate-Lorane School District 66 * Eugene School District 4J * Fern Ridge School District 28J * Harrisburg School District 7J * Junction City School District 69 * Lincoln County School District * Lowell School District 71 * Mapleton School District 32 * Marcola School District 79J * McKenzie School District 68 * Monroe School District 1J * Oakridge School District 76 * Pleasant Hill School District 1 * Siuslaw School District 97J * South Lane School District 45J * Springfield School District 19

References

External links

*
Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County, OregonLane County History Museum
��information on the history of Lane County {{coord, 43.95, -122.88, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OR_source:UScensus1990 1851 establishments in Oregon Territory Populated places established in 1851