Rowena is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Wasco County, Oregon Wasco County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,213. Its county seat is The Dalles. The county is named for a local tribe of Native Americans, the Wasco, a Chinook tribe ...

, United States. For statistical purposes, 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 ...

has defined Rowena as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. The population was 187 at the 2010 census. Rowena is located west of The Dalles on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

, where the river passes through the natural feature Rowena Gap. Interstate 84 ( Columbia River Highway) and

U.S. Route 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route of the United States Numbered Highway System, with the highway traveling across the Northern U.S. With a length of , it is the third-longest U.S. Highway, afte ...

(

Historic Columbia River Highway The Historic Columbia River Highway is an approximately scenic highway in the U.S. state of Oregon between Troutdale, Oregon, Troutdale and The Dalles, Oregon, The Dalles, built through the Columbia River Gorge between 1913 and 1922. As the firs ...

) pass through the community. Route 30 near Rowena is notable for the Rowena Loops. The origin of the name "Rowena" is disputed. Two sources say Rowena was named for H.S. Rowe, a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

company official, in the early 1880s. Another source says it was named for a girl, Rowena, who had been living in the area at the time the community was founded. It is also possible that the name comes indirectly from Rowena, Ivanhoe's lover in the novel of the same name by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. There was once a ferry operating between Rowena and Lyle, Washington, across the Columbia.The Song of the Rivers
/ref>

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

has a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

on the plateau near Rowena, the Tom McCall Preserve, known for its spring wildflowers. The preserve is owned and managed in co-operation with Mayer State Park. In June 2025, the Rowena Fire destroyed more than 50 residences in the Rowena area.

Geography

According to the

, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

At the 2010

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 ...

, there were 187 people, 77 households and 51 families residing in the CDP. 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 111 housing units at an average density of . The racial make-up of the CDP was 97.9% White, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% Pacific Islander, 0.5% some other race and 0.5% two or more races. There were 77 households, of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% 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 and 33.8% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age was 41.2 years. Females made up 48.1% of the population and males 51.9%.

References

External links

Tom McCall Preserve at RowenaMayer State Park
{{authority control Census-designated places in Oregon Columbia River Gorge Historic Columbia River Highway Unincorporated communities in Wasco County, Oregon Census-designated places in Wasco County, Oregon Unincorporated communities in Oregon