Fossil, Oregon

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Coordinates: 44°59′59″N 120°12′51″W / 44.99972, -120.21417
Fossil, Oregon
Main Street
Location in Oregon
Country	United States
State	Oregon
County	Wheeler
Incorporated	1891
Government
- Mayor	Bill Brown
Area
- Total	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km²)
- Land	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	2,654 ft (808.9 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	469
- Density	614.5/sq mi (238.3/km²)
Time zone	Pacific (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)	Pacific (UTC-7)
ZIP code	97830
Area code(s)	541
FIPS code	41-26650^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1120903^[2]
Website: http://www.cityoffossil.org

The city of Fossil is the county seat of Wheeler County, Oregon, United States.^[3] The name was chosen by the first postmaster, Thomas B. Hoover, who had found some fossil remains on his ranch. The population was 469 at the 2000 census.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Sites of interest
5 References
6 External links

History

The Fossil post office was established on February 28, 1876. The city was incorporated in 1891 and became the county seat upon the creation of Wheeler County in 1899.

Geography

Fossil is located at 44°59′59″N 120°12′51″W / 44.99972, -120.21417Coordinates: 44°59′59″N 120°12′51″W / 44.99972, -120.21417^[4]. The 45th parallel runs though town, and a sign marking the latitude is posted on Oregon Route 19, which passes through the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all land.

Demographics

Wheeler County Courthouse in Fossil, the county seat

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 469 people, 208 households, and 128 families residing in the city. The population density was 614.5 people per square mile (238.3/km²). There were 245 housing units at an average density of 321.0/sq mi (124.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.24% White, 1.28% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.13% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.62% of the population.

There were 208 households out of which 16.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.73.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.1% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 17.1% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 27.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,250, and the median income for a family was $37,125. Males had a median income of $29,688 versus $20,893 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,236. About 12.0% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

Fossil is the site of the only public fossil field in the U.S.^[5]^[6] The field is located behind Wheeler High School.^[7] Anyone who pays the small fee can hunt for fossils and keep any three found.^[5]

Two museums exist on the main street in Fossil; one is an antique automobile museum, and the other is a local history museum.

During the second weekend in August, Fossil plays host to the Wheeler County Fair and Rodeo; on the first weekend of July the Wheeler County Bluegrass Festival is held on the courthouse lawn.^[8]