Boring is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. It is located along Oregon Route 212 in the foothills of the Cascade mountain range, approximately southeast of downtown Portland, and northeast of Oregon City. A bedroom community,
Economy
thumb|Two teenage girls picking berries on a farm in Boring, 1946
After its inception as a railroad community, Boring evolved into a hub for the timber industry in the Northwest, beginning in the pre-World War I era and continuing throughout much of the 20th century. One of the first mills established in Boring was the Hillyard Sawmill, which began operations in the 1890s; the mill produced over of lumber per day, mostly consisting of railroad ties. Bert Jonsrud, an early resident of the area, would later establish the Jonsrud Bros. Lumber Company, which would become Boring's main lumber mill. In a 1915 survey of timber and logging camps in the Pacific Northwest, it was reported that Jonsrud mill was producing of lumber per day. Today, Vanport International is the main lumber company operating out of Boring. Although their main business is lumber export, they are co-located with a lumber mill actively processing timber products.
The Portland Traction Company, a now-defunct railroad, operated a rail line from Portland (near the current location of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) on the Willamette River) to Boring via Gresham. In the 1950s, the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads jointly took over operation of the remaining portion of the line for freight operations. Much of the line has since been purchased by local governments for the creation of a long-distance rail trail named the Springwater Corridor.
The community is also home to a large number of dairy farms, plant nurseries and berry farms, including Iseli Nursery and Liepold Farms, who supplies produce to the local restaurant chain Burgerville. There are over thirty active plant and tree nurseries that operate within the community. Another Boring community staple, Mt. Hood Center, was built in Boring in 1974 and the facility is still functioning today as an equestrian center, event venue, and an equine-based schooling alternative, Mt. Hood Center Academy. Boring is also home of a campus of Guide Dogs For The Blind, Inc., the oldest guide dog training program on the US West Coast. The largest employer in Boring as of 2018 is Good Shepherd Community Church, an independent Evangelical church.
Demographics
According to the 2010 U.S. census, the ZCTA for Boring's ZIP code had a population of 7,726 in 2,875 households. This was a significant drop from the 2000 census, which had reported a population of 12,851. Males made up 50.50% of the population, while females made up 49.50%. In 2015, Boring was ranked among the wealthiest ZIP codes in the Portland metropolitan area.
Law and government
Along with other unincorporated communities in Clackamas County, Boring is served by Metro, a regional government of the Portland metropolitan area, and the only metropolitan planning organization in the United States. The community is located within Oregon's 3rd congressional district, represented by Earl Blumenauer. Metro responded by noting that Boring lies outside of their urban growth boundary, and that the jurisdictional boundary had no bearing on any foreseeable incorporation of Boring. Other parties accounted for 4% of votes.
Education
thumb|Former Kelso Schoolhouse, 1885
The first schoolhouse in Boring was the Fern Hill School, built in 1883. The Kelso Schoolhouse opened two years later, in 1885. Another four-room school house called Oregonia was built in 1904. A play shed was added to the school in 1918.
Contemporarily, the community is served by the Oregon Trail and the Gresham-Barlow school districts as the community straddles the boundary between the two. Elementary schools in Boring include Naas Elementary and Kelso Elementary. Secondary schools serving Boring include Boring Middle School, Sandy High School (Oregon Trail), and Sam Barlow High School (Gresham-Barlow). Private schools in the area include Good Shepherd School and Hoodview Adventist School.
Boring is also home to Oregon Trail Academy, the only public K-12 single campus International Baccalaureate school in the Northwest. The school was established as a charter school in 2010 by the Oregon Trail School District and also serves students from Gresham-Barlow. In 2019, the school ranked in the top 15 schools in the Portland metro area and 17th in the state.
Students' test score performance in the public school system in Boring ranks at or above the national average in both elementary and middle school(s).
Infrastructure
Oregon Route 212 begins in Boring, and runs through the center of the downtown area. Its roads are maintained by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
From the 1970s until the end of 2012, Boring was within the TriMet transit district, the Portland metropolitan area's mass transit system, and was served by bus line 84, albeit with only a single round trip in each peak period. In 2011, business owners in Boring petitioned the transit district's board to remove Boring from the district, arguing that Boring was receiving too little bus service relative to the amount being paid in employer-payroll taxes. The petition was approved, to take effect at the beginning of 2013, bringing an end to TriMet service in Boring.
In popular culture
The eponymous fictional town of the Disney TV series Gravity Falls is inspired by Boring.
In 2017, it was reported that ABC had developed a "serial killer comedy" series titled Boring, OR about a small town under siege by a serial murderer. The series is being produced by Jack Black. Boring was the subject of a 2016 promotional documentary short by Brooklyn, New York-based cinematographer Adam McDaid for Ogilvy & Mather.
In 2018, the Netflix web television series Everything Sucks! is set in the town and focuses on students attending the fictional "Boring High School."
Notable people
- Bob Amsberry (1928–1957), original member of The Mickey Mouse Club
- William H. Boring (1841–1932), Union soldier; founder of town
- Ryan Crouser (1992–), shot putter, discus thrower, Olympic Gold Medalist
- Alex Hirsch (1985–), storyboard artist, writer and producer at Disney
- Charis Michelsen (1974–), actress, model, and makeup artist
- Ben Musa (1905–1974), Oregon state legislator
- Maria Thayer (1975–), actress and comedian
- Brian Wilbur (1986–), American football quarterback
Sister cities
Though not recognized by Sister Cities International, Boring is paired with the following municipalities:
- Bland, New South Wales, Australia