Idanha is a city on the Marion County/Linn County line in Oregon, United States, on Oregon Route 22 and the North Santiam River. The population was 156 at the 2020 census.
The Marion County portion of Idanha is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Linn County portion is part of the Albany–Lebanon Micropolitan Statistical Area.
In 2015, the city's mayor, Cletus Moore, was arrested and charged with felony possession of methamphetamine.
Geography
Idanha is in eastern Marion and Linn counties, with the North Santiam River forming the county line and separating the two settled areas within the town limits. The area on the southern, Linn County side is shown on U.S. Geological Survey maps as New Idanha. Oregon Route 22 runs along the northern, Marion County side of the river and leads west to Salem, the state capital. In the other direction Route 22 leads east and south to U.S. Route 20 at Santiam Junction.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Idanha has a total area of , of which , or 4.15%, are water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Idanha had a population of 156. The median age was 49.5 years. 19.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 110.0 males age 18 and over.
There were 74 households in Idanha, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.0% were married-couple households, 27.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 8.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 133 || 85.3%
|-
| Black or African American || 0 || 0%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 1 || 0.6%
|-
| Asian || 0 || 0%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0%
|-
| Some other race || 9 || 5.8%
|-
| Two or more races || 13 || 8.3%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 19 || 12.2%
|}
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 134 people, 65 households, and 34 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 86 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.2% of the population.
There were 65 households, of which 12.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 1.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.7% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.62.
Transportation
Idanha served as the eastern terminus of a transcontinental railroad, proposed by Colonel T. Egenton Hogg, that terminated in Idanha because of a lack of funding. Idanha saw rail service until the 1950s, when the track was removed for development of Detroit Lake, situated over the historical roadbed of the former Oregon Pacific Railroad.
Santiam Fire
Idanha was one of the small cities in the Santiam Canyon impacted by a group of wildfires which converged and were later known collectively as the Santiam Fire. The Lionshead Wildfire had ignited on August 16, 2020, within the nearby Willamette National Forest. It continued burning in the wilderness area with limited intervention by firefighters due to the difficult terrain, slowly growing in size until September 7, 2020, when strong east winds reaching drove the wildfire east through the canyon in which the town of Idanha and several others are located. Chaotic evacuations were ordered during the night of September 7–8, 2020. The Idanha-Detroit Rural Fire Protection District, which serves the cities of Idanha and Detroit, was pivotal in notifying sleeping residents of the evacuations and attempting to manage numerous small fires which had sprung up due to electrical lines coming down in the strong wind, with limited success. Unfortunately the city of Detroit was almost entirely destroyed, and the fire department itself suffered the loss of their administrative office and two fire trucks. Over the coming days, the wildfire would converge with several others in the area and become known as the Santiam Wildfire, destroying 402,274 acres (162,795 ha), among the worst in Oregon's history.
References
External links
- Entry for Idanha in the Oregon Blue Book