Leaburg is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States located on the McKenzie River and Oregon Route 126 east of Walterville and west of Vida.
Leaburg, Oregon | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Leaburg  Leaburg | |
| Coordinates: 44°6′27″N 122°40′33″W / 44.10750°N 122.67583°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oregon |
| County | Lane |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 97489 |
| Area code(s) | 458 and 541 |
History
editThe first post office in this locale was established in 1877 and named "Leaburgh", for first postmaster Leander Cruzan.[1][2] At some point the spelling was changed to "Leaburg".[3] On May 25, 1907, the office was moved two miles (3 km) west and the name was changed to "Deerhorn"; Deerhorn post office closed in 1913.[3] A new Leaburg office was established on September 20, 1907.[3]
Hydropower project and hatchery
editThe city of Eugene's water utility, Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB), runs Leaburg Power Plant on the McKenzie River about one mile (1.6 km) east of Leaburg.[4] This is one of three EWEB hydropower projects on the river. Leaburg Dam, built in 1928 about three miles (5 km) east of the community, impounds and diverts the McKenzie into the Leaburg Canal; the impoundment forms the 40-acre (160,000 m2) Leaburg Reservoir.[5] The canal holds the water at a higher elevation than the natural level of the river for about five miles (8 km)—this allows the water to turn the power plant's turbines and generators.[6] Leaburg Power Plant was designed in 1929 by noted Oregon architect Ellis F. Lawrence in the Art Deco style and includes motifs from Greek mythology sculpted by Harry Poole Camden.[4] EWEB's Lloyd Knox Water Board Park is on the south shore of the reservoir, while the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) runs the Leaburg Hatchery, a rainbow trout and steelhead fish hatchery, nearby.[7]
Other hatcheries
editThe ODFW also runs the McKenzie Salmon Hatchery about two miles (3 km) east of Leaburg on the north bank of the river. This hatchery was built in 1938 and rebuilt in 1975.[8]
On the north bank of the river, about four miles (6 km) east of Leaburg, is the Old McKenzie Fish Hatchery, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.[9] The hatchery raised trout and salmon from 1907 until the 1950s.[10][11] Many original structures are on the property, including the main house, which was built in the early 1900s for the hatchery superintendent.[10] The site is under the jurisdiction of the Lane County Parks Department, and the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Information Center is located there.[10]
Climate
editLeaburg has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) according to the Köppen climate classification system.
| Climate data for Leaburg | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 69 (21) |
78 (26) |
80 (27) |
89 (32) |
95 (35) |
102 (39) |
107 (42) |
108 (42) |
102 (39) |
97 (36) |
77 (25) |
66 (19) |
108 (42) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 47 (8) |
51.9 (11.1) |
56.1 (13.4) |
61.6 (16.4) |
68.1 (20.1) |
73.8 (23.2) |
82.4 (28.0) |
82.5 (28.1) |
76.7 (24.8) |
64.6 (18.1) |
53 (12) |
46.9 (8.3) |
63.7 (17.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.7 (0.9) |
35.1 (1.7) |
36.5 (2.5) |
39.5 (4.2) |
43.8 (6.6) |
48.2 (9.0) |
50.8 (10.4) |
50.3 (10.2) |
47.5 (8.6) |
43.1 (6.2) |
38.1 (3.4) |
34.6 (1.4) |
41.8 (5.4) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 6 (−14) |
4 (−16) |
20 (−7) |
24 (−4) |
28 (−2) |
35 (2) |
40 (4) |
38 (3) |
31 (−1) |
23 (−5) |
15 (−9) |
2 (−17) |
2 (−17) |
| Average precipitation inches (cm) | 9 (23) |
7.03 (17.9) |
7.21 (18.3) |
5.38 (13.7) |
4.03 (10.2) |
2.71 (6.9) |
0.68 (1.7) |
0.97 (2.5) |
2.23 (5.7) |
5.46 (13.9) |
9.76 (24.8) |
10.16 (25.8) |
64.61 (164.1) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 3.8 (9.7) |
1.9 (4.8) |
1 (2.5) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
1.7 (4.3) |
8.8 (22) |
| Average precipitation days | 20 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 165 |
| Source: [12] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Names of Lane County Communities Reveal Interesting Histories, Anecdotes". Eugene Register-Guard. January 4, 1942. p. 4. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- ^ "Lane County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- ^ a b c McArthur, Lewis A.; Lewis L. McArthur (2003) [1928]. Oregon Geographic Names (Seventh ed.). Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society Press. p. 568. ISBN 0-87595-277-1.
- ^ a b Style & Vernacular: A Guide to the Architecture of Lane County, Oregon. Western Imprints, The Press of the Oregon Historical Society. 1983. p. 122. ISBN 0-87595-085-X.
- ^ "Recreational opportunities". Eugene Water & Electric Board. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ "Exploring the McKenzie Watershed: Leaburg Dam". Eugene School District. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ "The ODFW Visitors' Guide: Northwest Region: Leaburg Hatchery". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ "The ODFW Visitors' Guide: Northwest Region: McKenzie Hatchery". Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 2/19/96 Through 2/23/96". National Park Service. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Leaburg to Vida". McKenzie River Reflections. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ "McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce". Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ "LEABURG 1 SW, OR (354811)". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
External links
edit- Leaburg Dam image from the Atlas of Lane County produced by the University of Oregon Geography Department
- Aerial view of Leaburg Hatchery from Salem Public Library