Newberg, Oregon, United States

🇺🇸 Newberg is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to George Fox University. It is the second most populous city in the county.

History Ewing Young, after leading pioneering fur brigades in California, came to Portland in 1834 and settled on the west bank of the Willamette River near the mouth of Chehalem Creek, opposite of Champoeg. Young's home is believed to be the first house built by European-Americans on that side of the river. Later, Joseph Rogers settled near the Willamette River at what is now Newberg in 1848. The community was known early on as Chehalem, and later as Roger's Landing for Rogers who founded the settlement, and who died in 1855. In 1883, the community was platted. Incorporated in 1889, a community tradition states that this town was named by its first postmaster, Sebastian Brutscher, for his former hometown of Neuberg in Germany One of the current streets, Brutscher Street, is named after Brutscher.

Newberg was one of the first communities in Oregon to hold Quaker services. It was incorporated as a city in 1889. The city's oldest surviving newspaper, The Newberg Graphic, was established Dec. 1, 1888. Friends Pacific Academy, renamed Pacific College in 1891 and then George Fox University in 1949, was founded by the Quakers in 1885. George Fox University is classified by U.S. News & World Report as a first-tier regional university and "Best Value" school. The campus resides in the centre of the city, surrounded by university-owned housing.

Herbert Hoover moved to the city in 1885, to live with his uncle and aunt after the death of his parents and was one of the first students to attend his uncle's Pacific Academy. The home has been turned into the Hoover-Minthorn House museum.

The town was "dry", meaning no alcohol could be sold within the city limits, for a good part of its early history.

The first domesticated Llama was brought to Newberg in 1972, and the town quickly became the leader in llama breeding in the Pacific Northwest by 1982.

Geography Newberg is located on Oregon Route 99W, approximately 25 miles (40 km) south-west of Portland. Springbrook, once a separate community, is now considered part of Newberg.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.81 square miles (15.05 km²), all land. It averages 176 feet (54 m) in elevation.

Economy As of 2002, dental equipment manufacturer A-dec was the city's largest employer, and George Fox University was second. The next largest employers were SP Newsprint Co., Suntron Corp., and Providence Newberg Medical Center. Also notable are The Allison Inn and Spa, a 77-room destination hotel, spa, and restaurant. A Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation inpatient addiction treatment centre is located in the city.

Museums and other points of interest • Ewing Young Historical Park • Hoover-Minthorn House Museum

Education Newberg is served by the Newberg School District, which has six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools, Newberg High School and Catalyst Alternative High School. The town also has two private Christian schools (Veritas School and C. S. Lewis Academy). The city also is home to George Fox University, and a new campus of Portland Community College opened in fall 2011.

In September 2021, the Newberg School District received news coverage over several incidents involving racism and identity, starting when the school board voted to ban Pride and Black Lives Matter symbols in district schools. Later on in the month, Newberg High School students participated in a "virtual slave trade" which targeted black students at the school. On September 20, a Newberg Public Schools employee was placed on administrative leave after reporting for work while wearing blackface.

Media • The Newberg Graphic.

Transport: Road OR 18 is an east-west route connecting with US 101 in Otis Junction to the west, and OR 219 near Newberg. The highway was expanded and named as the Newberg-Dundee Bypass.

OR 99W (formerly US 99W) is a major north-south route which follows an east-west alignment through Newberg. It connects with Portland to the north-east, Dundee and McMinnville to the south-west, and the western Willamette Valley to the south. In combination with OR 18, this is the main route for traffic between Portland and the central Oregon Coast.

OR 219 is a north-south route connecting with St. Paul and Woodburn to the south, and Scholls and Hillsboro to the north.

OR 240 is an east-west route connecting with OR 47 in the town of Yamhill.

Transport: Air • Chehalem Airpark • Sportsman Airpark

Transport: Rail Newberg is served by the Portland & Western Railroad which offers freight service as needed. The railroad was originally part of the Southern Pacific Railroad and was built in the 1870s. Newberg has not had regular passenger railroad service since the 1930s; however there have been several studies to consider bringing commuter rail service to the Portland metropolitan area.