RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to North Powder ...

The city of North Powder is located in Union County<1>.

North Powder was established in 1886.

A typical abbreviation for North Powder: N. Powder

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, North Powder has a population of 462 people<2> (see below for details).

The community of North Powder is 3,260 feet [994 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of North Powder is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: North Powder lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you travel south from North Powder, you will leave Pacific Time and cross into the Mountain Time Zone (MST/MDT).

Area Codes for North Powder: 541 & 458<4>

The ZIP code for North Powder: 97867<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, North Powder had an population of 462 people. This is an increase of 5.24% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 5.52% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, North Powder had a population of 439 people. This makes North Powder the county's 6th most populous community.

The population of North Powder represents 0.01% of the population of Oregon (which has 3,831,074 people), making it the state's 194th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 439 people, the population of North Powder decreased 10.22% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 489 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for North Powder.

Websites for North Powder ...

Chamber of Commerce:   www.unioncountychamber.org/

Although we don't have any websites that are specific to North Powder, the following might be of interest:

Communities near North Powder ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near North Powder.

  • Baker City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Baker City is located in Baker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,876 people
    • Baker City has also been known as:
    • Baker
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baker City <6>
  • Union
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Cove
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Haines
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Hutchinson ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hutchinson is located in Baker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
  • Medical Springs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Medical Springs is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medical Springs
  • Hot Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Hot Lake is located in Union County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Lake
  • Pocahontas ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Pocahontas is located in Baker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
  • Bourne
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bourne is located in Baker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourne
  • Keating
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Keating is located in Baker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keating

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around North Powder. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for North Powder.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of North Powder. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around North Powder.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around North Powder. See our Newspapers Page for North Powder.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for North Powder ...

Looking for more information about North Powder? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for North Powder, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for North Powder.

Adding North Powder to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of North Powder in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for North Powder was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the North Powder post office opened in 1868.

For more details, see References and Mentions for North Powder.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Oregon's counties, including Union, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for North Powder.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around North Powder - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 541 code has been Overlayed with the 458 area code. New phone numbers in the North Powder area will be assigned with one of these codes: 541 or 458. As a result, placing a call in the North Powder area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as North Powder). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether North Powder or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/