North Powder Oregon Real Estate

North Powder Listings

North Powder, Oregon, is northeast of Haines and almost due north of Baker City. The community was named for the North Powder River, which, in turn, was named for an English translation of Native American Chinook terms for the soil along the stream.

There are small and medium sized homes in North Powder, close to town. Many of these date back to the early 1900s. Not far from town are custom homes with all sorts of amenities. And of course, there are large lots and small acreages just waiting for you dream home.

What's really exciting about North Powder real estate however is availability of open land. There are hundred acre parcels of rolling hills with trees ripe for development into recreational properties, including hunting, fishing and camping. Some already have delightful custom homes, others are waiting for you to build exactly the home you've always dreamed about. Some of these parcels would make perfect subdivisions into large, multi-acre parcels. There are larger parcels, some reaching as many as several thousand acres that are already working farms, as well as parcels for ready for you to create your own farming operation. Several of these larger parcels already have magnificent custom homes; others have great building sites ready for your dream home.

North Powder Information

North Powder is a true small town, with a population of about 490. As a gently growing region, it offers opportunities to get away from it all. The real estate opportunities are amazing.

North Powder is close to the Wallowa - Whitman National Forest contains 2.3 million acres ranging in elevation from 875 feet in Hells Canyon, to 9845 feet in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, the largest National Forest administrative unit in the Pacific Northwest Region. The Wallowa National Forrest was created in 1908 from the combination of seven Forest Reserves, and the Whitman National Forrest was created in 1908 by combining three Forest Reserves. The Wallowa and Whitman National Forests have been managed together since 1954.

The National Forest gives North Powder residents and visitors access to incredible recreational opportunities. For example, starting from rolling benchlands to the granite outcrops of the Greenhorn Mountains, the rugged North Forest John Day Wilderness provides diverse landscapes. Much of the wilderness is composed of gentle benchlands and tablelands; the remaining of steep ridges and alpine lake basins. A continuous vegetative canopy covers most of the land, including dense virgin stands of conifer species like Douglas-fir, white fir, western larch and lodgepole pine.

Over 100 miles of trails serve both hikers and horseback riders where the lay of the land calls for long-distance trips with many elevation changes.

Located on the Baker Ranger District, the North Fork John Day Wilderness-Baldy Creek Unit covers 13,715 acres of the northern end of the Elkhorn Mountains, several scenic subalpine lake basins characteristic of the area, the headwaters of Bull Creek, Baldy Creek, and Crawfish Creek, and the headwaters of the North Fork John Day River.

Very little is known about the actual history of the town of North Powder. It is known that from 1840 thru the 1870’s, more than 300,000 emigrants passed westward on the Oregon Trail that crossed the Powder River and entered a stage station at the present site of North Powder. The town existed as a settlement prior to 1880 and was either a trading post or farming area as well as an important stop along the Oregon Trail.

At the time of incorporation, the town was comprised of twelve businesses, three churches, a local school servicing all grades and a local newspaper, “The Powder Valley Echo”. The city also housed an ice plant for more than forty years that provided ice to the Pacific Fruit and Express Company for use in their rail cars until the plant burned down in 1937.

Major industries in the town are timber and agriculture. The community is in the heart of a recreational area that contains Pilcher Creek Reservoir, Wolf Creek reservoir and thief Valley Reservoir. Rainbow Trout in this area often measure up to eighteen inches in length. There are a number of outdoor activities for both residents and visitors which include skiing, camping and snowmobiling. The Anthony Lakes Ski Resort is a well known and popular attraction for winter sports.

Demographics

• Elevation – 3,256 ft.
• Median resident age – 38.6
• High school graduation or higher – 84.6%
• BA or higher – 11.9%
• Graduate or professional degree – 3.5%
• Mean travel time to work – 30.6 minutes
• Nearest major highway – I-84
• Nearest city with population of 50,000 + = Kennewick, WA = 117.6 miles
• Nearest city with population of 200,000 + = Portland, OR = 326 miles
• Nearest cities: Haines, 8.3 miles, Union, 13.0 miles, Baker City, 18.5 miles
• Nearest University – Eastern Oregon University – 24 miles, La Grande
• Median family income - $27,188
• Per capita income - $11,231

Climate

• Average low temperature – 24 degrees F.
• Average high temperature – 84 degrees F.
• Hottest month is August, coldest month is January
• Driest month is July, wettest month is May
• Average annual precipitation 13.79 inches

Real Estate Information

• Median home age – 33
• Median home cost as of 11/05 - $113,600
• Cost of living re housing is 54.5 compared to 100 US Index. This takes into consideration mortgage payments, apartment rents and property taxes.

An Example of Property for Sale in North Powder

4,300 sq. ft. log home on 400 acres, wildlife, buildings for animals and airstrip, 980,000 BDFT timber, 6 miles to I-84, asking price $1,750,000

As of this writing, there are few properties for sale. However, interested parties who would like to purchase a home in this small but charming town should register through my email alerts system for many future possibilities.