Creswell, The Friendly City, lies 10 miles south of Eugene-Springfield, north of Cottage Grove, along Highway 99 and Interstate 5 (I-5). Over the years, Creswell has grown from a farming community into a small city with close ties to the metropolitan area.
Creswell was first settled in 1872 by Alvin Hughes and James Robinett, each with five-acre land donations, located just south of where the railroad traveled from Eugene. In 1873, the Creswell Post Office opened and Ben Holladay of the Oregon-California Railroad Company named the city after John Creswell, who was then the U.S. Postmaster General.In the early years, Creswell’s economy centered around agrist mill in the community. Agriculture included wheat, cattle, and hog farming, with fruit trees adding to the economy by the end of the nineteenth century. By the time of the city’s incorporation in 1909, there were 5,000 acres of producing orchards, a cannery, a packing plant, a fruit dryer, doctors, dentists, and a variety of businesses clustered around Oregon Avenue.
Since the 1930s, Creswell has seen a fairly consistent pattern of growth, with a population boom occurring during and immediately after World War II. The city’s economy has shared an intrinsic link with its historic transportation system. Over the years, the city’s location along the rail line, Highway 99 and, later, I-5 has influenced the type of jobs found locally, which continue to be primarily in agriculture and timber processing.
Since the 1970s, Creswell has grown rapidly as it has increased in appeal as a bedroom community due to the development of transportation infrastructure between Creswell and the Eugene-Springfield area, comparatively low housing costs, and its appeal as a small town (Ross et al., 1993; ECONorthwest, 2005). Creswell has had a higher growth rate than Lane County and Oregon during every decade since the 1970s, and the city is projected to continue growing faster than Lane County and every city in it other than Coburg between 2004 and 2025 (ECONorthwest, 2005). The average annual growth rate between 1970 and 2005 was 3.9%, equaled in Lane County only by Florence (Lane Council of Governments [LCOG], 2006). This population growth rate is paralleled by Creswell’s sharp increase in the number of single family homes between 2000 and 2005 (LCOG, 2006). Today, the city has 5,360 inhabitants, and is expected to reach 7,300 by 2025 (LCOG, 2005; Revised Oregon 2010 Population Estimates). Information sourced via https://www.ci.creswell.or.us/
Do not miss the Creswell Bakery! It is a place to visit over and over again. Creswell Bakery is an honest, from scratch, food destination. Heidi Tunnell, owner and classically trained chef, has made it her mission to craft everything from our breads and pastry doughs, to our plate-sized cinnamon rolls, all the way down to our salad dressings and croutons from scratch using real, local ingredients.
More than just a bakery, they serve made to order breakfast and lunch using their fresh-baked artisan breads. The bacon is cured and smoked in house, and the grass fed beef is locally sourced. It is a wonderful destination for anyone living in the Willamette Valley!
