Alsea, OR

Alsea is an unincorporated community in Benton County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The 2023 census counted 220 residents. Alsea is on Oregon Route 34 and the Alsea River. The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to the local understanding of the area with the same name. Alsea Charter School, including Alsea High School, is a charter school that serves K-12 and has an enrollment of 321 students as of 2024. In Alsea, history and present-day settings sit close enough to belong to the same local picture.

The map tells the story in Alsea, where earlier chapters remain visible in current streets, buildings, and gathering places. Alsea was named for the Alsea River, whose name was a corruption of "Alsi" the name of a Native American tribe, now known as the Alsea, that lived at the mouth of the river. The Alsea area was settled by Europeans early as 1855, when the name "Alseya Settlement" appeared on the Surveyor general's map.