Mehama, OR

Mehama is an unincorporated community and census-designated place on Oregon Route 22 along the North Santiam River in Marion County, just across from Lyons in Linn County. The 2020 census counted 317 residents. Pioneer James X. Smith laid out the townsite and operated a ferry; the river crossing still determines how the community meets the highway. Route 22 carries traffic west toward Salem and east into the Santiam Canyon and Detroit.

Mehama's current map is a mix of highway, river, and working services. Marion County's rural community plan notes commercial and industrial uses tied to logging, recreation, and highway travelers. The Lyons-Mehama Water District provides water to the community, and its meetings are held at Mehama Grade School. The Lyons-Mehama connection also shapes water service, school meetings, and ordinary trips across the bridge. Oregon Route 226 also reaches the river crossing from the north. Mehama is a small Santiam community whose daily connections run across county lines, with Lyons across the water and the canyon roads heading east.