Newberg, OR

Newberg's center brings together a Quaker-founded university, a Carnegie library, and a cultural center in a former school. Long before the town formed, Tualatin Kalapuya people lived in and managed the Chehalem Valley, and the city records Che'halem as an early name for the area. Newberg received its name in 1869 from postmaster Sebastian Brutscher, who chose the name of his Bavarian hometown. Quaker settlers arrived during the 1870s and opened Pacific Academy in 1885; Pacific College followed in 1891 and became George Fox College in 1949, later George Fox University. Herbert Hoover lived with his aunt and uncle, the Minthorns, in Newberg from age nine, and the Hoover-Minthorn House remains a historic site.

Incorporated as a town in 1889 and as a city in 1893, Newberg occupies the west side of the Willamette River in Yamhill County, about 25 miles southwest of Portland. Its 2020 census population was 25,138. George Fox reported 4,339 students for 2025-26, with its 108-acre main campus in Newberg. From the campus, Central Newberg Urban Trails connect the library, city hall, downtown blocks, parks, and Chehalem Cultural Center. The center occupies a former 1935 elementary school and contains a 214-seat theater, four galleries, art and clay studios, music practice rooms, and a ballroom; its recurring calendar includes the Camellia Festival, summer concerts, Hispanic Heritage Month events, and art exhibitions.

Across the street, Newberg Public Library combines its 1912 Carnegie building with a later expansion and offers book groups, language exchange, technology help, children's programs, and a Library of Things. The seasonal Wednesday Market brings produce, prepared foods, and crafts to South College Street from May through early September. Farther from downtown, Ewing Young Park combines wooded creekside trails with a skatepark, BMX track, disc golf, dog park, and playground, while the Chehalem Aquatic and Fitness Center provides competition and leisure pools, lessons, fitness programs, and public swims.