EUGENE

city, seat (1853) of Lane county, western Oregon, U.S., on the Willamette River, adjoining Springfield to the east. Settled by Eugene Skinner in 1846, it was laid out in 1852, named Eugene City in 1853, and incorporated in 1862. The arrival of the Oregon and California (now Southern Pacific) Railroad in 1870 stimulated growth as an agricultural and lumber centre. The University of Oregon was founded there in 1872, followed by Northwest Christian College in 1895 and Lane Community College (1965). An art museum on the University of Oregon campus specializes in Oriental and Pacific Northwest collections. A lumberplywood economy, which also relies on the city's educational institutions, prevails and is augmented by food processing and light manufacturing. Eugene is a tourist centre for the MacKenzie River recreational area and Willamette National Forest, headquartered in the city. Pop. (1990) city, 112,669; Eugene-Springfield MSA, 282,912.