Emergency Biohazard Cleanup Services in Vernonia, OR

Vernonia is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, on the Nehalem River in a valley on the eastern side of the Northern Oregon Coast Range, in the heart of one of the state's most important timber-producing areas.

The 2020 census counted 2,374 residents and 919 households in Vernonia.

Vernonia was incorporated in 1891; its name came from settler Ozias Cherrington's daughter Vernona in Ohio, with an i inserted by a clerical error during incorporation.

The community was first settled in 1874 by the Parker and Van Blaricom families.

Vernonia grew beyond an isolated farming community on July 10, 1924, when the Oregon-American Lumber Company opened a state-of-the-art lumber mill, supported by a railroad line; the mill closed on December 20, 1957, after passing through Long-Bell Lumber Company and International Paper.

The city has been severely hit by floods, including the Willamette Valley Flood of 1996 and heavy storms in December 2007 that washed out roads and destroyed homes, cars, and communications infrastructure, with flood water in some parts reaching 4 feet above the 100-year base flood elevation.

After the 2007 flood, voters approved a 13 million dollar bond in 2009 to build a new kindergarten through 12th grade school, which opened in fall 2012.

The Friendship Jamboree, an annual event inaugurated in 1957, is held on the first full weekend of August.

The Banks-Vernonia State Trail, a 21-mile rails-to-trails path for bicyclists, pedestrians, and horseback riders, roughly parallels Oregon Route 47 south of Vernonia.

The Crown Zellerbach Trail, converted from old logging roads and railroad beds, runs more than 20 miles from Vernonia to Scappoose and was designated a National Recreation Trail in 2023.