Molalla, Oregon
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1939 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Molalla census division. It lies in ZIP code area 97038. The Survey maps it on the Molalla quadrangle. 10,228 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 371 feet above sea level.
On record in Molalla
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 4 records
Horace L. Dibble Houselisted 1974
Rock Creek Methodist Churchlisted 1975
William Hatchette Vaughan Houselisted 1993
Fred Vonder Ahe House and Summer Kitchenlisted 1976
Population over time
3 figuresMolalla grew from 5,647 to 10,228 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5,647 | |
| 2010 | 8,108 | +2,461 (+44%) |
| 2020 | 10,228 | +2,120 (+26%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1939 USGS Molalla quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1940 USGS Molalla quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Molalla quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1964 USGS Vancouver quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Oregon City quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
162 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 162 fires within 5 miles of Molalla between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,645 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 10 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 84 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 10 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Other causes | 8 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Oregon Department of Forestry Salem Headquarters | HERMAN FIRE |
| 9 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Molalla Unit | FOREST HAVEN |
| 8 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Molalla Unit | BEAVERCREEK BURN |
| 8 September 2001 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Molalla Unit | CALLAHAN |
| 7 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,584 acres | Molalla Unit | CLACKAMAS COUNTY FIRES |
| 7 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Oregon Department of Forestry Salem Headquarters | DALMATIAN PILE |
| 6 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Molalla Unit | BARREL |
| 5 September 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Oregon Department of Forestry Salem Headquarters | RINGO RD |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 49 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 49 workings within 5 miles of Molalla: 35 past producers, 10 producers, 2 occurrences, 2 prospects. 10 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molalla Clay | Iron, Aluminum, Silica, Titanium, Water, Free | Prospect | 1911 | |
| Ellis Deposit | Aluminum, Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Perry Bond Ranch | Aluminum, Clay | Prospect | ||
| Ellis Deposit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Molalla Clay | Clay | Occurrence | ||
| Molalla Clay Products | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Molalla Clay Products | Clay | Producer | ||
| Needy Brick & Tile # 2 | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Needy Clay Mine | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Needy Clay Mine | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Molalla in 7 storm reports between 2000 and 2019: 3 lightning, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2011 | Lightning | Molalla | 1 hurt | A thunderstorm early Wednesday evening produced lightning that struck a man riding a tractor near Toliver Road, west of Highway 213 in Molalla, Oregon. The man drove himself to the hospital. |
| April 2003 | Lightning | Molalla | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| October 2000 | Tornado (F1) | Molalla | $50,000 | The tornado occurred along Highway 213 2 miles west of Molalla. One half of a roof was torn from a home, the roof of an apartment complex was damaged, a satellite dish was torn from it's mounting, two one foot diameter trees were toppled, and a gate and a dog house, along with smaller items, were strewn about. No injuries were reported. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Molalla | $15,000 | Multiple large trees down in Molalla that fell on vehicles, fencing, and at least one home, seen on social media. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Molalla | - | News media reported thunderstorm winds blew trees and branches down in Mollala. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Molalla | - | A radio station reported thunderstorm winds blew down trees and limbs near Mollala and Silver Falls city. |
| May 2004 | Lightning | Molalla | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shady Dell | 2.0 miles | 16 | |
| Liberal | 3.2 miles | 16 | |
| Union Mills | 3.7 miles | 16 | |
| Rural Dell | 3.9 miles | 15 | |
| Cedardale | 4.4 miles | 19 | |
| Mulino | 5.1 miles | 16 | |
| Hamricks Corner | 5.6 miles | 15 | |
| Yoder | 5.6 miles | 15 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Molalla | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q588919 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1124282. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.







