Rainier

History

Rainier was founded in 1851 on the south bank of the Columbia River by Charles E. Fox, the town's first postman. First called Eminence, its name was later changed to Fox's Landing and finally to Rainier. The name Rainier was taken from Mount Rainier in Washington, which can be seen from hills above the city. Rainier was incorporated in 1881. For much of the last quarter of the twentieth century, Rainier was known to the rest of Oregon as home to Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, the only commercial nuclear reactor in the state, which supplied electricity to Portland and its suburbs starting in March 1976. The reactor was closed periodically due to structural problems, and in January 1993, it was decommissioned after cracks developed in the steam tubes. On May 21, 2006, the cooling tower was demolished. The closing of the Trojan plant precipitated a decline in the number of businesses in the city. While some retail and services are available in the city, currently the only supermarket in the city is a Grocery Outlet. Services are available in neighboring Clatskanie, St. Helens, and in Longview, Washington. Longview is opposite Rainier, across the Columbia River, and connected to Rainier by the Lewis and Clark Bridge.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Rainier is surrounded by a number of rural communities. In the past, these places acted as separate communities. Today, most businesses and services have left these rural sites, and the communities are part of a large unincorporated area that receive services out of Rainier. These communities include Fern Hill, Hudson, Alston, Apiary, Goble, and Prescott. The Lewis and Clark Bridge spans the Columbia River, linking Rainier to Longview, Washington. It is the only bridge, that spans the entire width of the river, between Portland and Astoria, Oregon.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,395
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  8,592
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,682
• Steller's Jay

  Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  7,677
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  6,261
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  5,999
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  5,902
• Golden-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia atricapilla (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  5,840

Most recent

• M 3.75 — 2026-09-05
  20 km E of Castle Rock, Washington
• M 2.61 — 2026-07-31
  18 km NE of Amboy, Washington
• M 2.52 — 2026-03-17
  7 km SE of Mineral, Washington
• M 2.65 — 2025-12-19
  5 km WSW of Pe Ell, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2025-09-13
  3 km NE of Mineral, Washington
• M 2.66 — 2025-06-16
  7 km ESE of Mossyrock, Washington